RAD4Runner

I searched for an un-cluttered and concise thread for regarding Ball-Joint on IFS with Torsion Bar 1986 to 1995 but could not find one so here goes...

I believe "IFS with Torsion Bar 1986 to 1995" is a good category; The load-bearing ball-joint is under compression, as opposed to the IFS with coil-over (3rd gen and later) where load-bearing ball-joint is under tension.

My left-side upper ball-joint has some vertical play and rubber boot's already leaking...

Lower ball-joints and right-side upper ball-joints are still good, being on tight budget, and because it's the upper ball-joint that bears most of the load, I only ordered OEM replacement for the upper ones from Toyota Parts Deal.

Joint Assy, Upper Ball, Driver Side: Toyota PN 43360-39075
Joint Assy, Upper Ball, Passenger Side: Toyota PN 43350-39045


THEY CAME WITH FASTENER HARDWARE, AND COTTER PIN.


HOWEVER, THE CASTELLATED NUT THAT CAME WITH IT DOES NOT FIT THE BALL-JOINT THREAD WTF?
I'll just reuse existing one.
Alexman Video covers removal and replacement. Any other tips you care to share? TIA.

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

i'd contact TPD about it. maybe they'll make it right?

i have not replaced the bjs on my 4r, but i have replaced them on my cj. don't know if a fork will help, or a big hammer?

RAD4Runner

No big deal on the castellated nut.
Alexman used a loaner puller to loosen it and coup de grace with a BFG - LOL!
First replacement:
Second replacement (Moog's went bad too early)

coryc85

Ray, I used this loaner tool kit when I did mine..https://m.advanceautoparts.com/p/pow...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

There is a little pitman puller in there that fits on our spindle joints and will pop that sucker off. Costs you nothing if you return the toolset and they are pretty good quality. I tried the HF pitman puller, but I broke it almost immediately, cheap metal.

scope103

Don't use a "pickle fork" unless you don't care at all about the parts at the business end.

As pointed out above, it's easy to rent or borrow the correct tool. They're not even expensive to buy. https://www.harborfreight.com/tie-ro...ler-62708.html

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Piece of cake !!

To bad your over there I would let you borrow all the tools

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

not sure if the part you link to is going to work. i actually own that same puller, for the cj. the fork was fine for the cj ball studs. and i prefaced the comment wrgt the toyota ifs. ymmv.

RAD4Runner

Thanks, guys!
Yes, completely agree on using a puller not the pickle fork. Arlindsay's (Alexman) video^^^ shows it. Being a minimalist, I'll just borrow form the parts store. Will drive the truck to the auto parts store so I can check for fit right there.
BTW, TPD is doing an RMA. Will request that they merely send me the castellated nuts.

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

i confirmed that the pitman arm puller in the link scope provided will not work for the upper ball joint in the toyota. the opening is not wide enough to clear the joint/knuckle.

RAD4Runner

Thanks, Wally.
Guys,
I also added Toyota PN's on original post ^^^

RAD4Runner

Earlier, I posted a video of vertical play and leaking grease boot on my driver's side upper ball-joint (here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116.../#post52372756)...
Finally worked on it today... I just followed Alexman's Youtube video which is very clear, so no need to illustrate details of the procedure here.

Highlights:

• I must stress Alexman's recommendation to place something between the upper control arm and its bump-stop bracket to keep UCA from drooping too far. It is difficult to wiggle the steering knuckle off the ball-joint stud if the UCA droops too far down. I used an inch-thick wooden cube.
• PB Blaster was not enough. Bolt that secures knuckle arm to steering knuckle had pink thread-lock/sealant listed on FSM as PN 08833-00070, Three Bond 1324 or equivalent.
• Use the right tools. Use 1/2-inch drive sockets with 1/2-inch drive breaker bar. I did not have a 1/2-inch drive socket so I used my 3/8-inch drive socket with 1/2 to 3/8 adapter on breaker bar. It worked on driver's side, but the adapter broke when I started on passenger side. It was getting late so I wrapped things back up. and drove the mrs' car to HF tonight to buy NON-deep socket impact sockets for this and future breaking tasks. Will continue with passenger side tomorrow.
• Knuckle arm to steering knuckle bolt needs to be torqued to 120 foot-pounds. My Kobalt torque wrench only goes up to 110 ft-lbs. Combined with the blue thread-lock I used, I'm assuming that's good enough. I'll just add regular inspection of knuckle arm bolts to my PM sched.
• Have NON-deep sockets handy. Some positions are too tight for deep sockets.

