Ball joint!! Happy Friggen New Year to me!! Ugh

I am in Toms River, NJ.

 

Get a Harbor Freight high-lift, floor jack. Your driveway is practically a shop floor compared to where I have to work on my truck. I really don't think you will have a problem with even a halfway decent jack and stands.

Its good to be cautious when lifting thousands of pounds of valuable vehicle...

But from looking at your picture, I'm really not sure what you are worried about. Looks like a perfectly fine place to do the job. You don't have to jack it up any higher than you would to change a tire.

 

Thanks!!

 

If you have a piece of 3/4" plywood, you can toss it under there to give the floor jack something to roll it's back wheels forward upon a few inches as you lift the vehicle.

I do this all the time in my folks asphalt driveway so the wheels won't make an impression upon it.

 

Ah yes, I know it well. Too far for me, however, so I'm not your guy. Still, it will be easy. Just follow the suggestions you're given. If you manage to get it up in the air, then you may as well just replace the ball joint right then and there. You basically need two wrenches, and a BFH. And maybe some pliers to get the cotter pins out. There are two castle nuts, one on the LBJ, and one on the tie rod end. Remove the pins, then remove the nuts, then use the BFH to free the tapers. Then just 4 bolts to undo and replace the LBJ.

I'm oversimplifying it, but not by much. Even if you wind up buying a new jack and LBJ you're in it for about the same $ as the flatbed tow ride. There are lots of YouTube videos available, this is just the first one I pulled up:

 

Outstanding!! Thanks!! But what is a BFH…bald faced hammer?? Lol

 

BFH = Big Fucking Hammer

 

Bald faced hammer? Would this qualify?

 

Lmfao!!!!

 

That sir is an anvil on a stick!

 

I used TRW LBJs while doing preventative maintenance in may of 2019 instead of OEM.

I will say they looked identical to the Toyota LBJs I removed (they are sealed w/o a grease zerk like most aftermarket options). I check them a couple times a year and they seem to be holding up fine after about 35K miles.

 

Welp…mechanic came through and stopped by the house yesterday….bout 45 mins and it was done!! $90 for the part…& $60 for labor and the old girl is back on the roads of adventure!! First trip was to the woods to run the beagle for rabbits!! Tally-ho!!!!

Hooked mechanic up w a good tip for his son who helped him…always good to see a father teaching his son his craft!
Thanks for all of your insight!! We plan on doing the other side at his shop then some exhaust work on my boy’s 2000 Tundra.

 

Told ya it wasn't a big job Glad its fixed.

 

Damn, that's cheap! Lowest I can get an OEM lower balljoint is ~$160. He did install a new OEM balljoint, right? With fresh bolts, so you don't have the exact same failure 5k miles down the road?

 

I think you may be confusing this with something else. OEM ball joints are around $90 for my 02 and $125 for your 06. Definitely not $160 each. It sounds like OP only did one side.

https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota....0dW5kcmEmeT0yMDA2JnQ9c3I1JmU9NC03bC12OC1nYXM=

 

2nd cheapest local stealership after tax, Rick Hendrick, runs me about $161. They don't allow local pickup. Most local dealerships near me are over $145-150 for the part.

 

But I just re-ran, and it looks like Marietta Toyota is allowing local pickup. Still nearly $150. But that is really cool you earlier year dudes get your LBJs so cheap!

 

Why wouldn't you order from McGeorge for $125 and free shipping?

 

Uh, sorry, what were you saying? Toyota's standard promo code "FREESHIP" won't work here. Even if shipping was free, I'm out $140, nearly the same as local pickup.

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Cheapest I can get to is $130 ordering from Serra (of Birmingham AL, since that fuckhead Eric at Serra of Decatur AL is a lazy, shady, decrepit douchenozzle of a human)

They don't charge tax, and FREESHIP coupon covers the 2hr ride to ATL.

 

....

 

Dunno what to tell you here.... This is literally using the exact link FGV posted above.

EDIT: I forgot, McGeorge has that weird shit where they have 3 different parts websites. You must be on a different parts website for them.

 

McGeorge has two parts stores. One of them is https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/ and the other is https://toyotaonlineparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/. Different prices on each and one of them accepts the Freeship coupon. I've ordered from both and they're who I got my LBJs from for that price.

 

Yup, just edited my post to mention that. They actually have 3. I posted the 3rd one I found recently. This is the one you missed.

https://parts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/

 

Edit: NVM

 

I think we're on the same page now. I wish they didn't have 3 different websites. McGeorge is likely who I'll use going forward since Serra is run by idiots.

 

Serra of Decatur definitely is. One of these days I'm going to give Serra Birmingham a shot, next time I have a couple of days to wait, and I don't feel like picking up.

Toyota South Atlanta used to be my go-to dealership, it's really convenient to me and one or two other members, and the pricing was great. But the dealership changed hands recently, and they stopped participating in the Toyota Parts program not long after the change. Everything they sell now is by phone/OTC only, and full MSRP. I either need to find another way to get discounted parts, or drive north of town, which is typically a nightmare for any of us living south of downtown.

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Thanks for posting the FreeShip information and dual websites from McGeorge. I have ordered exclusively from them the past couple of years but I'm kinda pissed one website charges shipping and the other does not. I've probably racked up over $200 in shipping charges.