Upper and lower ball joint failure help,

2004 DBL cab Prerunner 3.4L 2wd.

My passenger side wheel caved in after going over my neighborhood's gate tracks at 10mph, there was some black ice past the tracks and the wheel wanted to turn right and I slowly corrected left then it failed and caved in.

I knew there was a small amount of play in the LBJ from my last oil change but I didn't know it was significant enough to fail like that, lesson learned.

Moving forward I'm looking for advice for the best plan to attack this, I've seen the baja Taco thread and a few how to's/other threads here, but it doesn't hurt to recieve individualized input either in my opinion.

From the pics it looks like both the upper and lower joint are done, and the top of my ABS wire as well, and possibly my brake line.

I know OEM is best however I'm on a budget and need to get this done quickly so I went with 555's, I don't need any further opinions on this they're already ordered: X2 UBJ's, X2 LBJ's, X2 Outer Tie rods w/nuts, and a kit of upper/lower poly bushings from Low Range Offroad.

I'd like new bolts as well for the LBJ's but I can't find anywhere other than a dealership that has the 90119-10933, which I'm still trying to confirm are correct instead of the flange head versions. If I go to a stealership in person will they sell them to me?

Any write ups on replacing or repairing a severed ABS wire?

What order would you do the work in, and what special tools will I need?

Can you use a pitman puller to press the joints back in or will I need another special tool?

Tips on the bushings removal/install?

Any input here is appreciated, I'm not a mechanic by any means but with YouTube and you guys I've managed to do a lot of work myself and I'd like to do this myself as well. Slow and easy.

 

Hate when that happens!!
I followed the BajaTaco instructions when I replaced both upper & lower lbj’s. I didn’t have any trouble. Pretty easy really.
While you’re under your truck might as well replace the steering rack bushings and inner/outer tie rod ends too.
Good luck!!
BTW: go OEM or at least 555

 

Ouch-
wanted to answer your bolt question- the bolts are one time use and only OEM should be used as they are a higher grade metric bolt (and I believe they are flanged). I'm not sure on the part number though, my OEM joints came with them. When I replaced my CV joints I used new bolts and bought them at the dealer easily, they were like $1/each which is reasonable. You need to torque them to spec and blue loctite them as well. They literally hold up your truck so this is not the spot to be making shortcuts!

 

I have a picture of my 98 that looks just like that Does suck. Check out lowrangeoffroad for ball joints. Good place to get the 555. OEM lowers are the moneys man. Probably cost even more today than they did a week ago...

 

This happened to my driver side on Christmas morning. Don’t know which one went first, but both upper and lower were toast. Ripped my brake line in half as well. Also tore the boot on my tie rod end. I took the entire assembly out and pounded out the upper with a hammer. Rented a press from autozone to get the new upper in. It’s difficult because the press does not fit our trucks properly, but it will work. The tough part about my lower was that it landed on the castle nut for the lower ball joint and slid and grinded it down for 40 feet (I was accelerating on to the freeway when it happened.) I had to use a grinder to cut away the rest of the castle nut to remove and replace the lower. Check your brake line brackets, mine bent and had to be bent back. It looks like a lot of work but all in all it was a couple hour job. I’m sure you’re planning on it, but make sure you replace both sides.

 

wow... just wondering how many miles they usually last?

 

My truck went 213k on the originals. They obviously should have been changed out much earlier.

 

BREAKING NEWS: the replacement interval is 100,000 miles for OEM ball joints. They are a normal wear item, like brake pads. it doesn't matter what badge is on the grille, any vehicle with IFS can have this specific failure. But Tacoma bros think they're exempt from performing routine maintenance because "Toyotas are reliable."

 

Better to replace them around 100k depending on use than to have them fail.

 

i have 126k miles on my tacoma. I was inspecting front tires and foud that inner part of thread has more wear... i think my lower ball joints are worn.

 

Some are flanged some are a captured washer. They can be found at hardware stores though the head of the bolt will likely be bigger. I think they are 12.9. They are not torque to yield bolts so I often reuse them if the threads are still in great shape. Wire wheel them and I use red Loctite and torque to spec.

OEM for me last 5k miles. I'm not kind to my truck though. Have them checked often and any sign of play replace them.



@Trex33 you will want a ball joint press to remove the upper ball joint.

 

Sucks to hear this happened to your truck. But when I saw that picture of your truck I recognized it right away.
Is this you?? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nULox0-_wuM

 

I like to do balljoints every 60,000 - no matter the vehicle.

I like the your rigs' colors!

 

Welp, this just happened to me, while i was driving at about 55mph yesterday. Steering felt funny all day yesterday and I thought it was low air in one of my tires or a problem with the rack and pinion steering again (I had it replaced 3 times in the last 6 months), and then suddenly BANG, like a gunshot in the cab of my truck. Wheel folded under the frame and I slid without brakes or steering for a few hundred feet.

 

Anyone remember what the oems LBJs go for off the top of their head??

 

I paid $224 for the set at Toyota of Louisville.

 

Sheesh

 

Sure is! Scotty was a character man, but Tacos aren't surviving any apocalypse if their LBJ's are failing like mine did lol.

Thanks! Did it myself over the course of 3 days. Tintable Raptor liner, had TASCO mix up the base color which was "Chrysler Anvil" and the black trim is "GM Black".

Parts came in today, still need to hit the stealership for bolts, and I still need to figure out the ABS wire. Does anyone have experience with that? Is it just a replace or can those be repaired? Should be in the pictures near the top where it's severed.

Thanks for all the replies guys, been lots of help!

 

The problem with BajaTaco's methods is 1) it's like 10 years old, and 2) you can go rent the proper balljoint press for FREE from most auto parts stores so there's little reason to jerryrig a tool. Also 3 jaw pullers suck ass. Again it works, but I ended up having to wrap a bunch of bailing wire around the 3 jaws to keep them from popping off all the time.

I still use the pitman arm puller for the tie rod and the lower balljoint. Just get the proper tool. It's SOOOO much easier.