Upper ball joints

I have a feeling the answer is going to be yes but just to be 100%, do these upper ball joints look like they need to be replaced? If so do you all normally just replace that part or is this like a full upper control arm replacement thing?

 

It looks like there's grease/schmutz buildup. That's not a sign of failure/wear. That strut's shock body is f'n DEAD though.

The important part of the upper balljoint isn't visible, it's behind the boot. But there's a steel retainer ring holding the boot onto a lip, and if that thing comes off, it's a friggin bitch to get back on.

So how do we know if the upper balljoint is bad? There's a test you can do. This is an over-simplified version, push pull test at specific locations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M2D_XtuXZQ​

 

Yea I've got two brand new shocks ready to go in. Good to know on the junk buildup, I thought it lost all its grease.

Followup question, I'm replacing the calipers as part of this front end work but the little metal brake line that screws directly into the caliper is rounded off. Is this a dealer only item? It's the solid metal one, not the rubber one.

 

I just bought these (one for each side). Double check the p/n's for your VIN, but it should be:

Part Number Part Name
47315-0C020 Tube, Front Brake, No. 5
47318-0C020 Tube, Front Brake, No. 8

 

How much did they cost if you don't mind me asking.

 

I just looked them up at https://autoparts.toyota.com and they're running under $9/ea at MSRP, so probably $6-7 for pickup from a participating dealership if ordered thru that site. You'd need to check each dealership when adding to cart to see which has the best discount.

 

I've discovered Modern Toyota, which has much lower shipping for small items. The downside is it takes them several days longer than McGeorge, for example. But I saved ~ $10

Part Number Part Name Price Quantity Total
47315-0C020 Tube, Front Brake, No. 5 $7.50 1 $7.50
47318-0C020 Tube, Front Brake, No. 8 $7.50 1 $7.50
Subtotal:$15.00
Estimated Shipping via Standard Shipping:$7.58
Tax:$0.90
Total:$23.48

I always google "toyota xxxx-xxxx" and then check out the best results.

 

One side down, now on the second side and the caliper mounting bolts snapped right off. The snapped low enough that I could get the caliper but now I have a chunk of bolt in the bracket. I tried calling multiple parts stores but nobody carries it. Sounds like a dealer only item. Question is can I use a hardened bolt from lowes or home depot for caliper mounting bolts or is oem the only option? Does anyone know the hardness grade and thread size/length?

 

This is just one of the two bolts holding on the caliper right? If so, drill out the snapped bolt.

Yes, you can use a bolt from the store as a temporary, then replace with OEM on Monday when stealership is open. Bring the other good one with you.

And that's assuming you're not like me and other folks I know who keep buckets of old hardware laying around, and probably have something already...

 

Unfortunately I broke both caliper mounting bolts. Gotta love living in the rust belt. I'll just wait till Monday them since this is a secondary vehicle and it's up on jack stands. I was just hoping there was an easy to find replacement without having to go with oem. The brake line mounting bolt broke as well but I'm just going to use a standard bolt for that.

 

Is there a way to get the upper ball joints out without having to remove the knuckle?

 

In theory? Yes.

In practice? Not for me but I tried like hell for about 2 hours to figure out a way to make it happen. Then I broke down and spent about 8-10 minutes per side to pull the knuckle, which was hella easier than the couple hours of hell trying to fight with pressing out the UBJ out without removing the knuckle.

In this video, the guy manages to do it. Personally I was not capable of making this happen, this being the major issue. I'm sure if you take off enough stuff, you can make it happen. I needed it to happen faster, so I removed the knuckle, which is really, seriously, no big deal to remove.

Ultimately .... "you do you". I wish I would've listened to others on here and just removed the gd knuckle from the getgo. It's so much easier to install lifted coilover/strut this way anyhow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a29VKBcXgg0​

 

I just bought these cups to use with my generic ball joint tool. They fit perfectly! I'll let you all (all y'all?) know how they work out when I do the uppers.

Total Chaos #96005

 

Today I was able to get one of the caliper mounting bolts out with a cobalt drill bit and a left hand thread bolt out. When I was drilling out the second one, I snapped a small pilot cobalt drill bit off in the hole I was creating. This of course has turned into an even bigger mess. So I have one more attempt tomorrow with a carbide bit to make a hole so I can get the broken piece out. If that fails, I'll be taking the spindle off completely. I watched the videos for that process and I'm holding off because everything is rusted in that area, I fear snapping off more bolts. The broken caliper bolt saga continues....

 

This is why we hate rust...

 

Part of me hates it so much that I was to replace the entire front suspension but of course money is a factor. Got those rusty ass shocks out though. Nothing like watching that center nut spin knowing it's doing nothing but turning the inside of the shock.

 

My local dealer didn't have the part in stock, but all the tundras / tacos us them. Found a couple that were close enough. I would check the local dealer, mine were $2 a piece.

 

For DIYers tackling this job. Below are some tips I gathered that helped me during my LBJ (OEM), UBJ (OEM) and sway bar end links (SuspensionMAXX SMX-1222260T) install/removal.

- Loosen the axle nut (36mm) I removed it and rethreaded it a couple of turns. This allows you to pull the spindle out far enough so you may use the upper ball joint service tool for removal just beyond your fender.
.

- used a tie rod/inner bearing race puller to break free the ball joint from UCA. Leave the nut in so nothing goes flying.

- cleaned up all the lubricant and used an angle grinder with cutoff wheel to cut the old ball joint so you’re able to have a flat surface to push the old ball joint out.
Pic I saved from an old post.


-Ball joint orientation to push the new ball joint in.
Pic I saved from an old post.


- other helpful pics
hammer was there only for a plan B that would be within reach lol.


Helpful tools that go on sale all the time at harbor freight or you may rent them from a local automotive shop:

Helpful Torque specs:

• Upper ball joint: 77 ft/lbs
• Caliper bolts: 90 ft/lbs
• Axle nut: 173 ft/lbs
• Lower ball joint to LCA: 103 ft/lbs
• Lower ball joint 4 bolts: 59 ft/lbs (ARP-663-1004)
• Tie rod end: 67 ft/lbs

 

Yeah, but...if you're going to crack the axle nut you may as well just pop the spindle off on do it on a bench (IMHO)

 

I mentioned this in another thread, but this is the one thing that would've made it possible: Cutting the spindle off the UBJ. I could've 100% done it with everything installed. But I decided the effort of grinding and loosening up the axle was just as much time as pulling the knuckle.

Agree. But it's also cool seeing how other folks found a way to work. I can't remember where I saw the UBJ-spindle-chop. I want to say it was on TW or TS forum, but ...

 

It was TS post years back. That’s where I saved the pics from.

Yeah I could have thrown it on a bench. But it was only about 10 minutes of work to cut it in place and press the ball joint in.