Ooof.. another LBJ bites the dust

Those aren't for 1st gens tho.

Solomotorsports at least used to make a uniball LCA/Spindle for the 1st gen, but I don't see it on their website (didn't spend a ton of time looking tho). It was also redonk expensive.

 

I don't get what the big deal is. Buy OEM and replace them every 5-10 years depending on how much you drive and offroad. Its a long life service part, why skimp out?

 

Oof. I guess 1st gen owners just have to replace and maintain as Toyota specifies. What's a couple $100 every 100k anyways? Seems a no brainer.

 

He has a website (blog?) I just couldn't find it on my phone last night, here it is

https://anonymousfab.com/products/tacoma-4runner-lower-uniball-conversion

Says they are out of stock though, who knows if it's going to come around again. And $700 yikes

I'll just keep buying and replacing the OEM ones until they stop production on them lol.

Which begs the question, what happens when that happens...we all just roll the dice on aftermarket LBJs? I guess that's a question for whenever or if that happens

 

You know the answer

 

lmao!

 

Yikes, that's like $200 more than that first thread suggested it might be, and even then it was a little rich for my blood, given the circumstances. It might be different if a company like Total Chaos or Camburg came out with a conversion like this, I'd be much more willing to plunk down the cash for that (I spent ~$700 on their UCAs, after all), but with a relatively unknown company (or in this case seems like just a guy in a garage) there's more risk of it turning into another Pelfreybilt.

I understand that you're buying the welder's craftsmanship, R&D etc... as well, but when you can get uniballs for like $50, and he's using used 555 BJs, that just seems kinda steep.

and Wow, 39 subscribers on his youtube channel. More people have clicked on THIS thread than have watch that video...

But yeah, it does stand to reason that maybe at some point the OE will stop being manufactured.

 

Is the LBJ a problem area in the late first gens? I guess i need to get under mine and check it out! Got 188k and im sure they are oem!

 

All 1st gens particular the 6 lug...I honestly don't know if 5 lugs had an LBJ issue.

The LBJ design was the same throughout the entire 10 year run, only thing the 01 - 04s did differently was put a little rubber boot protector around the LBJ boot. Just meant to keep debris from tearing it but it doesn't address the failure issue

Some 01+ Tacomas qualify for the LBJ recall where some had a scratch defect from factory...if you plug your VIN into the Toyota recall page it'll tell you if you qualify. You'll get free new OEM LBJs out of it at least. Not all Tacomas did just certain VIN range

 

My 04 has the rubber boot. Here’s the original (probably) LBJ I replaced at 150,000 miles once I bought the truck.

It was toast. Hard to tell from the video but the amount of vertical slop was scary.

https://youtu.be/wQtZJ13DErw

 

There was a recall on some model year 1st gens due to a qa/qc issue, but they didn't actually "fix" the design until the 2nd gens.

If you have that many miles, definitely switch them out. Get the best you can afford if you don't qualify for the recall. If you're tight on budget, the 555's from lowrangeoffroad are still just fine. Just don't go to Amazon, lol.

 

Wow yeah that's way more than mine had when I pulled them off, but they were at about 50k miles. Commuting and some aggressive offroading. There was a tiny bit of up down play with the pry bar method, but from what I've read any visible amount of play means they should get changed

 

interesting!!!! Thanks for the info!!

 

Been reading this thread pretty diligently. Just picked up an 04 with 164k on it. I think that this will be part of my baseline maintenance for it.

Thank you for all the information.

Is there a recommended online dealer for the OEM parts? I can always go down to the local dealership, I just thought I would ask the experts here.

I watched a video or two about the job. Looks pretty straightforward--as long as things go good. I don't have ALL the tools to do this job, but it can be a good excuse to buy them. Or am I better off taking it to the shop for the work?

 

It's an easy job. All you really need is a pitman arm puller and, ideally, a torque wrench (plus jack and jack stands of course). The pitman arm pullers are like $15 at harbor freight. The Torque wrench IMO is important because the 4 bolts that hold the BJ to the spindle require a deceptively low torque setting (59 ft lbs). Also use thread locker.

As for online dealers, there are several. Camelback Toyota is one I can think of off the top of my head. For OEM, you really have to go to a Dealer for them. It's the only way to ensure you're not getting counterfeit ones.

 

Some dealers will price match other dealers I've heard. Haven't tried at mine cause they are always overpriced so I just order online from McGeorge or Camelback.

 

Thanks guys!

 

Shop around, and consider sales tax and shipping.

North Georgia Toyota has decent prices. Not quite as low as some others, but they currently have free shipping over $200, which might offset the price difference depending on what all you order.

https://parts.northgeorgiatoyota.com/go/Free-Shipping.html

 

When I priced out the OEM LBJs, McGeorge had them the cheapest by a few dollars after factoring in tax and shipping.

https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/

But you might want to check out Olathe or a couple other online parts depts.