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Lower Ball Joints
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Curious.... I know you decided to reboot yours when you had a torn boot, rust, etc. Also, reading some of your other post about the lower ball joint you had some pretty negative affects. After the reboot you said they were holding up great. Have you since replaced the entire LBJ?
After my trip to Baja last week, I started getting an awful squeak when I turned to the left. And only to the left. At first I thought it was the Uni-ball on my TC UCA. But after numerous attempts to lube it, it never went away. I crawled under there today looking at steering rack components and connections (just had a new rack put in almost 4 weeks ago and noticed both lower ball joint boots are torn. Not sure if it happened off road or when the new rack went in. Sucks because I just rebooted both about 9 months ago. So, now I am wondering if it is worth it to reboot again (I hope so) or is it time to attempt a new ball joint or all new LCA.....
Also, since I had the new rack put in everything feels tight with no play. But when I am off road on wash boards, I get some heavy feed back in the steering wheel. It is almost audible and you definitely feel it. At first I thought the connection between the rack and steering wheel might be loose. But, I checked all the connections for the new rack and everything appears tight ( I didnt put a wrench on anything). Again, I only feel this when off-road with washboard and lots of vibrations. On road, everything is tight and smooth. Could this be a ball joint issue? or a result of the poly bushings? I definitely did not have this type of feedback before the new rack and poly bushings....
Man I am really getting tired of chasing squeaks and vibrations on this damn thing.....
^^^ FWIW: You have 4 spherical bearing surfaces to keep lubed apart of those aftermarket UCAs. So if you just lubed the top side of the bearings get underneath and squirt the lower sides too. When I ran that type of UCA I had to lube the bearing surfaces, to keep them quiet, sometimes every couple days on some of our off-road forays...
No speaks or any noises on my front end now...lov'n that!!! The Super Pro rack bushings do not make noise. Having said that I thoroughly lubed them with their super tenacious/sticky special urethane lube when we installed them.
The other bushings to check: The inner bushings apart of the front UCA tend to wear somewhat quickly...significantly faster than OEM based upon my experiences with same. This is a byproduct of trying to get the caster into spec and the way our caster adjustment works...it, based upon what I've seen with those aftermarket UCAs, puts a healthy bind on the outer lip/"flange" of these inner UCA urethane bushings. So check those out for wear also.
I rebooted the original lower ball joints with great success. Then, as a matter of PM work and nothing more, when we rebuilt the entire front end a few years ago including a brand new rack, I opted for new lower arms. I've since had a small tear in one of the lower ball joint boots that I caught early enough to warrant silicone sealing it back together/covering it. After 6+ months and thousands upon thousands of on/off road miles this year its still holding fast.
Check your shock bushings too...they can squeak when they get dusty/dirty/dry.
Regarding the feedback/vibe/chatter you are getting at the steering wheel: When you replaced the rack did you also replace the steering linkage(s). The splines can get worn especially if they work loose and the little diminutive u-joint style coupler apart of the steering column linkage can exhibit a little knocking too...especially, once again, if it gets a little play in it from wear.
No speaks or any noises on my front end now...lov'n that!!! The Super Pro rack bushings do not make noise. Having said that I thoroughly lubed them with their super tenacious/sticky special urethane lube when we installed them.
The other bushings to check: The inner bushings apart of the front UCA tend to wear somewhat quickly...significantly faster than OEM based upon my experiences with same. This is a byproduct of trying to get the caster into spec and the way our caster adjustment works...it, based upon what I've seen with those aftermarket UCAs, puts a healthy bind on the outer lip/"flange" of these inner UCA urethane bushings. So check those out for wear also.
I rebooted the original lower ball joints with great success. Then, as a matter of PM work and nothing more, when we rebuilt the entire front end a few years ago including a brand new rack, I opted for new lower arms. I've since had a small tear in one of the lower ball joint boots that I caught early enough to warrant silicone sealing it back together/covering it. After 6+ months and thousands upon thousands of on/off road miles this year its still holding fast.
Check your shock bushings too...they can squeak when they get dusty/dirty/dry.
Regarding the feedback/vibe/chatter you are getting at the steering wheel: When you replaced the rack did you also replace the steering linkage(s). The splines can get worn especially if they work loose and the little diminutive u-joint style coupler apart of the steering column linkage can exhibit a little knocking too...especially, once again, if it gets a little play in it from wear.
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Thanks Dan!
