Damn....all these pics made me finally order all 4 balljoints from my local stealer in phx.
No aftermarket junk for me. The rubber boots on my aftermarket tie rod ends didnt last
3 years. Junk!!
210,000 miles on the original ball joints and timing belt, water pump.

 

Thanks to all posters on this subject. I own a 1999 4Runner and was not aware this is a serious issue. My 4Runner has 220K + miles and I've been noticing some front suspension issues, mostly rougher ride. I've replaced shocks, steering assembly and front calipers but was also considering the ball joints and other control arm bushings, etc. before I take it in for an alignment. I have a totaled 2000 4Runner that I'm using as many good parts from as I can but I'll have to think twice about using the suspension assemblies. It had 119K miles when it was totaled in a roll over.

 

Just passed a 4-runner at the roadside, with its front wheel hanging out. Thought it must have been the ball joint (old style), but it was the bolts! Now I am worried. I looked on Partznet, but cannot find the bolts listed. Does anyone know if they come with a replacement ball joint?

 

The ones I got for the 92 4Runner had new bolts.

The ones for the 2000 Tacoma did not

Both sets from Toyota

 

3rd gen 4Runners Toyota lower ball joints do not come with bolts, order them too, if needed.

Wonder if the bolts were over torqued? Have also seen where they have fallen out, make sure you torque properly and don't forget the loc-tite.

 

Interesting!

I found new Tundra not have problems with replacing the upper ball joints!

http://suvntrucks.com/2016-toyota-tundra-diesel-review/

 

Thanks Habanero - all new bolts loctited in ! $1 each - cheap insurance.

 

I was happy to see the new lower ball joints from Toyota for my Tacoma show up with 4 new bolts each. Wasn't sure if they were going to or not.

 

Just called the dealer and my 01 4Runner was recalled in 05 with 30K miles and fixed.

 

My 2000 Tacoma has had each front wheel break off, presumably due to ball joint failure. It's whole life this truck has been used for geology work. Off-road transportation for hauling drill core, rock and soils samples, fencing materials, etc. Often while pulling a trailer with my ATV on it.

The first failure was by the previous owner (my boss) who was going "one mile per hour". He had to walk 12 miles to get to a black-top road and hitch a ride.

The second failure was by myself. I had just gotten out of an area of steep switchback roads and had sped up to 35 mph on a straight stretch. Pretty exciting when the truck transforms into a sled! Luckily some hunters came by only 5 minutes later or I'd have had a very long walk. Tow and repair was a bit over $1,100 for that one.

 

I've seen it first hand as well. Flipped a U-turn turn to see what happened and the guy said it was the second time it happened to him and his he said it happened to his brother in law as well. In the 1986-1995 Gen rigs that convert from Torsion Bar to Coil Over it is also a possibility. With T-bars the weight of the vehicle acts on the UCA through the upper bj to the spindle. With a coil over conversion the load moves to the LCA and lower BJ and the configuration acts just like the problematic Taco set up.

 

Gonna revive this a little with a possible explanation of why toyota waited so long to change the design:

http://www.google.com/patents/US5509749

GM filed that in 94, any resulting design Toyota would have made may have been cause for a lawsuit. Just doesn't make sense, these chassis's are so great other than this small weakness.

 

This just in...
I previously posted how I found exactly this BJ without a cotter pin. After correcting that we found no play.
However, just a couple of months later... this... ... Fortunately it happened at low speed on a forest road...



Third-Gen Owners, Check your Lower BJ's religiously and use only OEM.

Earlier, milowilli posted picture below.


I wonder why hasn't Toyota recalled affected models and converted them to this...

 

That's a $$$$ fix for a $$ wear and tear item.

It would have been nice if they'd designed it that way in the first place - but really, it's sort of like a timing belt on an interference engine. A fairly cheap part with a defined lifespan that will cost many thousands of dollars in damage if the owner neglects to replace it in a timely manner. And there are millions of cars driving around with interference engines and timing belts.

 

Yep. But at least, on the timing belt there is a recommended frequency. I think the BJ is only inspection. Well we inspected my daughter's BF's ball-joint just over a month ago and saw no play whatsoever. Yet, i just failed all of a sudden.

 

I'm not seeing how inspection would prevent this in any way.

 

So do you promise never to inspect the lower ball-joints on your "2001, 6cyl" truck?
After all, if it will not prevent a failure or accident, what's the point?

If you inspect and you see excessive play / abnormal condition / torn rubber boot on the ball-joint, then you know it's time to replace the part.
If you inspect and you see collapsed/dried up rubber boot, then it's time to grease it.
If you inspect and find that your belts are cracked, then you now it's time to replace them.
If you see that your brake pads are less than spec'd thickness, then you know it's time to replace them.
Isn't that common knowledge and what inspection is for. If not, why bother inspecting anything?
However, as we have experienced first-hand, because of the poor design, catastrophic failure could occur without warning. Third-gen owners just need to be aware of this.

 

Has anyone looked into putting a 4th gen suspension on a 3rd gen? Control arms, upright, hubs?

I haven't seen any 4th gens in the local PnP yards (yet, depreciation is probably getting them close though).

About all I think you can do short of something like that is eyeball them occasionally and replace them at the first sign of trouble (torn or leaking boots), and even if they don't show any signs of trouble, preventatively replace them on whatever schedule fits your budget/sense of caution. I'd certainly suggest 150K at a bare minimum, 100K is probably as low as common sense would dictate.

 

Yep, that's the most owners can do. You would think Toyota should have offered some sort of a warranty, knowing it blew that design, and that consequences could be serious.

 

Last Thursday, around 1148 hours, north-bound on 405Fwy and just south of CA-22, a first-gen Tacoma was on the shoulder with tell-tale sign of failed left lower ball-joint.