Front lower ball joint leaking grease EDIT: also upper ball joint (1 Viewer)

[kcjaz]

Not exactly sure what this part is called. It’s the ball joint in the front lower control arm. I noticed both sides are leaking grease. Is there a way to add grease to these? I don’t see any zerk fitting. Maybe use a grease needle? Or do I need to replace these ball joints?

 

[CharlieS]

I don't think those ball joints are meant to be greaseable, but I like your needle idea. I suspect it is leaking from the lift and extreme duty offroad use. I wouldn't worry about that little amount of grease.

 

[kevinfoutch]

I used a needle and sealed up the hole with some goo from Oreillys (can’t recall exact product) and has been holding up quite well over last 5k miles. Was worried about further leaks but so far nothing I’ve seen.

 

[kcjaz]

I don't think those ball joints are meant to be greaseable, but I like your needle idea. I suspect it is leaking from the lift and extreme duty offroad use. I wouldn't worry about that little amount of grease.

Yeah I’m pretty sure it lift and pounding over rocks. I’ll see if I can get a needle in there.

 

[kcjaz]

I used a needle and sealed up the hole with some goo from Oreillys (can’t recall exact product) and has been holding up quite well over last 5k miles. Was worried about further leaks but so far nothing I’ve seen.

RTV goo? I was thinking of just trying to get the needle under the seal to pump some grease in.

 

[bloc]

Personally what's in the pictures wouldn't bother me at all. Indication you are using the truck as intended. There is enough grease in there still to do the job.. just drive it and in 50k miles check your knuckles for play.

Also it's called the lower ball joint, aka LBJ, like the president. No idea why that's relevant.

 

[linuxgod]

Personally what's in the pictures wouldn't bother me at all. Indication you are using the truck as intended. There is enough grease in there still to do the job.. just drive it and in 50k miles check your knuckles for play.

Also it's called the lower ball joint, aka LBJ, like the president. No idea why that's relevant.

LBJ. Or as those in Mexico referred to him, "El BJ"

 

[TLC2013]

@kcjaz glad to see this thread, I have also been seeing consistent grease from both driver and passenger side LBJs. Like others have said it seems worse after wheeling hard in the rocks. Recently I noticed it was getting more noticeable even after daily driving around town. swapped out the LBJs for new LBJs from Senkei 555. That was a nightmare of a job that i won't try and tackle again. Now I am wondering if this was even necessary, both original LBJ and knuckle were still solid after 106,000 miles, just oozing lots of grease.

 

[kcjaz]

How do you know if you still have enough grease in there? Do you just use a calibrated finger to measure the "feel" of the rubber dust cover, like "medium rare" on a steak?

 

[linuxgod]

How do you know if you still have enough grease in there? Do you just use a calibrated finger to measure the "feel" of the rubber dust cover, like "medium rare" on a steak?

Since they're not greaseable, just run it until it starts to clunk or develop play?

 

[RET2]

IMHO I'd replace it soon as it's convienent. Murphy's law says... Besides parts maybe hard to come by in BFE.

 

[linuxgod]

IMHO I'd replace it soon as it's convienent. Murphy's law says... Besides parts maybe hard to come by in BFE.

Mine have had a small amount of grease at the bottom for ages, probably 40k miles? They're still tight as a drum at 121k - no play, no noise. I'm not entirely sure that new ones won't have the same grease spurt in short order if they're going onto a lifted truck.

If you're paying a dealer to swap the LCAs it's probably $1000 all-in especially if your LCA cams are frozen and need to be cut off. I'm a fan of preventative maintenance but the ball joints will give you some warning. If you hear any clunking or get any vibration particularly at certain highway speeds then yeah I'd just swap the LCAs out. Not saying don't do it, just that after 100k miles we can all PM the crap out of our rigs and spend $10k+ on stuff which might've run for years. Then again I haven't done my water pump or starter yet either so I expect both will go out on me tomorrow when the temps get into the 20s.

 

[bloc]

Plus, with our chassis Toyota fixed the issue of early Tacoma/4Runner LBJs separating when worn out due to the suspension putting them in tension to support the weight of the truck. Ours are in compression so even if they wear out the vehicle is holding them in place.

You’ll start to see alignment issues or clunking/banging well before they become any kind of safety issue.

Mine had grease similar to the first picture when I bought it at 105k miles. Just ticked over 170 and they are just as tight as when I bought it. Our suspension is very robust and can deal with a tiny bit of missing grease without issue.

Now, orange dust coming out of the boot indicating corrosion? That’s a different story.

 

[kcjaz]

Mine have had a small amount of grease at the bottom for ages, probably 40k miles? They're still tight as a drum at 121k - no play, no noise. I'm not entirely sure that new ones won't have the same grease spurt in short order if they're going onto a lifted truck.

