Hey guys,
I took my 95 4runner in the other day to have it aligned by my mechanic (who I trust quite a bit) who I've been using for quite some time now and he said I need to replace some things before it would be worth paying to have an alignment done. Lower ball joints, pitman and idler arm both, and one of my tie rod ends need to be replaced. Will most likely replace both tie rod assemblies since everything will be torn apart. My question is and I've done a lot of research on here is which brand should I go with. I got a quote from the Toyota dealer on OEM stuff and it all was much higher than what it would cost me to buy Moog or Beck/Arnley to replace everything with. What would you guys recommend as far as brand is concerned? I know that the 555 stamp holds a lot of weight it seems with whatever I use. The only thing I was considering getting local was the idler arm from Autozone as it seems to be highly regarded or would you recommend using one of the other two brands I've mentiond? I would prefer to use just one brand but if certain parts work better for specific things than I would go that route also. Thanks for any and all advice!

 

I buy the cheapest, serviceable (Has a damn grease fitting in it) part I can for most applications if I'm the least bit concerned with the brand. Otherwise, most of my rigs run a lot of Carquest white box parts, as that's what I get at cost through work.

 

I was thinking of ordering from rock auto as their prices seem really descent. I know on some of the Beck/Arnley stuff the lower ball joints do not have the 555 stamped on them and that is somewhat of a concern for me as I know that where parts are manufactured can be a very big deal of where quality is concerned. That's the main thing I'm concerned about.

 

I'm sure they are both fine if you can't go OEM. Of the two I'd probably choose Moog, just for the fact that they have been around forever and there are likely a zillion Moog parts out on the roads today. If they had a high failure rate, we most likely would have heard about it by now.

For the idler, just rebuild it yourself. It's cheap and really easy.

How to:
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/idler/

 

Thanks BLKNBLU! I'll most certainly rebuild instead of buying a new idler arm. That's simple compared to replacing everything else.

 

I've got a 3rd generation 4Runner and the concensus seems to use oem. There are on-line suppliers that are more reasonably priced than a dealer, however, going back a few years, I personally have used jobber with grease nipple and kept things well lubed in my old Chev...

 

I bought Beck Arnley ball joints. Three of the four boxes had 555 branded parts, made in Japan and the fourth box had some Korean made thing. There definitely was a difference in the look and feel of the 555 stuff. I made it a point of finding a 4th that was Japanese made. So, not all B-A stuff is Japanese, but if you're careful, you can get what you wish for.

 

That's what I'm afraid with ordering the B-A stuff. I want to make sure it's all stamped 555 and really don't want to hassle with having to send it back. My just go with moog to save a possible headache with that.

 

I'm lucky. My brother sells autoparts and I get to snoop through the boxes before I buy

 

The Moog upper and lower ball joints I bought had horribly designed seals and I had two sets go bad in under 2000 miles and I greased the crap out of them. I would not recommend them. They have more of a dust boot than a seal. I went with AutoZone Duralast parts. They were stamped 555. So far they are working better and they certainly look like a better design.

 

Lower ball joint: OEM(555)
Pitman arm: OEM(555)
Idler arm: Autozone FA5040, McQuay-Norris FA5040, Kragen/O'Reilly FA5040(if you want to upgrade the bushings to bronze)
Tie rod end: OEM(555)

Raybestos Professional Grade is also quite often made by 555.

Inner tie rod end(Raybestos Professional Grade)

Pitman arm(Raybestos Professional Grade)


Moog sucks. If not Sankei 555, the only brand other I would go with is Raybestos Professional Grade(whether or not the 555 mark is on it).

 

Mudhippy,
Where did you get your stuff at? I priced OEM at the dealer at it all was almost double what either moog, B-A or other brands were. I know it's good stuff long as it's stamped 555. Thanks

 

kpnalder1, not sure if you saw my thread but I did a whole through analysis with pictures when purchasing my BA ball joints. Check it out .. Hope it helps: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...ctures-228470/

I have been using BA and its holding great so far and no issues in alignment.

 

Hgill, I did see that post and that's what made me nervous about ordering the B-A stuff. With that being said, I think I'll order B-A for all the parts except for the idler which I'll just rebuild as suggested from BLKNBLU. Thanks guys. Much appreciated...

 

I buy a lot of my parts from RockAuto. But that's only if they're the cheapest.

555 is OEM(or atleast OEM quality). So why pay more for it from the stealership?

 

Mudhippy, I only priced stuff from the stealership to see if they could even come close to what I could get it online for. Wasn't even close and they usually give me pretty good deals. Sounds like it really doesn't matter what brand I get long as it's stamped 555. Thanks!

 

I can't tell from the pics for the B-A ball joints but are they greasable? I don't see any zerks on them....

 

IIRC my B-A ball joints have threaded holes for a grease zerk fitting, that's got a short threaded bolt plugging the hole. i don't recall the zerk being included in the parts bag, so I just bought some - they're very inexpensive. i ordered all my B-A parts from Amazon and they were all stamped "555". most auto parts stores will let you open the box and check the part before you purchase it.

 

There's also Parts Geek, they have OEM Sankei 555 suspension parts.

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199...all_joint.html


I do have to say that the my MOOG 2WD upper & lower ball joints I bought from Rock Auto are all stamped 555.

 

Then they weren't Moog. Moog ball joints don't have the 555 logo on them...and they suck.

Moog 2WD lower ball joint(RockAuto)



Moog 2WD upper ball joint(RockAuto)



Moog 4WD lower ball joint(RockAuto)



Moog 4WD upper ball joint(RockAuto)