Ball joint broke on the highway....help....

Well, my luck ran out....broke a ball joint on the highway today.

No warning. Accelerating up on the freeway and then a sudden bang and I'm skidding down the road.

Managed not to roll it, got the truck towed to a parking lot but need to get it out soon as I can.

Last week the engine blew up on my subaru....

What do I do? Kinda rattled.....not having a good day.

 

Looks like you need new upper & lower joints.

Probably need to reboot one side of the axle if OEM or replace if aftermarket.

Possibly inner/outer tie rods.


Then limp it to a shop for an alignment.


If you can't get/do the axle where it's located, you may be able to remove the center shaft but leave both ends in place to get to where you can.


Edit: fyi strut bushing looks toasted.

 

First thing I would do is take some time to breath and be thankful you're alive. You lucked out compared to other failures and the truck looks relatively unscathed. It's nice the tire didn't crunch the fender.

Can't tell if the CV was pulled out from the external snap ring on the differential side, or if the internal snap ring on the CV axle is damaged. Either way, I bet that CV is reusable with snap ring change outs and possibly a new boot.

Otherwise new upper ball joint, new lower ball joint and hardware. Probably a rotor too. Can't tell if your tie rod ends are bent, but, I would start with all of these items first then get it to an alignment shop to see if there are any bigger problems or frame damage.

 

Inner cv joint pulled out of the socket, ripped apart the boot.

Brake line has a pinhole leak in it.

Lower ball joint sheered off, upper one pulled out. I don't know which failed first. Its not immediately obvious to me how these are replaced, probably would be more obvious if they weren't both broken. I've done ball joints on other vehicles but these look a little different than what I'm used to.

I don't really understand why this happened. I was just going straight on a flat road, not even accelerating hard. Not sure what brand the joints in it were. I do not think there was any slop at all in them before this.

Recommendations for new joints? I figure I will just get whatever I can in town, if I can at all, but replace both sides once I get it home.

 

I'd fold over the brake line or use vice grips to pinch it off until you can get a new one from the dealer. That hard line is less than $15 from the dealer, pre-bent and all. Otherwise remove the broken line from the hard line and plug the rubber line with a M10X1.0 bolt. Not the most perfect seal but it will get you to a shop or to where you can get a new hose. I wouldn't run this long term though.

You can reuse the fittings off of the broken brake line if you have a flaring tool, and buy bulk unflared 3/16" brake line from a parts store if you'd rather make your own brake line. Your flaring tool will need to be able to do double flares (inverted flares) on 3/16" line; not single or bubble flare, otherwise they will leak. Do not buy brake lines that are already flared from the parts store because they will have the wrong flare for Toyota. If the fittings from your pin-hole brake line can't be re-used, there's specific metric Toyota fittings that need to be used if you're making your own line.

OEM only from a dealer on the lower ball joints for long-term replacements. Replace all 8 of the bolts with brand new OEM bolts or hardened bolts from ARP. I'd go with OEM on the uppers if you have stock UCAs.

Would like to see more pictures of the lower ball joint to see if the four bolts that fasten it to the knuckle sheared, or if the joint itself failed.

 

The ball joint neck itself sheared off. I didn't get a good look, but the lower knuckle looks riveted, not bolted to the control arm. Is that entire knuckle replaced with the U joint itself?

 

Lower ball joint. Broken straight across.

 

The knuckle should be completely fine. The LBJ is on a plate that bolts to the knuckle. Nothing on the knuckle is pressed in regards to the joint.

The LCA is tapered, so is the neck on the LBJ. The LBJ/ LCA are press fit together, and held in place by the castle nut on the bottom. If there's still part of the sheared off LBJ neck stuck in the LCA, remove the castle nut that holds the neck into the LCA, then press/ hammer up on the threaded portion of the neck to get it to pop out of the taper.

 

Thank you all. Going to set down and eat and drink something. I realize I left today without breakfast or anything and haven't eaten or drunk anything today while dealing with this. Feel like crap. I'll hit it tomorrow. I'm not sure what the possibility of getting parts is out here in MT in a timely manner but I will give it a shot. I will also take my floor jack and stands and get the truck up properly, its just laying dead in the parking lot of the fire department right now, resting on the wheel I took off.

Since there is nothing hold the hub to the truck anymore but the brake line and the tie-rod, I might just take it all off and take it home where I have a press.

 

That's the spirit. Again, I think the truck came out of this relatively unscathed and once you have a clearer mind and have another look to see what's entailed, you'll feel a lot better. If I was closer, we'd have your truck on it's way to the alignment shop in less than two hours.

Pitman arm puller works great for popping the LBJ out of the LCA taper instead of a press. Heat and penetrating oil if the tool is fighting you. A lot has to come off to get the LCA off the truck to put it in a press to push out the LBJ taper, plus if your LCA bolts are seized that adds another level to the mix in getting the LCAs off the truck.

