Temporary LBJ Fix

Hey everyone!
I installed a 2 inch level on my 06 Double Cab yesterday in my college parking lot. When I was finished I drove my truck around the parking lot to make sure everything was working correctly. Then as I made my final turn (my wheels at full lock), I heard a loud crack that shook the steering wheel. I parked it and checked the LBJ, which I believe is the culprit, since they have never been replaced at 231k miles. I'm scared to drive it because Im afraid that the LBJ will fail but I also need it to get to work by this Thursday. I impulsively ordered Duralast LBJ at 2am as a temporary fix. Anyways, do yall think its okay to run the Duralast LBJ for a couple months until I can get OEM? Its my daily driver and I drive about 100 miles a week.
I appreciate any input and responses.

 

I wouldn’t be off-roading or anything but if they were that bad then they’d have had to quit making them and been sued into oblivion by now. I’m 100% in favor of OEM and you’ll be able to see and few the weight and quality difference between them but short term you should be fine.

 

Yes. Just make sure you torque the bolts appropriately and make sure the LBJ is greased up. Some do not come with grease in them. And no wheelin your newly lifted truck till you get some solid ball joints. Replace the bolts for the LBJ as well. Might as well do both...

 

Also a YES here.

However, did you happen to install SPC upper control arms with your lift? You gave zero details about that. If yes, I had a similar *CRACK!* sound when I backed out of my driveway because I failed to torque down the top balljoint nut enough on the SPC UBJ, and it slid in the UCA's balljoint slot!

 

Who else here was expecting OP to be asking about a literal parking lot fix, like "are these broccoli rubber bands good enough or should I go with zip ties?"

 

@KNABORES thank you for the input. very much appreciated.

@shifty` no sir i didnt change anything with the UCA.

Do you guys think it could be the tie rods or anything binding?

 

that’s hilarious! There are a lot of zip ties on this truck lmao

 

100% what I expected to read
Zip ties and bailing wire hahaha

Like the others have said, you should be alright daily driving, just no wheeling really. If you have a floor Jack do yourself a favor and Jack the wheel up to check for any play in the LBJs. Fairly easy to do by trying to move the top and bottom of wheel by hand and seeing if the lbj budges.

 

@Nicklovin Just checked lbj and no play but I’ll still pick up replacements. Just in case. lol the zipties only hold on my corner markers

 

When you do pickup some replacements try using ToyotaPartsDeal.com , might find a better price then your local dealer

 

Alright everyone thank you so much for the input. I figured out that its my tie rod and steering rack. Its leaking and needs to be replaced. I just returned the duralast LBJ and I’ll be ordering OEM steering rack, outer tie rods, and LBJ in the next couple of weeks. Money is tight at the moment

 

Just curious what caused the crack? Is the tie rod end broken?

A leaking steering rack isn't a crucial replacement, meaning if money is tight you can wait a bit on that.

 

I believe it was from the tie rod twisting suddenly. Ive been driving for about an hour and have had no clunks or pops. It has a torn boot and has ps fluid build up everywhere.

 

They make seal kits for the PS rack. There’s an episode of All Girls Garage where they rebuil one

 

Did you get longer sway bar links for the lift? I didn't at first and that was the source of a loud pop sound after I leveled my truck. Bent one link in a couple thousand miles.