LBJ a concern? (2 Viewers)

[dstewart3ss]

Lower ball joints on new to me 2013 LC. I’ve looked across the forum and can’t come up with a confident assessment of my current situation. How bad or good do these look? So far there isn’t anything abnormal I’ve noticed while driving but I’ve only had it about a week.

 

[Sandroad]

If it was mine, I’d replace them, which as I recall from other threads will mean new lower control arms. And look carefully at the tie rod ends to make sure those grease boots are ok.

 

[bloc]

If they don't have any play I'd keep going on them, personally.

 

[linuxgod]

There’s surprisingly little grease in these, at least in the replacement LCAs that Toyota ships. I think these tend to seep a tiny amount of oil out and then any grime cakes onto them and makes them look worse than they are.

I would spray a little degreaser and rinse them off and then watch to see if you get a lot more grease and dirt on them. My guess is this is years of slight seepage and dirt, which is normal in my similar experience. If there’s no play or vibration over bumps and they’re not making noises you might get 100k more out of them.

 

[dstewart3ss]

There’s surprisingly little grease in these, at least in the replacement LCAs that Toyota ships. I think these tend to seep a tiny amount of oil out and then any grime cakes onto them and makes them look worse than they are.

I would spray a little degreaser and rinse them off and then watch to see if you get a lot more grease and dirt on them. My guess is this is years of slight seepage and dirt, which is normal in my similar experience. If there’s no play or vibration over bumps and they’re not making noises you might get 100k more out of them.

Really appreciate the detailed response here.

 

[Sandroad]

@bloc and @linuxgod have way more suspension experience than me, so ignore my suggestion to replace.

 

[linuxgod]

@bloc and @linuxgod have way more suspension experience than me, so ignore my suggestion to replace.

It does look very messy. And replace it was my gut response too. But having swapped these, I thought the new arms didn’t have any grease in the ball joint as they felt empty. The dealer confirmed for me they come pre-greased and don’t require much grease, so the amount of grungy crap I saw on mine (which looked similar) makes me think these somehow attract and retain road gunk.

FYI not sure the mileage on the vehicle the OP is looking at but mine went 150k without issue. I swapped my LCAs because the bushings had some wear and I was chasing a really annoying popping sound. I suspect for most people the LCAs will easily go 250k

 

[dstewart3ss]

It does look very messy. And replace it was my gut response too. But having swapped these, I thought the new arms didn’t have any grease in the ball joint as they felt empty. The dealer confirmed for me they come pre-greased and don’t require much grease, so the amount of grungy crap I saw on mine (which looked similar) makes me think these somehow attract and retain road gunk.

FYI not sure the mileage on the vehicle the OP is looking at but mine went 150k without issue. I swapped my LCAs because the bushings had some wear and I was chasing a really annoying popping sound. I suspect for most people the LCAs will easily go 250k

I’m right at 105k miles. Don’t believe previous owners ever offloaded.

I’m gonna clean the boots off well like you suggested and keep an eye on them.

In terms of checking for play, is it best to lift the front end and see if I notice any movement holding the wheel at 12/6 and then 3/9? Google searches advise using a pry bar on the LBJ itself but I don’t have one - will borrow from somewhere if that’s best way to check for play.