If you're paying a dealer to swap the LCAs it's probably $1000 all-in especially if your LCA cams are frozen and need to be cut off. I'm a fan of preventative maintenance but the ball joints will give you some warning. If you hear any clunking or get any vibration particularly at certain highway speeds then yeah I'd just swap the LCAs out. Not saying don't do it, just that after 100k miles we can all PM the crap out of our rigs and spend $10k+ on stuff which might've run for years. Then again I haven't done my water pump or starter yet either so I expect both will go out on me tomorrow when the temps get into the 20s.

so if there were some play or noises, you'd swap the whole LCA and not just the LBJ? Looks like you can buy just that part.

Edit: Not sure if you can really get OEM LBJs. The only thing I can find are some ball joints from Moog. Appears that Tundra ball joints may work too (or at least the Moog ball joints fit both). The Moog ball joints appear to be greaseable. Maybe that is an upgrade that makes sense for lifted 200s.

 

[linuxgod]

so if there were some play or noises, you'd swap the whole LCA and not just the LBJ? Looks like you can buy just that part.

Edit: Not sure if you can really get OEM LBJs. The only thing I can find are some ball joints from Moog. Appears that Tundra ball joints may work too (or at least the Moog ball joints fit both). The Moog ball joints appear to be greaseable. Maybe that is an upgrade that makes sense for lifted 200s.

Yes I'd just swap the whole thing, but for me it's mostly a time thing. Pretty sure @cruiseroutfit sells the ball joint separately if you want to go that route though. I don't have the tools to press them in and out, but I do have the tools to just swap the LCAs (just wrenches, sockets, and a BFH) which I could do in a couple hours. If I was going to R&R the existing ones I'd have to take them to a shop to get the old ones out and new ones pressed in. Plus doing a full LCA swap gets you new bushings which you might as well swap while the LCAs are out anyway. Plus if your cam bolts are frozen you're going to have to cut sh*t apart to get the old LCAs off so you can do the ball joint.

Side note: I actually bought a set of LCAs for ~$600 as I thought my cams were frozen (per the "highly rated" alignment shop down the street), but it turned out the moron there had just rotated the cam too far somehow so his adjustments were doing **** all. Ultimately ended up applying anti-seize to the cam bolts and returning the LCAs.

 

[Climbingnut]

I’ve got the same weeping from my LBJ’s. I bought some 555 LBJ’s from @cruiseroutfit to be safe. From what I understand though, removal shouldn’t require a large hydraulic shop press. I’ve seen plenty of video’s with guys using a C-shape ball joint removal tool you can rent from Autozone, Napa and others. Granted, they’ve not been on a 200 series, but rather on Tacoma’s or Tundra’s. Still, I’d think that one could leave the LCA in place, and swap the LBJ’s with just that tool a breaker bar and your standard wrenches and sockets. Either way, if I was in the USA, I’d wait until I could hear noise or feel play when moving my wheel side to side. Likely when the LBJ has play, it’s time for new tie rod ends and a new UBJ too.

 

[bloc]

I’ve got the same weeping from my LBJ’s. I bought some 555 LBJ’s from @cruiseroutfit to be safe. From what I understand though, removal shouldn’t require a large hydraulic shop press. I’ve seen plenty of video’s with guys using a C-shape ball joint removal tool you can rent from Autozone, Napa and others. Granted, they’ve not been on a 200 series, but rather on Tacoma’s or Tundra’s. Still, I’d think that one could leave the LCA in place, and swap the LBJ’s with just that tool a breaker bar and your standard wrenches and sockets. Either way, if I was in the USA, I’d wait until I could hear noise or feel play when moving my wheel side to side. Likely when the LBJ has play, it’s time for new tie rod ends and a new UBJ too.

Totally anecdotal, but I used that tool on the UBJ of a friend's first-gen tacoma and decided right there I'd never do that job again without a shop press. And the 200 parts are much bigger.

 

[TLC2013]

After the dumpster fire of attempting to remove the LBJ with those C-clamp press tools, ill never attempt that on my 200 again. Used mutliple kits and still couldnt get a decent fit with a combination of adapters. Even with 30" breaker bar and pole extension it was fruitless.Ended up having my mechanic use a press to install the 555 LBJs. Also replaced my tie rod ends at the same time. In hindsight i would have waited for the ball joints to fail and then do all new lower control arms.

 

[Climbingnut]

Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you guys, but that doesn’t mean it is anecdotal, nor should be dismissed. Here’s a youtube vid of a guy doing it on his 100 series, which looks to be about the same size ball joint as on our 200’s. . I have no doubt that success using these tools varies and likely depends on a number of things, but still worth a mention. Good luck @kcjaz how every you decide to go!

 

[kcjaz]

Doing some other things to the LC and took the passenger wheel off for access and got a good look at the upper ball joint. Clearly oozing grease. The UCAs are SPC so the ball joints are greasable. Is this also pretty normal? Perhaps I over greased them at some point? How do you really know when to stop pumping in grease?