Something a local mechanic said...."pressing out the ball joints."

You may be able to run a die over those threads and clean them up fairly easily. Don't know the thread though.

 

Oh? It figures!

Was going to let the shop do that one. All I had in mind to do myself was the LBJs and (um, now) the outer tie rods.

 

Got the passenger side LBJ off! Much easier than the other side, things weren't on so tight.

No damage to threads this time but the tie rod's boot is pretty ragged.

Will put the new LBJ's on when the new (OEM) tie rod get here from Ourisman Toyota of Richmond, VA.

 

Ourisman sent out an email today about 20% off sale

 

Thanks man, I saw a discount on their website too.

Might go on and order the rest of the parts I need tonight.

Hope to get her ready to run by winter.

 

Update, have two "decent weather" days left this week. Time to put the tie rods and LBJ's on!

Question: these off round numbers...."61 Foot Pounds" for LBJ screws.....is 60 Foot Pounds good enough?

Should I buy a Digital torque wrench from Harbor Freight?

 

What bolts did you get? Torque should be either 59 ft-lbs or 37 ft-lbs with black bolts.

 

Don't have the parts number in hand but came from Ourisman Toyota of Richmond when I bought the new LBJ's. OEM Toyota for sure.

Getting slightly different torque numbers from different members of this site.

 

2006 OEM bolts should be 59 ft-lbs. There are some typos in the FSM

 

59 vs 60 vs 61 shouldn't make much of a difference. There will be a far greater difference between a shitty torque wrench and a decent one. I don't know anyone who uses a digital wrench, though I'm sure there are plenty out there. I high quality 'click' style wrench will do it, and seems to be what most use. But there's no reason to be fudging things here. It's really no harder to set a torque wrench to 61 than 60. Why try to round? Best assume Toyota didn't round for a reason. They chose the torque based on it being the proper torque. I see no benefit, time savings, or any less frustration in rounding off torque specs vs just using the recommended spec.

 

Thanks guys.

Two last questions:

1). Red or blue loctite on the 4 bolts?

2). Which side is which? I had to remove the old LBJ's some weeks ago and couldn't put the new ones on till today. I notice there isn't much difference between the two although I am sure there are! (Packages are not marked as to which side).

Which ball joint goes on which side?

 

Check your bolts some have loctite from factory. Black one don’t.
Use blue and only a bit on the end threads. Red requires a torch to remove

 

And be careful when you undo the castle nut and separate the spindle from LCA. There is a lot of spring pressure and you don’t want to get hurt. Be sure to support it with a jack.

 

Never mind....looked back at parts numbers on Ourisman website and assuming "left" means "driver side" I should be OK. Double checked with video linked by a member on page 1 of this thread so I think I have the correct sides.

Just bought some blue loctite. About to give it a go!

 

Problem: one bolt is not going all the way in. It's torqued to 61 Ft Lbs but not all the way in.

 

That gap is exactly the length of a washer. Without knowing the length of the shank on the bolt, I can't tell you if it's the right bolt. It's entirely possible the dealership gave you the wrong bolt. In which case, stopgap, I'd reinstall the old bolts temporarily just to motor thru the job.

What part number did you order for bolt?
What part number for LBJ?

Bolt looks to be the right color, I can't recall if my LBJ had that recess though.

 

No time to wait for a reply---just tightened with a cheater bar until that bolt was flush.

Sorry not to wait for you Shifty....dark comes fast here and plus I'm in a valley...truck parked outside. Will ask the shop about it when I get her rollbacked in.

 

DRIVER'S SIDE LBJ IS ON!

Could not loosen lock nut on tie rod but did center the steering wheel.

Tomorrow going for passenger side.

 

It was probably rust on the last few internal threads causing that bolt to bind up prematurely. I had the same issue when replacing my front brake calipers. Run a thread tap through it first or a wire brush to clear out the rust.

This little kit works perfectly:

 

Instead of a tap which removes material to cut threads, use a thread chaser which just cleans out existing threads.


Edit: you can make a thread chaser out of a bolt if need be. Just cut a line straight up & down a bolt with the correct thread size/pitch (across the threads) with a dremel.

 

JOB IS DONE.

THE GOOD:

Both lower ball joints are in along with driver's outer tie rod. Steering wheel centered. Front wheels (finally) back on. TRUCK IS NO LONGER UP ON BLOCKS.

THE BAD:

Passenger side tie rod lock nut would not come loose. I don't think dad was torching it long enough (he later agreed). Further, when putting the castle nut back on, the threaded shaft freewheeled. So we put on a few washers, put in a cotter pin, and I'll let the shop worry about it.

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement. I learned a lot.......like to not use hand tools again, but to buy compact power torque drivers and to build a garage with a lift! Next time I'll let the shop handle this.

 

Tie rod shaft spins, yes. Doesn't take much pressure to get it to stop spinning. I put a jack under it to compress it just enough to stop it from spinning, then it's pretty easy to get the nut to snug down.

PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench for days leading up to any job is always a good idea, even in fairly rust-free areas.

Nice work.

 

Oh? So I can still get a nut on that tie rod?

I have several days before I call for the rollback to haul her to the shop, I'll see if I can try the jack idea, thanks.

 

Only way I've ever been able to get the castle nut on the tie rod is by putting a bottle jack under it and jacking, a bit at a time, until it stops spinning when you try to get the nut on.

 

Well no harm has been done. Once the rain and snow(!) storm is over I'll jack the truck up again and try that.

Thanks guys!

I called the stealership I plan to take it to and they were down with the big list of repairs I read off. Also OK with them using my OEM parts and it being rollbacked in and pushed into the shop.

So...hopefully next week I can get the repairs done and start driving this thing! Once it's on the road I'll put my GMC into the shop to repair the deer hit damage.