uHu
Bridgeburner
No need to take the UCA out first. That's the beauty of that little clamp-press.
Can you replace upper and lower ball joints???
- Thread starter Agent T
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Man, I tried and tried to do it in the wheel well, but I could not get the press to fit properly with the knuckle and axle shaft still in position. Which was kind of a blessing since the ball joint had a hard time going in straight and needed some persuasion to fit squarely. Really, with the tire removed the upper control arm only takes about 10 minutes to remove.
Bumping a slightly old thread. My 235k mike cruiser needs some service with the front suspension system. There are some good recommendations here and I’m learning from them. Basically, it i can gather a list of items to replace from this thread, and OEM seems to be what is recommended if the suspension will remain stock, ie not lifted. Is there a better comprehensive thread? I could not find one while searching via google. Also, is there a good resource to lists and shows all the parts and their role in an IFS? Thanks!
I too would be interested in a definitive thread.
Same here, I have one bad lower ball joint and one bad inner tie rod end on my 01. Figure I might as well go ahead and look at doing as much as I should while I’m at it.
Been reading older threads and making a parts list.
Been reading older threads and making a parts list.
2001LC
SILVER Star
FWIW: Since this thread was create, I have R&R upper in place. Trick is to walk out ball joint. Work the tool form side to side, without a cup of tool on bottom.
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Inspecting a 100 series for "LEAKS" "Yeaks"
What was the cause of the spark plugs walking out of the head? Improper installation torque? Bad threads?
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gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
2001LC
SILVER Star
Just like walking, we step with left foot than right. In kit I used, which is same as pictured above. The kit doesn't have a cup that fit UCA ball joint in place. So use the screw end of tool bare. Place bare end on bottom of one side (say left) of ball joint. Crank CW tool screw end bare, with cup on top side to press ball joint into. Then move bare tool screw part to other side (say right) of ball joint. keep moving from left to right, walking out ball joint, a little at a time.
Basically the tool be set up the same as seen above, which is pressing in a new ball joint. Only to remove, it is without the large long cup on bottom (bare).
Basically the tool be set up the same as seen above, which is pressing in a new ball joint. Only to remove, it is without the large long cup on bottom (bare).
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
Ok thanks, that is what I thought you meant but wanted to make sure. None of the cups were small enough to fit the top side of the ball joint to press it down with another appropriately sized cup underneath (like above). Makes sense.
I can tell you that using anything else does not work, either! I did not think of the walking trick. I tried bits of pipe, bearing races, large hitch nuts...anything I had laying around, the main reason was that the C part of the press is not big enough to hold 2 sleeves and 2 caps. The rental I got only has 3 sleeves, and can't even get the lower bushings pressed in with it. Heading out to rent the master kit tomorrow. They're "free" but it's a 53 mile round trip into town and back... If they were my tools, I would have customized the sleeves to size - but these joints seem to be extremely long...
After a big fight getting my LBJ to release the knuckle I was short on patience for another problem.
Tried the walking out method a few times without success.
Pulled out my angle grinder and took off the stem of the UBJ.
Once that was out of the way, I could easily use my desired fitting ( HF Maddox press kit )
1 minute of grinding and another 3 minutes pressing it out.
Tried the walking out method a few times without success.
Pulled out my angle grinder and took off the stem of the UBJ.
Once that was out of the way, I could easily use my desired fitting ( HF Maddox press kit )
1 minute of grinding and another 3 minutes pressing it out.
After being skunked for a couple hours, the UBJs finally came out with the walking method in just a few minutes. The biggest issue seems to be a press big enough to handle tubes on both ends, since the ball joints are so long. I found that renting the “master kit” was helpful in getting better sizes, but diameter and length were still both issues. And the master kit is only spacers and tubes. Autozone gives you 90 days, too. When installing the LBJs the tube that just fit over the pre-installed boots ended up slipping over the outside of the metal, and getting stuck when pressed. Holding the tube against one side did not help at all when hammering with a 4 pounder. My solution was removing the boots carefully and using a slightly smaller tube that seated much better without the boot in the way. The biggest challenge was removing and reinstalling those pesky spring clips on the top of the boots. I used an old, small, dull putty knife with enough edge to get under the spring, without being sharp enough to cut the rubber. Had I read this thread PRIOR to starting, I would have knocked 2-3 hours off the work, maybe more. The only thing easy in this whole job was knocking out the old LBJs. But $600+ in my wallet vs. paying someone else still feels worth it. I would have taken it for a drive today, but when getting ready to install the CVs, I noticed my diff came back missing a seal. Should get that tomorrow.
This is what I did as well. Made a huge difference. 2nd side went a lot faster than first after figuring out all the tricks. Nice to save the money but man was this job a pain. Felt real good when it was done tho.
Are the upper and lower ball joints identical part numbers? Some are listed just as front whereas others are lower/upper specific.
No, they are completely different.
Actual part numbers and links to source said part numbers as well as the bushings would be greatly appreciated.
Toyota doesn’t sell the ball joints separately. You’ll have to get the whole arm assembly.
You can buy just the ball joints. Maybe not from Toyota directly but you can buy them. It's been 2 years since I did mine so I can't recall where I got mine from.