I sprayed the uniball as good as can be done without completely taking it apart. I have sprayed both top and under side, turned tires all the way to the right... sprayed. Turned all the way left..... sprayed. Jacked up front end for full droop....sprayed.... I dont think I can do anything else to lube this thing... LOL.
Which is why I turned to the steering components. I wasnt getting any noise jumping up and down on the suspension. But, I was getting the noise with the truck in park turning the wheels. When I crawled under there I saw both sides were torn. So, I am pretty sure that is the culprit.
I am planing to replace the inner UCA bushings in the next year or so. I know they are taking a beating from some really poor alignment issues I had with Firestone when I first installed them last fall. I have a good alignment now. But, I pulled the passenger side about a month ago and was extremely surprised at how much wear I saw....I agree they do wear fast. I have not been 100% satisfied with them since making the switch. But that is a long and different story worthy of a thread itself.... Is your design going to be different at the inner bushings? I know you are working on something different at the uniball end.
Oh, and thanks for the info about the steering links. I will look at that. I was sort of wondering about those in the back of my mind.
Thanks! That is great feed back! I am going to check for play in mine. If there is none, I will most likely just reboot them again. I just hope this is actually the source of my noise..... If there is play, I will look at the spicer joints you used. I cant remember now, did you replace them yourself or have a shop do it?
Those of you that have done it yourself.... What kit did you use to press in/out the ball joint and were you able to do it without pulling the entire LCA? Sorry, if it is posted someplace. I have been reading everything I can about it and my mind is garbage now....
I did them myself. I did pull the entire lower arm out. I really don't think there is a good way to press them out and back in 100% straight without doing it. You can get them out but I wanted to be completely positive that they were seated correctly. It was a pain in the rear but they have been fine.
The only issue with the spicer/three-five joints is the length of the actual joint is slightly longer than the stock ball joint. It still fits in the rim with enough clearance to drive - I've put 40k miles on them - but it is tight. Maybe 4 mm clearance.
This what I use ,while on the truck.
On an actual 100 series IFS with the LCA still on the truck? Any tips, suggestions, comments? Or is it straight forward?
I would hate to tear into this and find myself in a position where I now have to get my truck towed because it didnt work out as planned.
Thanks!
Mxndrnks said:
I did it about 6 months ago, you can borrow tool from auto zone or others, but I got my own.it was not bad at all for me.
Great! Thank you for the quick feedback!
APKhaos
Unfixing the unfixable
Damn this thread!
I'm building a list and planning to pull all four arms, replace ball joints and inner bushings. This started as a refresh of the front and rear sway bar bushes, but its fast being dragged far deeper.
Anyone replaced the inner bushes on the U & L arms?
I'm building a list and planning to pull all four arms, replace ball joints and inner bushings. This started as a refresh of the front and rear sway bar bushes, but its fast being dragged far deeper.
Anyone replaced the inner bushes on the U & L arms?
^^^ If you need the OEM inner front UCA bushings let me know...I have a brand new set and will make you a deal.
There's a recent discussion/thread on the lower's here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/594616-replacing-lower-control-arm-no-2-bushing.html
There's a recent discussion/thread on the lower's here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/594616-replacing-lower-control-arm-no-2-bushing.html
I need to do this to my truck. How difficult is this to complete? Just want to plan accordingly.
Easy...you do need to remove the knuckle...which is a good time to clean, inspect and lube your hub bearings (and seals).
Yep - I pressed the spicer joints into the lower arms about 2 weeks ago. They fit great and are good quality - the ones I found are made by Three Five - in Japan - they make good stuff.
The only issue I had was that I had to remove the boot on the new ball joint to get a good surface to press it into the lower arm - then once in I put the boot back on. Had to be careful not to tear the new boot - which wasn't too difficult. They seat into the arms very well. I've had no issues and the front end of my truck feels tighter. There was about 1 inch of play on the driver side and 3/4 inch of play on passenger side.
I ordered the spicer joints from rockauto.com - but these raybestos joints came. I was fine with the change - actually seemed like an upgrade after I saw they were Three Five.
No photos of my upper arms - but i removed the c-clip and think the ball joints could be pressed right out. I have not ordered any replacement ball joints since I purchased complete new upper control arms when I replaced them. However if you can find comparable upper ball joints that fit - I believe there is no reason they wouldn't work - at least once.
@Utahfj62 did you add additional grease when you installed? I have the same ones and they have some grease but certainly not a full boot. I am planning on running mine with just the factory grease unless I hear otherwise. How are these holding up?