Question:
I installed a grease fitting on the new ball-joint, and saw white grease inside. Safe to assume the OEM ball-joint came factory-greased, correct? I did not top it off. Your thoughts please?

Old and new, driver's side upper.



This is how I secured the caliper to prevent stressing the brake lines:

89fourrunner

I will tell you this,that video makes it way to complicated.

Do it this way:


It is a thirty minute per side job, easy.

89fourrunner

I will tell you this,that video makes it way to complicated.

Do it this way:


It is a thirty minute per side job, easy.

scope103

Call me prejudiced, but I don't have a lot of faith in anyone using a 7/8" or 15/16" wrench on an import vehicle (actually, even American-made vehicles have been all-metric since the 70s). And installing Zerk fittings with vise-grips??

RAD4Runner

+ 1, Scope103^^^ I was guilty of that once when I was beginning to build my tool set for the Truck.

UGH... I'm afraid that bottle jack could stress/deform the steering knuckle. Toyota may not have considered forces in that configuration when it designed the knuckle. LOL!
Besides, I only have the budget for load-bearing upper BJ's that I have verified to have the play and leaking grease boot.

89fourrunner

Well, I didn't really pay attention to the guy's tool set, just more the procedure - which works well. You don't need to crank on the bottle jack to put a ton of pressure between them, once it is snug just a tiny bit more, it is just to stop the upper arm from fighting you. You can use whatever you want to put a zerk on as long as you don't damage it, right?

This situation reminds me of the time someone told me "you can't reboot a cv axle, once the boot tears you need to replace the axle". I used a split speedy boot ten years ago, and the axle is fine to this day (and so is the boot). I cleaned the joint, greased it, glued and clamped the speedy boot on. Cv Axles aren't magic, you grease them with clean grease and keep the water and dirt out they last. When a boot splits magic doesn't release into the atmosphere. Being overly anal doesn't always pay off, often it wastes money.

To each their own, but the less you have to touch/wrench/remove on a vehicle to swap the ball joints the better.

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

i couldn't see the tool markings in order to determine what sizes they were. many sae/metric wrenches are the same size; why should it matter what the tool markings are? the parts, nuts, and bolts don't care one way or the other. however, there is nothing wrong with the process demonstrated in that video. it worked, and should work, fine.

that wasn't a hack repair at all. ima curious if you've ever made trail repairs using what you have available? i try to avoid trail repairs by doing frequent vehicle inspections and routine service, but i also wheel my 4x4s, and breakage happens. ingenuity with safety is useful, not a detriment.

wally

RAD4Runner

I believe these are the qualifying statements^^^
The youtube procedure 89fourrunner posted is good for trail repair. However, at home, I would still do the Alexman method. Plus, in my case, I was not replacing the lower ball joint so I would not want to subject it to pulling forces (same forces that cause catastrophic failure on 3rd-gen 4Runner: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/t...ilures-244804/)

Re, tools:
I was able to complete the job with these tools I call Everyday Carry (here) that I normally have in the truck stashed inside rear quarter panel (here), with mere addition of breaker bar, ball-joint separator, and 1/2-inch drive sockets.

I'm streamlining my tools inventory, and based on this latest and earlier episodes I think I'll organize them into 3 containers/bags:
1) Everyday Carry - always in truck for daily driving, within civilization and familiar places, where I can get a tow for breakdowns I could not handle,
2) Special/ Heavier-Duty Tools and critical spares (Pls help me came up with a name) - to carry ONLY to remote places.
3) Scheduled Maintenance Tools - Often left at home, to include toque wrench, timing light , etc.
Will post details on THAT thread (I'm still searching for)

ksti

"In the middle of nowhere Tool Bag"

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

even alexman gets it incorrect once in awhile, ie, in the video for seating rear axle bearings, his method involves driving it by tapping on the inner portion of the bearing, rather than spread over the whole surface. it isn't a thrust bearing.