Depending on the size of the Pitman arm puller, you can use it to press out the tie rod ends too. Otherwise I find the taper on the tie rods easier to break with just a hammer due to the direction you hammer on them.

Nothing on this should require an actual press and should be doable in a parking lot. Completely understandable why you wouldn't want to do any of this in the parking lot though.

 

You ask how this happened but never mention when any of these components were last serviced. My guess is a lack of maintenance. Glad you're all right and the truck looks undamaged, aside from the obvious.

 

Have you ever replaced those parts before they failed? I bet your lower ball joint failed first and took the upper with it. The LBJ is the known weakness on our trucks. I also remember you saying you have a very long and rough driveway. You use your truck as the Toyota gods intended but maintanence is required.

The good news is that you didn't do any permanent damage from what we can tell. Everything can be fixed better than it was before and you'll be able to keep driving her. Just don't cheap out on parts now and you should really do the driver side too if you've never replaced those parts.

I typically order from Serra Toyota of Birmingham. Toyota is having a sale that ends today. Also, free shipping over $75. Discount is applied at checkout.


https://autoparts.serratoyota.com/

 

He replaced both upper and lower ball joints back in 2019 from his past posts. Not sure if he went OEM or not. Maybe? @Aerindel is a smart guy; I would assume he did.

 

Glad your LBJ failure didn’t cause any bodily damage to you, other drivers, or apparently your truck. But bro. Come on. You’ve been on this site for years, you weren’t aware of the LBJ failures???? There’s no way you haven’t come across the gospel, the great commission, the holy trinity of FGTs!!!

Lower ball joints
Timing belts
Frame rust

 

I didn't catch that. His comments earlier in this thread made it same like he's not touched them and isn't familiar with them.

"I've done ball joints on other vehicles but these look a little different than what I'm used to."

 

He actually answered your question in the past where he used a pipe instead of a press to get the upper ball joints out.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/ball-joints-upper-and-lower.19733/page-2#post-1523747

 

OP... just curious, what load range of tires do you typically use?

 

@FirstGenVol Okay, now I see what you’re talking about. I’m unsure what he did or didn’t do if he doesn’t know what was installed.

 

From his 2nd reply:

“Not sure what brand the joints in it were. I do not think there was any slop at all in them before this.”

It would be extremely helpful for sake of posterity and other members’ safety, to know the answer. Were the 2019 replacements OEM, or aftermarket? I’m assuming he doesn’t know b/c someone else installed. And we all know, most shops don’t use OEM parts. So the answer may be inferred rather than confirmed.

 

@Aerindel , Regardless it sucks man. Many have been bitten by the poor design on these. Post up if you need any (virtual) help with them. Several threads also for part numbers and experiences if searched.

 

I think this is the first time I've read about it happening at highway speeds. Either that, or you are the first to live through it lol.

 

It's happened before. Another member had his fail and he lost control and smashed the center divider. Truck was a total loss.

 

Here's the PN for the brake lines.

 

Ouch..
My failure was due to the negligence of a mechanic.
It's a long story, but they failed to replace the cotter pin on the LCA spindle.
The nut vibrated off, and then I hit just the right bump to pop the spindle out of the LCA.
Traded the truck in after it was repaired..

Good luck..

 

Yup, should be a wakeup call for anyone why you proactively replace every 100k miles with OEM, and never use aftermarket. Like with @Aerindel, it happened suddenly, without warning, at interstate speeds - THIS is why people are so rabid about warning fellow owners to always use OEM joints, and never trust your local shop to install OEM if you're not doing the work yourself: https://www.tundras.com/threads/first-gen-lower-ball-joint-lbj-failures.141860/page-2#post-3571246

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I also want to add that jacking the truck and trying to visually see any slop is not the correct way to check for play in the lower ball joints. Half a millimeter is pretty small, and if you're able to see a lot of movement, it's probably outside the maximum spec already. If you want to properly check for play in the ball joints before the 100k replacement interval, you need a dial indicator to precisely measure the play.

 

Mine felt tight in the truck with the wheel on. Same for my front wheel bearings. Once removed from the truck, both had horrible slop and grinding. My LBJs were non-OEM ones I put on 7 years ago. Lucky to be alive.

 

That’s not much at all. No idea how someone could sense that by hand if at all.

 

I have never done the bottom joints. Previous owner did them about a year before I bought the truck. I do not know the brand. Blue rubber boot. I will be working on the truck today and if I can find out, I will let you know.

I had actually forgotten about the top ones until you found that post of mine, it being six years ago. I as pretty tired yesterday by the time I made it home.

As noted, the ball did not come out of the socket on the lower one, the shaft sheared off, the ball is still in place.