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Thread: ball joints (4WD)

  1. #1
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    ball joints (4WD)

    I got a reply from the guy selling van ball joints on ebay now--he said that the brand is Sankei. Anyone heard of that brand? Price is right but not if you have to replace them 10K from now.
    Thanks,
    Rob

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    Administrator timsrv's Avatar
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    Re: ball joints

    Keep in mind that the 4wd and 2wd vans use different ball joints. 4wd upper ball joints are non-replaceable (you must replace the entire upper control arm). There has been some speculation that perhaps with some machine work a ball joint from something else could be made to work here, but IMO there's just not enough material in this area for that to be safe or practical (at least for keeping things a stock height). If you're planning on lifting, then you can add material to the bottom and modify like was done HERE, but it's a big job.

    FWIW, I replaced the ball joints on my 2wd van: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...t-2-hours-(2wd). They didn't show any excessive play but I felt like it was something I should do because that van is always overloaded. It had about 135k miles on it at the time. I used Beck Arnley parts that I purchased from www.rockauto.com. Recently I checked them again (at about 150k miles) and found the RF upper joint to be completely wasted (had about 3/8" vertical play). Now I'm thinking I should have left the originals there. I still have them and may put them back if I have any more failures here. I'm monitoring the situation before I make up my mind as it could have been a fluke. Moral of this story is to leave the original equipment alone unless it's actually bad .

    If you decide to proceed, make sure your old ones have actually failed and verify you're ordering 4wd parts. Genuine Toyota 4wd upper control arms (if still available) will likely run you around $250-$300 each. Tim

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    Re: ball joints

    I agree with not touching these parts unless needed. Unfortunately I am getting the telltale symptoms of ball joint play--In 4wd I get one clunk when I turn the wheel and acellerate--doesnt matter what speed, I will still get a clunk. Seems like a binding/releasing is happening--Not the same as CV joint symptoms. In the snow a couple of days ago I went to a large area that I could diagnose (slide, jam the brakes, play) and I could get the same clunk when braking hard (locking the brakes). I will be going to LA next week where I have a good friend with a shop. I can get the van off the ground and start playing with the suspension to find the problem...in 80 degree weather. I am planning to do my plugged heater core then too (he has all the ac equipment). The ebay guy is selling the lowers with the correct #s for 4WD when compared to Toyota parts zone site. I will probably bite the bullet and get Toy parts unless I they are NA.

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    Re: ball joints

    I did the beck Arnley replacement(bought them when they had that special price. I think it was just on the uppers or lowers for the price break but i bought both) on only one side upper and lower on my 86 2wd about 1,500 miles ago. Van has 183,000 and genuine were on there and probably original. When i took a pry bar to them they moved a little, so i decided to replace one side only. I will be watching and comparing the two sides. I might even put some better condition used genuine on the side I have not replaced just so i don't have any movement.

  5. #5
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    Re: ball joints

    At 220,000 miles my lower right has worn out. Local shop tried a stream of replacements from the parts guys (all wrong) so we are now waiting for a part from 1st Toyota (Titus-Will) If that doesn't work anyone want to suggest another supplier?
    Arghhh. Har Har Har. It's a pirate's life for me!

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    Re: ball joints

    I looked this up on the EPC and found it calls out Toyota #43330-29166 for the lower right. I entered this part number on Titus Will's website (www.1sttoyotaparts.com) and it came up as available for around $60.

    I also found aftermarket ball joints on www.rockauto.com listed for 4wd vans. The right lowers are RAYBESTOS Part # 5051184 or ACDELCO Part # 45D2184. Both are in the $100 range. Lower lefts are also available for about the same price. IMO the Toyota part will most likely be of higher quality and you get a lower price to boot! Hope this helps. Good luck. Tim
    Last edited by timsrv; 09-18-2011 at 03:26 PM. Reason: Corrected error in part number. Previously stated invalid part number.

  7. #7
    Van Fan Harbilly's Avatar
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    Smile Re: ball joints

    Thanks Tim. Titus-Will says the part is indeed for my 89 4wd. They took my credit card info and are going to email with shipping costs to Canada. If they are right I will be happy. If the part isn't right I guess I eat it and check with your suggested supplier to see if they ship to Canada. As an aside, the two oxy sensors from the supplier you sent me to arrived mid July and were perfect and a great price! 5000km since then and no check engine light. Some hesitation when cold (TPS/fouled plugs I bet) but that's another story. Thanks again!And.......How are the finances for this website? Is it about time for us loyal users to send along some $$$ thru paypal??Cheers,Bill
    Arghhh. Har Har Har. It's a pirate's life for me!

