Lower ball joints on 4wd pickups should be the same on drivers and passenger sides, right? Getting confused b/c there's only one part number when searching on the AutoZone system, but oem has a different number for right and left. However I don't see how this could be, shouldn't they be identical?

By the way, this is a part you should definitely pay oem for, the after market versions are manufactured incorrectly and won't even bolt on.

 

It might help just what your working on!!

Then I would need to go look

 

My best examination of these OEM ball joints shows them to be identical except for the orientation of the pips on their rubber boots that allow excess grease be expelled.

Both pips should point rearward

 

Upper Ball-Joints, OEM
No sure if it same case with Upper Ball-Joints. I got my OEM's from Toyota Parts Deal. Different PN for left and right.

Why are you replacing lowers? Got play? No need to replace those if they check out fine. They do not support much truck weight The upper BJ's do on our generation. They are not as critical as 3rd-gen 4Runner LBJ's (I explained on some thread here).

 

masterpro k9587? i could get it to either sit in the knuckle recess correctly, or align the four bolt holes correctly, but not both things at the same time (which meant it wasn’t installable).

purchased for the '88 beater in 2018.

 

Need to do the control arm bushings and I suspect the ball joint will be destroyed in the process of removing it

 

That's right

 

With the correct tool( not a pickle Fork) the ball joints Pop out in good shape you just need to be careful of the Boots.

Changing Control arm Bushings can be Fun that is why so many Shops install new control arms with bushings getting the cam bolts out can be a joy

Unless you live in the dry part of the country

 

With the correct tool( not a pickle Fork) the ball joints Pop out in good shape you just need to be careful of the Boots. If you need to reinstall the original ball joints

Changing Control arm Bushings can be Fun that is why so many Shops install new control arms with bushings getting the cam bolts out can be a joy

Unless you live in the dry part of the country

 

hard to believe these are still being sold. i purchased one 3 years ago, and it didn't fit (it had too much chinesium in it). apparently hasn't been changed, just sell ˟˟˟˟ty parts. this was for the beater '88 that has now become a parts donor for my two '87s.

 

Might be the companies selling them had to buy a 1/4 million $$$ inventory ?? then never respond to complaints

 

Issue I'm having now after installing the correct oem ball joint and lower control arm is there are new front end noises, knocking while turning and clunking while accelerating from a stop and also while coming to a stop. I used a torque wrench and have since double checked that every bolt is still at the correct foot pounds. What happened that would suddenly cause these new issues? The new parts did make the alignment pretty bad, will the knocking/clunking go away after I have it aligned?

 

So many posts, and still no description of the vehicle.

 

What, you can't tell from the pics of the new ball joints??

 

When i worked the counter back in the 80's the two hardest vehicles to look up was the Corolla and the Truck. Both had a crazy number of variations. Then add the Std, Dlx, SR5 to the mix and the possibilities on the microfiche exploded.

 

well its 4wd, so it should all be the same from this generation.

However, I agree, OP should start with the basics to get help.

 

True, but knowing the specific vehicle, along with and modifications sure helps. Also knowing what’s been replaced, and whether it’s aftermarket goes a long way.