First Gen Lower Ball Joint(LBJ) Failures

I'm sure they do basic customer, but they're a lot like Cisco: They field test on their customers. If a lot come back, they recall/repair.

 

What's Facebook?

 

The sequel to MySpace. You’re not missing anything.

 

But Tom was actually my friend, that Zuck MFer definitely not my friend.

 

Time to go on MySpace and tell people how I just spent three hours downloading a song off of Limewire.

 

Oy, vey! That's "anti-Semitic"!

 

Let's do a quick tally of the failures posted here.

00-03ish: 17
04ish-06: 21
Unknown: 5

I expected more early failures since the later trucks *should* have had the LBJ recall campaign done. My truck had 200k miles on the recall LBJ's when I bought it, and they were not sloppy. I guess joe-blow mechanic convinces a lot of unsuspecting customer to install parts store LBJ's.

 

It's not surprising, as far as aftermarket parts. I'm no mechanic so I don't know if there are pretty typical standards, but I assume there's no standard that all mechanics know when to use OEM vs aftermarket. Most mechanics probably assume the customer wants inexpensive parts. Quality, but not OEM cost. If I bring my truck anywhere other than my favorite mechanic, I assume they'll use anything but OEM, unless I specifically ask for OEM, which I do.

I'll bet most mechanics don't convince most people of using aftermarket. They just install aftermarket. The customer doesn't know to ask. We on this forum are a small part of the population. Easily far more than 50% of Tundra owners have no idea the ball joint problem even exists, or if they do, they just have some vague sense that they should be replaced now and then, but have no idea that OEM is critical. Unfortunately many mechanics are probably in the same boat.

This is one of those things where I don't expect or necessarily think poorly of a mechanic that has no idea about this issue. If I bring my truck to a non-Toyota specialist, I tell them what I know, regardless of the danger that the more I tell them how to do their job, the worse they'll treat me...A lot of that comes down to how I tell them, tone of voice etc. Just like anything, when given the choice, I choose my mechanics carefully. I don't expect most of them to be all-knowing about a specific, narrow year-range generation of Toyota pickups.

 

Per Toyota LBJ recall document -
"the front suspension lower ball joint is a wear item and must be periodically inspected and replaced in accordance with the vehicle scheduled maintenance guide"

I think that pretty much covers Toyota. It's a wear item...

I recently replaced LBJs on both of my first gens. Both the old sets I took out were still in great shape (sequoia has 240k, tundra has 130k). Assuming both rigs had them replaced during recall (before my ownership) they had some miles on them. I think the redesigned OE LBJs are of good quality and I won't need to replace again in a long time.

 

My plan is to do all of the things every 90-100k miles. Timing belt, water pump, tensioners, radiator, spark plugs, Brake fluid flush, LBJs transmission drain and fill, and all diff fluids.

 

I'm assuming that LBJ replacement is based on miles. Where other things are based on miles/months (whichever comes first). Am I correct in my assumption?

 

I go off mileage.
90-100k for daily driving
90k or sooner for taking your truck off the beaten path.

 

Yeah I'd say 100k miles is good target. Less if you abuse it.

I just wanted to point out that my sequoia LBJs could have possibly had as many as 200k miles on them and showed no play. Tundra LBJs (lifted and LOTS of forest road driving) were also in good condition.

I only put about 5k a year on these vehicles, which is why I say I won't be changing them again for a long time! Haha.

 

The recall LBJ's on my 2006 had 150K miles on them with no play and I replaced them anyway. Same on my 2004. My guess is that few or none of the OEM recall LBJ's ever fail.

One thought on my mind is that LBJ's have the most severe stress on them during hard braking, when the brakes are pulling the spindle backward and the inertia of the truck is pulling the control arms forward.

 

there's even more stress while turning.

And my truck had the LBJ recall done. Those were shot. Probably had 100+k on them.