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    4wd ball joints

    First time posting here. I recently purchased a 89 4wd when going over bumps the front end has a sort of knocking sound. I was thinking it may be the ball joints. After reading it seems these are around $300 and probably not available anyway so i searched what i believe to be the part number 48067-28050 and sure enough it pulls up a part on Amazon for around $50. Can anyone confirm the fitment or that this is correct part number?
    Thanks

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    Hi & welcome to TVT! That's very interesting that these are available on Amazon for so cheap (Toyota discount sites are selling for around $350 now). I checked the EPC and verified this is the correct part number (for left side upper). Although the ones on Amazon are using a Toyota part number, I can't help but think these must be Chinese reproductions. None the less, I couldn't resist the price and I purchased a set of them. FYI, the 4wd van uses 4 unique ball joints. 2 on the left (upper and lower) and 2 on the right (these are mirror image & non interchangeable from side to side). The lowers are just simple ball joints, but the uppers are integral with the upper control arm (if a ball joint fails you need to replace the entire upper control arm). Until you posted about the Amazon ones, I wasn't aware these were available from anywhere except Toyota (thank you). Here are the part numbers for 87 - 89 4wd Toyota Van ball joints:

    Upper left control arm w/ball joint #48067-28050

    Upper right control arm w/ball joint #48066-28050

    Lower left ball joint #43340-29116

    Lower right ball joint #43330-29166

    Regarding the noise in your front end, don't just assume it's the ball joints. You'll want to get under there and check to verify before replacing.


    The easy way is to take your van in for a front end alignment. If the tech knows what he's doing he'll check these before trying to align. By law they are required to check and are not allowed to align if these parts are worn beyond spec. If that's the case, they'll tell you about it. These ball joints are pretty tough, so I suspect your factory ones are still good. When the front suspension makes noise, it's usually due to dry upper control arm bushings. On the 4wd there are plugs you can pull out & install grease zerks. It's not a bad idea to get up in there from time to time with a grease gun. Tim

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    Awesome info tim! Thanks so much! The price is great and I felt like I'd stumbled on to something to good to be true. I'll definitely look into the other possible causes that you mention.

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    It may be too good to be true-On Amazon that link Tim posted says they are currently unavailable. I look forward to hearing about them from you, if/when you get them. I know at some point I will need to do this repair.

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    When I went there it said there were 3 available for each side. I was tempted to buy them all (actually had them all in my cart ), but then reconsidered thinking it would be rude (in case rowemjr hadn't purchased yet and/or if anybody else here wanted to buy). I only ordered one set & have gotten shipping confirmation from Amazon (saying they'll be here next week). I'm guessing rowemjr and one other person purchased after me, so that would account for them all disappearing. On the Amazon listing I see the seller is Febest. We've talked about them on the forum before. They started flooding the market with automotive bushings a few years ago. I had previously checked their product reviews and found people were saying good things about them (things like "better than OEM"). I'm pretty sure I'll get what is pictured on the listing, but what confuses me is where these are coming from. Since Febest specializes in bushings, did they expand to more things or did they team-up with another aftermarket manufacturer & build from scratch? They are advertising with OEM part numbers, but I seriously doubt they're OEM (Toyota wants $350 each for these). If they are building these from scratch, then it's likely they'll restock soon. I'd recommend checking back in a few weeks. Tim

    PS: I'll post some pics and my opinion of "perceived" quality when they arrive.

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    Man mine just started to make noise too, I'm was gonna order them right when Tim posted but got sidetracked. Tim I'm looking forward to read your review and pics of these ball joints.

    Thank you

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    It was as I expected, they are Chinese reproductions. But could they be as good as Toyota? I guess it will take about a 20 year road test to know for sure. Potential problems could be quality and/or hardness of steel and/or dimensional accuracy. As for appearance they do look very nice. Here's some pics:










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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    In case anybody else wants, I did a Google search using the part numbers on my packaging and found several of these available on other sites. It's funny how much variation in price there is. One guy on eBay is trying to sell for $500 each, yet another guy for $92 each. Range of price on the internet is about the same, I'm sure there are more places that have them for the Amazon price, but I quit looking after I found them on these two sites (first place is Febest's own site):

    http://febestparts.com/RIGHT_UPPER_F...RM/0124-CM60RH

    http://febestparts.com/LEFT_UPPER_FRONT_ARM/0124-CM60LH

    http://www.cqout.com/item/RIGHT-UPPE...ranty/19718019

    http://www.cqout.com/item/LEFT-UPPER...ranty/19717570

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    Nice Tim, I was reading somewhere online that the parts were manufactured in parts of Russia and Germany and then shipped to China for final assembly?? I don't know maybe I misread and understood it cause it was late at night when I was reading.

    But I know Febest parts got a "C" rating out of A-E ratings. So looks like their parts are hit and miss.

    I was was lookimg on Alibaba.com and they have just about all the scarce parts we can't get a hold of but then you have to pay international shipping fees and brokerage fees too. And after all that it could still be made in China. A lot of parts are still readily available overseas cause the YR2* and YR3* chassis are used in the 90's version of the van.

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    Do make sure you double check exactly what's making the noise. The noise I had coming from my van were worn out bushings. What I was hearing was the drive arm shaft bouncing around in the bushing every time I hit any bumps in the road. Here's a link that might help, in the thread Tim posts a link to another thread also on the matter that could help...I may have some pictures I took while I did the work.
    http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...0448#post10448

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    Thanks for linking that thread rat. I hope to have time to diagnose this issue soon. I've already got replacement swaybar bushing. I'm starting there. I'll report back my findings.

  19. #19
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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    Looks like Amazon has these in stock again (but only 1 of each). Looks like they reduced the price by about $6 each (how often does that happen?). Tim

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    Re: 4wd ball joints

    Tim,

    that is too funny you noticed there's only one of each left, I just purchased a set last night to have on hand.

    Looks like we had a TVM= Toyota Van Moment last night

    HAHAHAHA

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