Ball joint preferred brand, or just suck it up and buy the entire low arm from Toyota?

[Antipodes4WD]

Lower ball joint on IFS needs replacement. Toyota will only sell entire arm. Am I right to think that 555 ball joints would be fitted to that arm anyway? In terms of longevity, is 555 OEM the best option available in Australia? I am sceptical about Australian-made Roadsafe (can't post links here) pushed by 4WD shops as being superior to OEM and Japanese steel. I am not even sure it is not covered in paint, which would be a bad idea for the place where it must be very tight contact between surfaces.

I would consider changing entire arm, but would I make to wheels alignment after such feat since camber and caster will be out of whack. Besides, I do not hear any disturbing noises when driving. The vehicle is inching towards 400,000km on a regular road and no record of bushes changes.

 

[AdventureWagon]

I think as long as you get the alignment eyeballed ok you'd be fine to drive unhurried to the closest place to do a real alignment. How far would that be?

 

[AdventureWagon]

And if you just want the OEM ball joints then they will probably be cheaper from Partsouq or Amayama.

 

[Gary Stockton]

I bought 555 units online, always liked them and they get great reviews from guys like CruiserPatch. Got them from AutoDoc part number SB-3812 under £25 each, much beefier than oem.

Edit - the lower arm ball joints are not sold individually by toyota. While i was in there i replaced the bushes too - thevFSM shows them as not reusable. Be very careful if you do this - I used OEM only for this and there are paint markers on the bush that require specific alignment …. The paint has to be at the top (white on the inside-frame bushes, blue on the in-arm bushes). Ended up ruining a ton of stuff getting the old ones out, and a great excuse to buy a press

 

[MisterCruiser]

I fitted Blueprint ones to my 90 series a few years ago and they're still there doing their thing.

 

[Antipodes4WD]

Lower ball joint on IFS needs replacement. Toyota will only sell entire arm. Am I right to think that 555 ball joints would be fitted to that arm anyway? In terms of longevity, is 555 OEM the best option available in Australia? I am sceptical about Australian-made Roadsafe (can't post links here) pushed by 4WD shops as being superior to OEM and Japanese steel. I am not even sure it is not covered in paint, which would be a bad idea for the place where it must be very tight contact between surfaces.

I would consider changing entire arm, but would I make to wheels alignment after such feat since camber and caster will be out of whack. Besides, I do not hear any disturbing noises when driving. The vehicle is inching towards 400,000km on a regular road and no record of bushes changes.

I bought 555 units online, always liked them and they get great reviews from guys like CruiserPatch. Got them from AutoDoc part number SB-3812 under £25 each, much beefier than oem.

Edit - the lower arm ball joints are not sold individually by toyota. While i was in there i replaced the bushes too - thevFSM shows them as not reusable. Be very careful if you do this - I used OEM only for this and there are paint markers on the bush that require specific alignment …. The paint has to be at the top (white on the inside-frame bushes, blue on the in-arm bushes). Ended up ruining a ton of stuff getting the old ones out, and a great excuse to buy a press

Received the 555 ball joint today; it says Made in Japan, whether believe it or not. On the boot removal (I understand it is pressed in situ without the boot) I do not see much grease. I'd prefer the grease rather being squeezed out during installation rather than a void left to be filled with water and dirt. What grease is suggested to coexist with what 555 put there?

Also, the included instruction says a mark on the joint 'must adhere to the knuckle'. It is barely seen and not exactly matching to their picture. I'd say there is slightly less-pronounced mark at the opposite side of the joint.

Anyone can shed a light on that?

 

[uHu]

"Must adhere to the knuckle" - I understand as being the press you use for pressing out the old joint - that the pipe used on the receiving side when removing old one has to press on the arm/knuckle and not on the joint. (I.e. inaccurate translation).
I used a sturdy C-clamp to press out the old, and in the new. Went very well. Just make sure that the new one is a really tight fit -- if the new joint "falls" into the hole, you need a new A-arm.

 

[Gary Stockton]

To remove I simply knocked off the circlip then you can use a BFH to thum the old one out - not difficult at all actually. Beats me why Mr T don’t sell these as replaceable items. When I pressed in the new ones I didn’t have any instructions about lining up any marks, so here’s hoping…. When the ball joint was torqued to spec the boot compresses a lot and will seal, fairly substantial boot compared to OEM, don’t think there’s much room for more grease unless some has escaped in transit.

Getting the new ball joint in straight is key, as UHU says. That’s where the press was very useful….