Another Ball Joint Thread...

Forgive me. I'm doing the LBJs this weekend on my 2002. Got the parts. I'm getting seemingly conflicting torque numbers. The castle nut torque of 103ft/lbs seems consistent, but not the 4 bolts. I watched a video that posted different torque specs for all years, 2000-at least 2003. From that video I got this:





37ft/lbs.

The FSM linked through the 'so you bought a first gen' thread gives me this:



59ft/lbs. I've seen this number in some other posts. 37 seems pretty low...but what do I know. What's the right number? Are the specs really different for almost every first gen year?


I also have the UBJs on order. Never done them before...On my Tacoma they look good and they don't fail like the lowers. But both boots are torn on the uppers of my Tundra, so I can't ignore it. Shop quoted me $1,000, which is enough motivation for me to do it myself. Done LBJs plenty of times, always wimped out when considering the uppers. Till now...

Someone on another Tundra site mentioned getting more space to fit the ball joint press by removing the axle castle nut and pushing the shaft in a little, allowing him to angle the UBJ out more. I haven't done a lot of axle work, but does it seem easy to do damage to seals this way? Or does that method feel legit? I don't see anyone else talk about it, they're always removing the entire knuckle or finding another workaround to the problem of the ball joint press/separator not fitting in the space above the UBJ...

 

Short version: depends on the bolt. https://www.tundras.com/threads/lower-ball-joints-part-numbers.97100/

 

Thanks shifty. I ordered everything from Toyota.

 

Looking like 37lbs according to the one post on pg 6 that lists them. Mine is an '02, has the plastic shield.

 

Yeah, IIRC, for the black bolts (specifically) it's 37lbft.

This topic has reared its ugly head in the Lunch Table thread quite a few times now. Enough I remember the torque varies from bolt to bolt, and the black one (again, IIRC) takes 37lbft. I don't think there's a black bolt option for the '05+ though.

 

Yes black bolt for use with the protector is 37ft-lbs. Does seem crazy low. I'm not sure I could leave it there myself.

 

And is this bolt the one with some type of loctite already on it? On past trucks I've used loctite. I remember reading something about loctite changing torque readings. Do I use it or not?

I'll need to get used to scanning the Lunch Table thread. Obviously it's easier, when searching, to find the right topic through a subject-specific thread title...but if there's a ton of answers to common questions in that thread, I'll check it out.

 

I recently replaced my lower ball joints which were torqued to 37. It was unsettling how little effort it took to remove them. I used lock tite this time and a paint pen to mark the bolts.

 

Lunch Table is a shitshow, and easy to get lost in. But it's laced with nuggets of info because sometimes we'll just be in there shooting the shit, brainstorming, sharing experiences. However, it's also one of those threads where, if you walk away for a few days, you're gonna be reading back through pages upon pages of replies.

 

Exactly...

Alright. I guess I'll plan to do the same. Red loctite, correct?

 

Blue

 

What’s wrong with red? I just did mine and torqued them to 59FT lbs with red thread locker.

 

Red takes heat to remove.

 

Blue is like painting something shut.
Red is like gluing something shut.

One requires force, the other requires force and heat.

I have faith in Toyota's torque numbers and the OEM bolts I ordered for my '05-'06 had faint traces of red on them. I still used blue, because I use blue on anything I don't want to accidentally back out, whether it be laptop screws or car parts, and marked my fastener position so I can easily (visually) monitor for back-out when I'm changing oil, rotating tires, whatever.

 

It's amazing how much less consensus there seems to be around the first gen Tundras than the first gen Tacomas when it comes to some of this maintenace. Wonder why things are so sticky with these trucks. Anyway, aside from the disturbingly low torque spec, correct torque and blue loctite are what I've always used on the Tacoma, so I guess I'm comfortable with that.

I want to think, given the strict maintenance history of this truck, that it had the ball joint replacement during the service bulletin or whatever it was. But there's no record of it. So now I'm driving around very paranoid in a Tundra w/225,000 miles. Doing the lowers tomorrow. Will do the uppers as soon as I do a bit more studying of the process.

If nothing else, a truck never really feels completely "mine" until I've torn into a bit, freshened up some parts, bled a little on it. So we'll bond this weekend.

 

Uppers: You may not be so lucky to not need to remove the knuckle as this guy did. I tried w/o removing the knuckle, failed, bolted everything back up and went to fight another day. 2nd go-round I came prepared to spend the extra 10-15min per side to pull the knuckle, after which it took me about 60 seconds to pop the UBJ out, and move on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a29VKBcXgg0​

 

Yeah I may go back and watch the Timmy the Toolman video for a 4Runner where he takes off the knuckle to do it, and just prepare myself to do it that way from the start. If nothing else, trying to avoid removing the knuckle seems especially hard if you don't have a helper, and I don't plan to have a helper.

Thanks.

 

Removing knuckle is easy. Beyond taking off the things you already need to, i.e. popping loose the UBJ from the UCA and removing the wheel speed/ABS sensor, you'll need to impact off the axle nut (35mm if OEM). Unbolt the LBJ. Unbolt the caliper. Remove the rotor. Going from memory, I don't think I'm missing anything. It adds about 10min. Have torque specs and blue threadlock ready.

 

If oem yota black bolts 37. I added quarter turn and maked. These are oem stretch bolts that are pre- lubed.

I dont see why blue would hurt. Arp hardware makes a good solution. But being a sigma 6 guy...ill stay oem.

 

I guess I should really do the uppers and lowers at the same time...but now that the lowers are on my mind, I can't relax driving the truck. Lowers are already in my mailbox, uppers won't be till mid-week next week. Will do the lowers this weekend and try to get the uppers done next.

Great. I got all Toyota parts including bolts. Will go with 37-ish and blue loctite.

 

Finally decided to enter my VIN into the Toyota site. Found some peace of mind. I'm still replacing the lowers this weekend, but at least I know the job has been done. Still overdue for another fresh set, but this makes me feel better. Also learned a new fact about my truck's history with deer...

 

Got it back together after lower bj replacement. One thing: I stripped a castle nut on a tie rod end. Soonest a shop could have one in is Tuesday, so I used nylock nuts on the tie rod ends. My question is am I good, or should I replace them with castle nuts when they come in?

 

I'd replace with castle nuts just so you have some level of back-out protection.

Don't get me wrong, nylocks aren't going to suddenly back out so you're undoubtedly good for hundreds, probably thousands of miles, and some TREs actually come in the box with nylocks. But I'm of the mindset of, if a spindle or fastener is drilled to hold a cotter, you may as well throw on a castle nut and cotter to hold things in place.

 

Makes sense to me, thanks.