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LBJ failure driving home.

Thegodian

Thegodian

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Jan 24, 2023
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england
Well it happened. On my way home from work. I only changed them a year ago. Done less than 6000k miles. Thought there was something wrong because the steering stopped self centering and I was making small correction constantly, which was a new thing because the steering was normally good. I had checked the power steering at work Friday lunchtime and found everything ok. I was planning on jacking it up and checking the ball joint on Saturday morning,... Friday 5.15pm the front wheel folded in.

Got it recovered to work (waited 2.5 hrs). Left it over the weekend and have just been out to access.

Looks like I have been very lucky. Passenger side damage - Top and bottom ball joint are totaled, brake pipe sheared. The cv joint pulled out straight and seems like it will be alright, no damage to diff housing.

I was driving very calmly because i suspected something was wrong, thank god. I was doing about 10mph and the wheel looks like it saved me when it folded under keeping the car up. Brand new tires also seem to have softened the landing and there seems to be no damage there either.

I will take some photos of the damage when i can and add them here.

1742830411193.jpeg


So i will be ordering two LBJ's because the one i put on where I think, from ebay. So I no longer trust the remaining one. Where is best to buy them? Milner, rough trax.

More to come.

Ian
 
Toyota ones are safest but probably most expensive. In my life pattern parts are a NO NO. Been there, done it. I assume you don't want a repeat performance.
 
Wow, that looks like it could be pretty catastrophic at higher speeds, glad it wasnt too bad for you.
 
Most garages use a local motor factor for parts when available for a quick turnaround and I would guess the motor factors only supply T.U.V approved stock .

Direct from China stuff sells on ebay for much cheaper because T,U,V is not mandatory .
 
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aww good that damage was limited... from experience the LBJ from roughtrax are slightly better then the ones from Milners but they are both pretty low quality, I'd suggest OEM toyota or Sanko 555 only for the LBJ
I had a set from milner that developed a crazy amount of slop in just 6000 miles
 
Well, glad you're safe for sure Ian. What was the mileage that you replaced the original ones, can you remember?
 
I replaced both my 90 series ones with BluePrint parts and they have been fine, few years ago now and probably 20k miles on them I guess. Good quality brand aftermarket parts should be ok, just avoid unbranded or cheap crappy unknown brands in general.
 
LBJ failure is a known weakness discussed many times over the years on here and so I'd say trying to estimate by mileage when its time to replace is a lost cause .

If i remember correctly , Beau was a good bit over 200k miles on originals when he investigated and found no reason to replace .

However Beau's truck was bought new by his father who likely drove the same roads as Beau did after fitting huge wheels and low profile tyres which were fine for roundabout city tarmac where sand , grit , crap never gets under the boot to start grinding away at the joint internally .

A run on the beach with a split in the boot and the days for any joint are numbered .
 
I agree that mileage is no indication of condition of the LBJ. I brought my truck with 112k miles and changed the joint almost as soon as i had it. I didn't inspect, I just changed. Having removed the old ones, I don't think there was anything wrong with them. I also changed the shocks, springs and most of the bushes. Thought I would be thorough and do the lot. I was hoping for more than a year/6k miles from the new ones. I have only driven on tarmac since they were changed (although south London roads are like off roading sometimes and i don't slow down for speed bumps.)

I am in the process of ordering OEM ones. The extra cost will be for piece of mind. I'll update how much when the deed is done.
 
Thegodian said:
I agree that mileage is no indication of condition of the LBJ. I brought my truck with 112k miles and changed the joint almost as soon as i had it. I didn't inspect, I just changed. Having removed the old ones, I don't think there was anything wrong with them. I also changed the shocks, springs and most of the bushes. Thought I would be thorough and do the lot. I was hoping for more than a year/6k miles from the new ones. I have only driven on tarmac since they were changed (although south London roads are like off roading sometimes and i don't slow down for speed bumps.)

I am in the process of ordering OEM ones. The extra cost will be for piece of mind. I'll update how much when the deed is done.
Click to expand...
even the new oem don't seem to last anywhere near the original OEM lower ball joints now. I had milner's off road ones and they lasted a really short time, less then a year. I drive my 90 quite a lot off road but nothing too extreme. I inspect the ball joints at every oil change and before any big trip. jack under the lower caster arm and big pry bar under the tire and check for any movement. if I can be bothered I put a magnetic dial indicator zeroed on the ball joint but pretty much just renew them relatively often, current set of 555 is lasting well and showing no signs of wear. changing the ball joints also get 8 new bolts and watch your torque on those..

spikerengineering.com

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lower Ball Joint (LBJ) Bolts - and More!

We test several different Lower Ball Joint (LBJ) bolts for the 3rd Gen Toyota 4Runner, to find the strongest bolts and the ideal installation torque.
spikerengineering.com spikerengineering.com
interesting reading...
 
The offending items.


1743432701235.jpeg


lots of damage to the ball and that is not from the road. Must have been moving for a while.

1743432564255.jpeg


Waiting for the new ones to be delivered.
 
Thanks for the update. Will look forward to see the new ones fitted. Hope the other damage was minimal.
 
I have just take delivery of new OEM lower and upper ball joints. Just waiting for a flexible brake hose, which has just been delivered to my home and the whole lot will be re-assembled over the next couple of days. I'm trying to do it all in the work car park during my lunch brake, which is fun.
 
I just paid £135 for each LBJ. It is pricey but if I want the wife and kids to come back into the truck, I had to make them sure it was repaired properly.

A price worth paying, I hope.
 
Update:
All fixed and running fine. Had a small issue with the steel brake pipe that fixes to the flexible hose. The wheel had made contact with the bracket and bent it 90 degrees. I thought i would be able to tweak it back, but it just snapped. Had to wait a couple of days for a mate to pop round so I could remake that section. Bled the brakes and all good. Took it for a drive round the yard and all seems fine. The ABS light is on because I think the sensor wire got a good tug on it and it seems to have stretched, breaking the wires, I think. New one ordered.
Booked in for an MOT on Tuesday.
I may try changing the rear prop spider bearing and the pinion oil seal (saw a bloke on a youtube short do this in about 90 seconds). I will not expect my fix will be anywhere near that quick.

Ian
 
Update 2:

Back on the road. Passed the MOT with 1 advisory, front anti roll bar bushes are worn but ok till next MOT. Probably do it in the next week.

Thanks for all the moral support during this testing time.

All this work has been done in the work car park. It has been dry all this time and just as i finish the heavens open. Somebody was watching me.

Ian
 
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