OEM Replacement LCA recommendation?

The bushings in the LCA's don't seem to last long for me. I feel I am perpetually stuck with a front end clunk.

The OEM bushings in the OEM LCA's lasted me about 90k miles. I replaced the entire LCA b/c I read that pressing out the old OEM bushings were a pain and I had a torn balljoint dust cover too.

I replaced them with Moog LCA's with urethane bushings and MOOG balljoints mainly due to cost. Moog LCA's w/ urethane bushings and Moog balljoints are $107 ea. versus an OEM LCA w/ rubber bushings is anywhere between $250-$325 ea.

The Moog LCA's lasted me 50K-60K miles and I'm on my 3rd set of Moog LCA's, in need of my 4th set of replacement LCA's b/c the bushing wear out within 50k-60k miles.

Yes, I check my LCA alignment bolts every time I change my oil, torqued correctly. I even added green loctite (penetrating loctite) after I rechecked the torque on the bolts after the install and 200 miles.

Is there a better stock length option within a budget? (under $300 for both sides)

It's really hard to drop the $1200 - $2k on Camburg or Total Chaos stock length LCA's right now with job security in question.

 

So your truck as roughly 300k miles? What aren’t we hearing here? That your tearing Up lcas, seems like some facts are missing. Off-road hard. Lots of mudding etc?

 

I have a used OEM set for sale, removed at 56,892mi. One of the sleeves got grazed though when the shop had to chop off the seized cam bolt.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fs-shims-black-“pro”-emblem-and-oem-lca’s.652523/

Lmk if you’re interested at all

 

Dirt King is the ideal replacement, better than the uni-ball design of Total Chaos or Camburg, but they are very pricey.

OEM is really going to be the best bet for stock style replacement, I did mine recently and was able to find them for $271 each, which I realize is more than you want to spend. The only other aftermarket brand I'd suggest for an OEM type replacement that might be better than Moog is Beck Arnley, they are slightly more expensive than Moog.

 

seen a thread in 2nd gen forum where a guy used the BECK ARNELEY LCA said that looked of good construction but were made in Taiwan

 

Mostly highway miles and farm roads. I travel the occasional fire road or light trail. I avoid mud as much as possible.

What probably is getting me is the weight of the truck. I have an ARB front bumper (no winch), but have the storage area behind the seats full of hand tools.

 

nothing better than OEM Qaulity

 

Moog parts are made all over, the bushings are made in China I believe (based on other posts). Taiwan isn't the worst place for a part to be made, but if wanting the best quality it is going to be OEM.

 

i have some new LCAs sitting on my floor waiting for install. so i expect to have my LCA's from my 2017 available before long. ~67k on them.

 

@the.sight.picture

 

3rd gen LCAs dont fit on 2nd gens

 

Im super glad that I dont have any ball joints anymore. Uniball > ball joint

 

Uniball doesn't last nearly as long, they will require rebuilds, and higher end ball joints offer more articulation.

 

rebuild/replacement is part of ownership.. Is OP getting high end ball joint? dont think so. Also, Dirt King puts Moog ball joints in their LCA. Is that high end if you can order them from Amazon?

 

Part of ownership many do not intend to sign up for. There are certainly multiple schools of thought, but personally, regular suspension rebuild requirements don't seem like an upgrade to me.

OEM style aftermarket replacements are certainly not getting a joint upgrade, so the point is somewhat mute as you point out. Both Dirt King and SPC claim better performance using high performance Moog joints over uni-ball, without the maintenance/replacement/rebuild issues of uni-ball joints.

 

OP's numbers:

Moog LCA $107 each X 2= $214 X 4 replacements = $856

Stock LCA $250 each X 2 = $500 replaced every 100K = $1000 @ 300K miles (new + 2 replacements)

So for $144 and twice the labor. Really????? Just say'n.