ball joints (4WD)

[timsrv]

Looks like the left side uppers are back on Amazon (click the link in post #9 of this thread), but rights are still currently unavailable. Before assuming they are bad I would recommend checking them (as shown in that same post) and/or taking them to another shop for a 2nd opinion. I had 1st hand experience with a lying shop recently. I had just finished checking all my front suspension components before taking my van in for new tires and an alignment. They put the new tires on but refused to do the alignment due to "bad tie rods". I knew this to be BS so I demanded they show me (which they refused). When I took my van to another shop they said "everything looks good" and they did the alignment. I sent a letter to the 1st shop's upper management and refuse to go back there.

It's very possible you have bad ball joints, but I wouldn't trust that to be a fact until verifed by you or a 2nd party. Tim

[Millie n Me]

I agree with Tim, get a second opinion. After going crazy searching out ball joints I took my van to another shop and they said the ball joints were fine. My tie rods on the other hand were rusted solid. Changing them both out were a pretty easy fix. Napa had them in stock. Got my alignment done after that and it's been good ever since. The eBay and amazon routes have been the only way I have found the elusive ball joints, but as mentioned above, it's hard to know what you're going to get. I have never pulled the trigger on them

[Chardog1971]

Yeah the PO said the ball joints were bad also. I plan on changing them out before I go for an alignment. At that point I will see what the shop says. The place I go to, I have done business with for a long time, so I trust them. I think some shops are scared to work on these vans.
We just got some snow and the 4WD works great. I think I got my 200 bucks worth.

Thanks for the info

[JDM VANMAN]

I just ordered lower ball joints for my 4WD van Toyota part numbers- 43330-29166, 43340-29116 and they're still going for $59.50!!! I need to order the ones for my 2WD van

[bikerjosh]

I just ordered lower ball joints for my 4WD van Toyota part numbers- 43330-29166, 43340-29116 and they're still going for $59.50!!! I need to order the ones for my 2WD van

Hey JDM VANMAN, where did you find them for 59.50, I checked amazon and they were $90?
thanks

[JDM VANMAN]

Found them on ToyotaPartsDeal. I ordered them but they haven't shipped them out yet... I'm hoping it's because all shipping companies are busy this time of year.

[timsrv]

Toyotapartsdeal.com shipping dept sucks as they always take ~3 business days to "process" your order. Pretty normal for the days before eBay and Amazon I guess, but pretty lame by today's standards. Even when you choose expidited shipping they still take too long to ship, they just upgrade the shipping service (at your expense). Tim

[bikerjosh]

Just found these on Ebay; listed as fitting 4wd 86-90 toyota van. Not OEM, but good price. $70 for the pair. Wonder how they stack up in quality to Toyota?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/260813129362...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


While mine are ok currently, thinking about investing in the future assuming these are going to get harder to find?

[JDM VANMAN]

Tim,

you were right its taken about 3-4 days for them to ship out the order, it's not to bad if it's not an emergency but if you need a part right away then your gonna end up paying them.

bikerjosh,

I've seen those on eBay before and just didn't wanna gamble on the quality being questionable so I paid the extra to have OEM parts. I just got them in today but haven't gotten the chance to open the box. I'll open it up tomorrow and post some pictures

JDM

[JDM VANMAN]

Got'em-

[spacecruisers]

Does anyone know where to get upper control arms? my 4wd's ball joints are bad and the only place i can see is the Dorman P/N 522-504 which run about $250 per side, or toyota OEM which run about $280 per side. I did see the Febest part on ebay for about $50 but they only had the left side (no right side available, not even from their website) - Febest part numbers 0124-CM60LH and 0124-CM60RH

the only other alternative i see is the 4runner UCA mod (which would be ideal - its discussed in this thread) but as far as i know it requires some custom parts and nobody on here has tried it... the thread itself is about 5 years old now.

[timsrv]

Chances are the Febest lefts will be gone by the time the rights come in. I purchased another left a couple months ago and I'm waiting for the rights to come in. Of course I have the benefit of time on my side. If you need it now you might be stuck with the Doorman.........but if you're going to pay that much I'd strongly consider OE Toyota (assuming they're still available). Tim

[spacecruisers]

hmmmmmm.... good info. I'm thinking rather than wait on the other Febest side, or drop $600 on a pair of OEM's, i wonder if i could instead have a machinist/fabrication shop make me a solution from 4runner arms. i would think it would be in the same ballpark as replacing with OEMs, and it would give me a more future-proof solution?

[timsrv]

Could be a good way to go. If/when I ever get around to that project of mine (back burner for now), I'm also likely going to modify my lower control arms too. I may make them drop down a bit near the end to compensate for the mod on the uppers (as to keep the pivot area horizontal when installed/loaded). I will also do some calculations and adjust length (if required) to keep the castor of the wheels in spec. Way too many other more important projects to do right now..........sigh. I need to catch up............maybe someday that will happen . Tim

[LightBlueToy]

Does anyone have experience with the Dorman upper control arm / ball joint assemblies (522503 - 522-504)? I assume they are not as sturdy as the toyota oem's, but curious if anyone has actually used them and can give some kind of report on them. "Limited Lifetime Warranty"

Pretty sure I need new upper ball joints, I didn't get any measuring instruments out but it looks to be beyond the 2.3 mm maximum vertical play per the FSM, no? The sound and feel alone made me think they were bad.

Here's a short video of the play: http://sendvid.com/9pep3cg2

[timsrv]

Yeah, that one is definitely messed up. I see a new set of upper arms in your future. If the other side checks out okay you could probably get away with just one, but I always liked to do ball joints in sets. Tim

[spacecruisers]

I'm on the lookout for replacement arms myself. Ones that won't set me back $400 for a set

Edit: looks like the dorman arms are 230 each so 460 total. toyota oem are 280 so 560 total. Yikes

[bikerjosh]

It appears the UCA w/ball joints can be purchased for 107.?? w/shipping to US per side can be ordered by using the Febest Euro site. I currently have a new driver side but am looking for a deal on a passenger side so I have a spare set.
https://shop.febest.eu/

[spacecruisers]

Sweet! thanks for the link bikerjosh!

I'd been eyeing the left side on ebay for $50, but couldn't find the right side anywhere so was holding off on ordering it since i need to replace them as a pair.

left side on ebay (Febest P/N 0124-CM60LH) total $50.88 shipped
right side on febest eurpoe's site (Febest P/N 0124-CM60RH) total €107.29 EUR - $116.43 USD shipped
$167.31 total for both sides - much better!

hopefully they both show up on my doorstep in the coming days/weeks.....

UPDATE: the ebay one cancelled saying they were out of stock, and the febest EU order already shipped by that point so i had to make another order and pay for shipping twice ended up costing me 116.43x2 so 232.86 total. Would have liked to save that 70 bucks, but then again, 230 for a pair is less than one single OEM so hopefully they turn up and are of decent quality!

[LightBlueToy]

Thanks Tim for the confirmation and thanks Josh for the heads up on the febests. I feel better now