First Gen Lower Ball Joint(LBJ) Failures

I'm new to this whole LBJ thing. I entered my VIN into the Toyota site and no work history came up (kinda wierd). I've got 97K miles on it. Should I go ahead and get the LBJs replaced?

 

Yes.

If the 70B recall hasn't been done, Toyota will probably install new lower ball joints for you.

 

Where do I look to find out if any recall work has been done?

 

The Toyota Owners portal will list any outstanding recalls. A visit to your local dealer is an option too.

 

I assume this means they were replaced under the recall?

 

Yes. How many miles since then?

 

17 years worth

 

About 87K miles since then. Recall done at 10,200. About 97,200 now.

 

Best rule of thumb for LBJ's. If you don't know. Change them out. It's ~$300 vs $2k

 

You're due then. New LBJ's and bolts.

 

Thanks. I'll burn some vacation days next month and take care of it. I have a road trip coming up in the fall, having them go out 1500 miles from home would be bad.

 

Someday someone’s going to end up suing Toyota after getting seriously hurt over this bad design. Safety inspection typically involves checking for front end play starting from 10+ years; at least around here anyway. For this to go without any warning signs is a recipe for disaster.

 

Probably took me about 20-25min per side and I was working casually. Granted I’ve accumulated a number of pullers and crap over the years, so I had no issues popping things free, but I don’t recall anything being exceptionally difficult. It’s 4 bolts per side and two spindle nuts to loosen and pop free. NBD, git er dun.

 

Another one bites the dust.

According to the person who posted these pictures, this is the second time the truck had a LBJ failure in 190k miles.

 

So I've been trying to log-in / check the Toyota website for recall info.
The site toyota.com/recall keeps saying 'Sorry an error occurred' . . . been that way since yesterday.
Does anyone have a different link, or one that works?

I triple checked that I'm entering the VIN correctly . . . maybe I'm missing something else . . .

 

It's just your sign to change them out. Better than waiting around and a wheel just wanting to separate itself from your truck, your brake slamming in to the asphalt, and said wheel possibly entering your cabin from where left foot rests.


But hey....your truck.....not mine; some people like to live dangerously

 

Agreed . . . just wanting to see if I can get it comp'd by the dealer.

 

https://www.toyota.com/owners/

Create an account, Input VIN, claim ownership, go to Owner > Safety Recalls

Example for my truck. You can see I still have the Airbag recall outstanding.

You can also call your local dealer.

 

I don't trust myself to do the work. Sure I could try it and maybe I'll probably do a good job. But with this, I don't want to mess around with maybe and probably. I'll let the pros handle it. Sure, it'll cost more, but I'm paying for piece of mind because all the pics in this thread....pure nightmare fuel.

 

Yes
Yesterday

 

I’m in the opposite camp. I don’t trust anyone else to do mine

 

I ended up getting two new tie rod ends in addition to the new LBJs under the recall just because the tech screwed up at Toyota.

Must’ve either been a hack to mess that up or the directions of what to do were poorly communicated.

 

The way I messed mine up was by following the advice to leave the castle nut threaded onto the bolt, just flush with the top of the bolt, so when you press it and it finally breaks free, things don't go flying. But if you have an OTC front end kit like mine, the cup that goes onto the bolt sort of...cups the bolt and extends down the sides a bit. I didn't pay close enough attention. When the TRE broke free, the press also shoved the castle nut down ~1/4", shearing threads as it went.

With mine, it was just the castle nut that needed to be replaced. Only the top few threads on the bolt were damaged. But it set me back 12 hours.

No idea if something similar happened with your truck but I think what happened to me is pretty easy to do if you have a certain press and aren't paying close enough attention. Turned out my press was actually making primary contact with the castle nut, not the bolt. Shoved it down far enough, stripping threads, then contacted the bolt and popped the TRE out.

 

What he said ^^

Seriously, depending on who is doing the work, they may have basically the same experience. Dude... this is how easy it is. You can do this. And you can buy the parts and buy a new torque wrench for less than you'd pay a shop to install aftermarket units. Gitrdun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl7DQPb2160​

 

I just watched that vid above . . . thanks for sharing.
Question: I see he's using 2 different pullers to remove things, cool
But when installing the LBJ's I don't see the use of any sort of 'press' to marry things back up.
I'm assuming that proper torking re-seats everything back to where it needs to be?

 

Correct.

I'm sure there's plenty I don't know, but the only things I know of that not only need to be pressed off, but also pressed back on, are bearings on shafts. With the tie rod end and upper and lower ball joints, snugging up the bolts is what "presses" them back together.

 

Hardest part of the LBJ swap is lining the 4 bolt holes back up with your steering knuckle. And it's not hard. Just been the part of the job that takes me the longest, as it requires a mix of moving the new ball joint and raising/lowering/angling the steering knuckle just right.

Once you get a feel for popping TRE and LBJs out with presses, that part is easy. But it's probably the scariest at first. Well, maybe driving your first time on ball joints you replaced yourself is the scariest But with the presses, you crank and crank and crank then finally it gives and you're sure you must have broken something.

Just watch tutorials, watch them again. Get a feel for the job. Take your time. If something is confusing, stop, re-watch tutorials, post questions. The job is very simple but must be done just right.

 

The tie rod end and the LBJ are tapered, such that when torqued to spec they mate perfectly into their conical recesses. It's not necessary to use a puller to get them off...a seasoned mechanic knows just where to strike a few blows with a BFH and they pop right out! My success rate is less than 100%, however, so I employ a hybrid technique - I use a puller to put some tension on the joint, and then inflict the blows by the BFH.

 

Plus this for me