I believe people see the "recall done" for the LBJ's and just think they're good, instead of knowing these are maintenance/wear items and need to be REPLACED; not greased.

it's simple physics really, but people are stupid as fuck now a days

 

If I didn't know any better, I'd say certain people have made it trendy and rebellious to be ignorant assholes. And a whole swath of the population have eaten it up, hook line and sinker.

Its why the stupid never surprise me. I just shake my head and move on. No point, most of the time.

 

I think it makes a big difference whether the truck is lifted and has monster tires on it. I have been driving FGT's for 470K miles and not only have I never had an LBJ failure, I never even had detectable slack either, and I checked them regularly. I just replaced them anyway because guys on this forum say so.
I think we would all be better informed if guys drew distinctions whether
1) the LBJ's were OEM or aftermarket.
2) the OEM LBJ's were original or recall.
3) the LBJ's wore sloppy out and the ball fell out of the socket or they just snapped.
4) it was a bolt failure, not a LBJ failure.
5) it was a stock truck or monster lifted rock crawler.

 

Very few of the failures shown on here are lifted or have big tires.

 

Most of the LBJ failures on this thread seem to be snapped in two type of failures which I don't think come under the heading of "normal wear and tear".

 

It would be a good study. I can think of all kinds of confounding factors. For example many people with modifications have spent some time on forums, learning how to do the mods. If they've spent some time on forums, they likely heard about the LBJs. So there's a decent chance a lot of people with lifts and larger tires have also kept up on ball joints. Not all, but a lot.

I'd be tempted to believe many people who experience a failure have stock trucks, and aside from oil changes endorse the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' mentality.

So while bigger tires and lifts and more extreme driving conditions likely contribute to the problem, the people doing all that stuff are at least slightly more likely to have kept up on LBJ replacement. It makes the study hard, because the best way to get a truly accurate picture is to set up a controlled study. So many people with stock trucks, never let them replace their LBJ. The same number with stock trucks, but replace LBJs at set intervals. Then the same with modified trucks.

But of course there are different driving styles, different lifts, bigger and even bigger tires etc.

I guess what would be best is if everyone on this site and especially on that FB site were required to answer a questionnaire before being able to post about their LBJ failure.

What modifications does your truck have (tires/suspension/steering components)?
When were your LBJs last replaced?
OEM or aftermarket?
If possible, list what actually failed first (hard when there's a ton of carnage) - bolts, ball etc.
Highway or city?
Turning, driving straight ahead, braking?

Would help narrow things down a bit.

 

A buddy of mine just bought a 09 or 10 as a hunting/bush/round the acreage truck. Its not in bad shape but he was worried about the LBJs. Since this thing is going to live basically in harsh, offroad conditions, I told him to just get upgraded arms top and bottom as I think he wants to lift it and stick bigger tires on it. Is that a good idea, or are the stock arms and upgraded balljoints good enough?? Thanks in advance

 

09 and 10 is a different generation, completely different ball joint design, not prone to failure.

 

I mean, it'll fail, but it won't ruin your day. It'll just be like "aw lame.....give me 30min a Rachet"

with ours it's like "oh fuck, am I gonna die?"

 

I assume you found slack in them before you replaced them. Is your truck lifted? I'm still not 100% convinced that any recall ball joints have ever snapped in two.

 

Truck is lifted now. Lived most of its life stock. The original suspension had over 200k on them.

There was plenty of slack and clunking in the recall LBJ's

I'd rather spend $3-400 in parts instead of $1000+ in repairs.

 

This was a steal for someone

 

@JakeJake do i have a $million to show you. Dual layer steel strap with longer stronger bolts. And a bushing to quell the shock load.

otherwise someones gotta figure out how to build LCA's & knuckles that use a lbj in compression like any non-moron would do.

maybe i dont trust spherical bearings or w/e enough.

 

Yes, that compression vs. tension engineering factor. Are all makes LBJ in tension? I guess if the spring sits on top of the upper control arm, pushing it down, there wouldn't be that tension.