Anyone have any good write ups or know of any for the upper and lower ball joint replacement on 3rd gen 4Runners? I did alot of searching, but all I could find were threads for 2nd gens. My ball joints are toast....I'd like to do them this weekend......

 

you can find some fsm's here. http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/index.html

i havent ever changed any on a 4runner but i think 4 bolts for the bottom one. then need a puller. then for the top you need to have the old one pressed out and new one pressed in. i wonder if thoes dinky rental ball joint presses from autozone would work?

 

I think someone just posted this same thread on TTORA.

 

Its for a 96 Tacoma, but should give you some good info

http://ttora.com/forum/showthread.ph...ght=Ball+Joint

 

dont get the ones from autozone they arnt strong enough and if u dont mess up something on ur rig then ull prolly wind up hurtin urself haha

 

I've used the autozone ones a few times pull out old upper BJ to replace with Uniball slugs. They work, but the fitment is not exact...you need a flat crowbar to slip in on one side, that will make things possible. Also, an impact gun is your friend in this situation. If you don't have one, Harbor Freight has a 3/4" electric they sell for about $45 when on sale.

http://ttora.com/forum/showthread.ph...ght=Ball+Joint
http://parksoffroad.com/tacomamods/a...lpro1inuni.htm

 

Ya...I have an air compressor with all the tools. I know I could knock the upper ones out with my impact hammer, but don't know how I would get the new ones in. The lower ball joints are pretty easy, I'm not worried about those

 

Just rearranging the tool ontop of the spindle. Putting the new ones in is easy. Getting them out is the tricky part.

 

Well I finally managed to replace both all upper and lower ball joints, along with both outer tie rod ends. The lowers and tie rods were a piece of cake.....but man those upper ball joints succckkk!!! I ended up renting the ball joint press kit from advanced auto, and even with that, it was still a fight to press them out!!

 

Yet another thread that I will be using the weekend. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this site!!!!!!!!!!!:bo unce:

 

I just used a Craftsman socket on an extentsion that fit over the upper ball joint shaft and a 3lb mini sledge to beat it out. Wasn't too difficult, though the dickhead at Sears gave me a lecture on tool abuse when I took the mangled remnants in for replacement.

 

This is the only thing i'm afraid to attemp!

 

This is my task for tomorrow. Both sides and both uppers and lowers. I'm sitting close to 200k and doing them as preventive maintenance.

I know someone that HAD a nice 99 4runner. He had a lower break loose while he was driving ,~45 mph. The wheel went under the frame, the 4runner ramped over it and the insurance o totaled it.

 

I had a nice older Toyota pickup truck (pre Tacoma) and I replaced the ball joints with Moog. After about 30-40K miles one of them popped out when I drove over one of those really good dips in the freeway. It ripped the wheel off and almost flipped the truck.

There is place to buy cheap parts and balljoints are not one of them. I replaced mine recently at 220K and went with OEM Toyota ball joints. They are only a couple bucks more than Moogs but their quality is well above.

I know some will argue about that but I've known several 4runner and Tacoma guys that used Moog and didn't get nearly the life out of them that they got from the OEM balljoints.

FOG

 

Does anyone know if the OEM ones are made by 555 also like the Moog, Beck Arnley and lots of other brands are?

 

So you misused the tool, expected sears to pony up and give you one for free, and he is the dickhead.

Mkay

 

Uhhhhh I paid for the warranty and I damn well expect to use it. I don't need a lecture from some retarded 18 yr old kid on how I should use my tools. It failed to "provide me with complete satisfaction," and that's all there is to it!

 

You are completely missing the point, of course. The warranty does NOT cover abuse, neglect, or MISUSE. If you are not using the tool as it was intended, you shouldn't even have gotten a warranty.

If I go race my new Corolla at the track, and blow it up, should I be able to go to Toyota and warranty the engine? If no, why not? I bought the warranty didn't I? And it didn't provide complete satisfaction since I didn't win the race. If you are not using something for what it was designed for, and you break it, its misuse and its not their problem. Luckily for you they warrantied it out, so personally I wouldn't be complaining about getting a hard time from "some retarded 18 year old"