Woah, way off topic, but I saw the MT plates and billings - did you buy your runner from Peak cars in Bozo?

 

If you don't get OEM parts on the front end, I'll say that the Triple 5 aka '555' parts are very high quality, much nicer than the Moog parts, I posted some stuff about the 555 stuff a while back, they are made in Japan and sometimes come in other labeled boxes.

 

Something has changed with "555". My failing Moogs are marked "555". So were the original OEMs that I replaced (that lasted 13 years). And so were the Beck-Arnley tie rod ends that I bought at the same time (which are doing ok still after ~5 months). I believe these parts are all made by Sankei Inc. of Japan, but they are definitely not all made to the same stadards. They are all stamped "555" in the same way in some kind of sneaky attempt to trick people into thinking that they're all the same high quality parts. There is something dishonest happening in this industry and I personally hope that someone (with the ability to repremand them) starts investigating this. This is consumer trickery and should be illegal if it's not. If it is, I hope someone gets put out of biz soon because this is not in the best interest of the consumers.

 

Bozeman! Yes, I did buy it from Ryan... he basically bought all the stuff I don't think I would've spent money on! (like an ARB bumper!). I see that you have the SS 1.2... I just ordered some parts from them to finish out the rear end on my 4runner, the dude said he'd been sending quite a bit of stuff up to Montana(you must be one of them).

In other news, I finally reached the dude who did some front end work on this before I owned it, and he said he had replaced the LBJ's about a year ago... with NAPA parts. Buyers beware... I'd go with OEM...

 

By the way rideexileex, if you want to hit up the Pryors or Big Horns sometime, shoot me a line! (give me a few weeks to get my 4runner up and ready though...)

 

I've never done those before, so that would be fun to do. I'm in Seattle for the summer but I'll be back in Bozo once school starts up again in late August. I'm really considerin putting in an ARB locker so that would be a good test spot. I actually had my SS1.2 delivered to Seattle and installed it in the garage over winter break where I had access to all the tools too.

Funny that you bought that 4Runner, because I was considering that one when I was lookin for my new one. The SC 5spd is a nice find...

 

yes some of them come in Sankei boxes... I wonder if MOOG is using "555" castings for their own assemblies? Or buying the castings from Sankei? I don't know...

 

Mine did the same thing but its a 99, wish I woulda had a camera handy to snap some pics.

 

Daily, here are the pics you requested.

 

Any good write-ups on doing ball joints????

 

I'll agree with you guys that Toyota OEM parts are the best way to go, but then again we just saw a ball join shear :/. What's the scoop on Raybesto ball joints?

 

is that rust on the shear maybe it was cracked already, is the break cleaner at the spot where it looks ruff. maybe th other guy torqued it a little to hard? not sure but that sure is crazy!! glad your ok.

 

OEM ball joints are the way to go, this type of a failure is just a VERY rare fluke and isn't a good reason to not buy OEM ball joints.

Save the gambling for the casino and buy some Toyota OEM joints.


FOG

 

I'm pretty sure I posted this earlier, but these ball joints WERE NOT oem. I found the guy who did most of the work on this truck for the guy I bought it from, he said they were NAPA. All the more reason to buy OEM!

 

lol, let me take a guess.... rising sun?

 

aaahhh,this post hurt my eyes. Esp, since my 01 is at the shop for the 3rd time in two weeks for a "steering" issue. Kind of pissed I replaced the whole rack and pinion at 153K miles, just to have it acting up again. Next up BALL JOINTS!!!. To the OP, I alomost vomited when I seen the pics, glad you're OK, but it still sux you runner got jacked.

 

 

The balljoints on early Tacomas and 96 to 04 4runners, Tundras and Tacomas are all non failsafe designs. The ball is above the lower control arm which leads to the ball constantly being pulled apart from its socket. When it fails it will totally separate causing the arm to drop to the road. Toyota has since switched to the failsafe design which compresses the ball into the socket instead of trying to pull it apart. The ball is under the lower control arm now instead of on top of it...05 and up Tacomas, 4Runners, FJ Cruiser and new Tundras. If the ball gets worn and loose it will not pull apart and drop on the road.

 

I took this posting as a sign, so I just ordered new ones. I have a long road trip coming up with the wife and a neice so I don't want to take any chances. My current ones have 149K on them.

 

Make sure OEM or Moog. Also torque the mounting bolts to spec. Locktite if possible. These bolts have fallen out with catastrophic results also.