Upper Control Arms Ball Joints - Destroyed

[Utahfj62]

Title says it all. Re-booting my CV joints this weekend and when I tore the front end apart I discovered the ball joints in the upper control arms were shot - beyond just a little wear. One of them you can almost pull completely out.

Basically, the boots were torn at some point and dirt, grime, water and salt got in there and destroyed them. I couldn't bring myself to put down a cool grand for JT's arms so I replaced them with OEM - which was almost as much but not quite.

Fun weekend - still haven't told the how much the new arms were - and I'll be putting a new steering rack in on Tuesday.......my wallet hurts. But it's all in prep for 4 days in Moab starting Thursday - which will make up for the wallet pain.

 

[1loudLX]

NOT good. Enjoy Moab for us.

 

[Bjordnolf]

Are the joints not replaceable?
thanks

 

[Utahfj62]

Are the joints not replaceable?
thanks

Upper ball joints not serviceable - you can't replace them they are pressed into the arms.

THe lowers are held in with a c-clip - they are serviceable - you can replace them - there are a couple of threads on that topic. I'm going to replace my lower ball joints within the year. That will be a entire new front end.

I just put 120 miles on the new arms and joints this afternoon/evening. I'm amazed at how much better it handles. One of those things - you don't notice how sloppy the steering had gotten until it is replaced. I'm sure it will be even better after the new rack and pinion and tie rod ends that are going on Tuesday night.

 

[Texasoil]

Looks like those boots are an important part for Regular Inspection after EVERY off-road or extreme suspension movement incident. The boots should not have torn like that.

 

[spressomon]

You can get, from Toyota, a ball joint boot/rebuild kit for cheap. I've installed the ball joint kit after ripping a boot and the kits have extended the life of my ball joints. I don't know if they offer the same for the UCA or not but worth checking out.

 

[OursSauvage]

You can find aftermarket ball joint for the LC100
You need a basic 20ton shop press
But, acording to one of my buddy whos change them frequently (third LC100, hundreds of thousand kilometers through Africa with heavy load), no more than three time, the upper arm is not strong enoug to pass trough 4 ball joint replacements

 

[Utahfj62]

I have stock UCA off my 2005.
You want to buy for a good deal?

Where were you a week ago!?

I already put the two BRAND NEW arms in - and a new steering rack last night. Just got it aligned today - and WOW - its like driving a new truck.

No way in hell - I'm tearing those things out again and I'll sell the truck before I replace a steering rack again. That was a 10+ job.

 

[Elijah]

Utahfj62,
Did you need any special tools to do the job or special knowledge, etc.? Is 200 bucks to get it done at the dealership worth it in your opinion? I'd like to do it myself but after seeing this it sounds pretty bad. You seem to be a bit of a DIYer as well, so this has me second guessing if I should do it.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

You can find aftermarket ball joint for the LC100
You need a basic 20ton shop press
But, acording to one of my buddy whos change them frequently (third LC100, hundreds of thousand kilometers through Africa with heavy load), no more than three time, the upper arm is not strong enoug to pass trough 4 ball joint replacements

Can you provide more info on your aftermarket fit? Link?

 

[OursSauvage]

On a french yahoo list, a guy wrote:

Pour info les rotules chez Euro... sont à 176 euros, j'ai eu la mienne à 90 euros livrée chez P.4x4. J'ai même trouvé encore moins cher (55 euros ttc)

He found these parts in 3 places
Euro4x4parts.com 4x4 parts Pièces 4x4 Recambios 4x4 176€ each = 255us$
P.4x4 90€ 130us$ (price include shipping he paid)
don't know who yet 55€ 80us$

I ask him to give me more details... who's the 55€ dealer and who's p4x4 (I guess it's Paris4x4.com, but not sure)

Prices always include taxes (usually mentionned as "TTC", execpt if "HT" or "hors taxes" is mentionned
The sale tax is 19.6% (ttc price divided by 1.196= without tax)

I'll give you all détails as soon as I'll get them
If you're interested, I'd be glad to help you ordering them (help... for free, of course)

 

[NMuzj100]

How close is the Tundra upper ball joint to the 100 ? Edit - Later determined that these will not work.

Toyota Tundra Ball Joint & Tie Rod - Mevotech, Moog - 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000

Ebay listing for a set of upper ball joints for a LX470 - (B010132) is this a part # ?

 

[100 TD]

I've previously seen the eBay listing for the upper LC100/LX470 ball joints, at $23ea delivered they seem cheap enough (like they should be), however I'd like to see some buy and fit them to see if they are correct!
I would actually like like to modify the arms a bit as well......... maybe some old arms first...........

 

[OursSauvage]

.../...
Euro4x4parts.com 4x4 parts Pièces 4x4 Recambios 4x4 176€ each = 255us$
.../...

BTW, this same dealer sells a diff drop kit at...495 €, 720$

 

[1loudLX]

Where were you a week ago!?

I already put the two BRAND NEW arms in - and a new steering rack last night. Just got it aligned today - and WOW - its like driving a new truck.

No way in hell - I'm tearing those things out again and I'll sell the truck before I replace a steering rack again. That was a 10+ job.

Thats why you get friends in high places at dealerships to do it for you.

 

[Utahfj62]

How close is the Tundra upper ball joint to the 100 ?

Toyota Tundra Ball Joint & Tie Rod - Mevotech, Moog - 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000

Ebay listing for a set of upper ball joints for a LX470 - (B010132) is this a part # ?

I've previously seen the eBay listing for the upper LC100/LX470 ball joints, at $23ea delivered they seem cheap enough (like they should be), however I'd like to see some buy and fit them to see if they are correct!
I would actually like like to modify the arms a bit as well......... maybe some old arms first...........

For $23 I may have to pick one of these up and see if I can get it into my old control arms. It would be great to have another replacement set in 170K miles when they have to be replaced again.

 

[AATLAS1X]

Digging up an old thread as I am dead tired of reading..

So the upper ball joints are NOT serviceable, correct?

I have the OME on all 4 corners, cranked torsion bars and Slee diff drop, what are my options for my front end?



Best,

Shane

 

[vxlc80]

Digging up an old thread as I am dead tired of reading..

So the upper ball joints are NOT serviceable, correct?

I have the OME on all 4 corners, cranked torsion bars and Slee diff drop, what are my options for my front end?



Best,

Shane

i replaced mine with 555 replacement brand part number SB3841 same upper ball joint with land cruiser prado 120 or maybe gx470?

 

[AATLAS1X]

Uppers 2 FRONT Upper Ball Joint Set TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 98-08: eBay Motors (item 390099845142 end time Jul-25-10 18:58:30 PDT)

Or should I replace the whole arm as I don't think the bushings are serviceable?

Lowers 2 FRONT Lower Ball Joint For TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 98-08: eBay Motors (item 320424079436 end time Jul-10-10 19:55:10 PDT)

 

[Bighead]

Are those uppers in the link Toyota or aftermarket ball joints? The advertisement says "Part Brand: OEM AFTER MARKET".