Lower Ball Joint - my.IS

Crester · 01-28-2008, 10:32 PM

How many of you guys have had issues with your lower ball joints?

jahnIS300 · 01-28-2008, 10:58 PM

I know of someone actually...haha

I'll let him chime in though.

delirium_x · 01-29-2008, 04:57 AM

^^^ hahah that would be me.

my front passenger side lower ball joint went out about two weeks ago. i think it was a combination of a series of LARGE potholes on the gardiner and an overinflated (40psi, oops, didnt check) tire. i'm currently still waiting for replacement parts from discounttoyotaparts.com. it's been taking forever-- i think they had to order in parts from japan or something... yeesh.

lexusecutive · 01-29-2008, 06:01 AM

I've replaced both sides of my lowers.

Crester · 01-29-2008, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delirium_x

^^^ hahah that would be me.

my front passenger side lower ball joint went out about two weeks ago. i think it was a combination of a series of LARGE potholes on the gardiner and an overinflated (40psi, oops, didnt check) tire. i'm currently still waiting for replacement parts from discounttoyotaparts.com. it's been taking forever-- i think they had to order in parts from japan or something... yeesh.

Hmm... so you ended up on the side of the road with your wheel wedged up under your fender eh? Did you see any warning signs? Was your suspension making any noises?

Crester · 01-29-2008, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexusecutive

I've replaced both sides of my lowers.

Both eh? Did you see a lot of movement? How much movement is allowed? I was checking the service manual and it described checking for vertical movement. Somebody showed me a bit of sideways movement... but it looked like he was using an awful lot of force to get it to budge.

g3tb3nt · 01-29-2008, 09:15 AM

I replaced both mine last week, it started off with light creaking sounds doring slow turns and speed bumps. Then it got louder and louder. I did manage to find a place in Florida that shipped me both lower ball joints for a fraction of the price my Lexus dealership wanted and they were OEM lexus parts as well. Shipping took 4 days to Canada.

ricky_87 · 01-29-2008, 09:19 AM

The ball joints are our car is VERY simple to change with a balljoint puller. I changed mine in like 10 mins. The pain is that the outter tie rod end is also connected to the ball joint.

jahnIS300 · 01-29-2008, 10:17 AM

Lower ball joint FTL....

Care to share where you got yours from in florida with the quick shipping?

Crester · 01-29-2008, 10:19 AM

Jahn is your lower ball joint loose as well?

jahnIS300 · 01-29-2008, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crester

Jahn is your lower ball joint loose as well?

not that I've noticed, but as you were explaining there was some sort of test to perfrom aside from the noises?

TeCKis300 · 01-29-2008, 11:38 AM

How many miles did you have on your 'balls'?

jahnIS300 · 01-29-2008, 11:42 AM

111,000 KMs....

I think I can still be considered a virgin

Crester · 01-29-2008, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jahnIS300

not that I've noticed, but as you were explaining there was some sort of test to perfrom aside from the noises?

Well you're supposed to be able to check for excessive movement in the joint to see if it needs replacing. The "good" thing about the lower joint is that it'll stay in place the majority of the time due to the rest of the car pushing down on it. Thing is... if you hit a big bump and the car goes up... the joint may pop out if it's really worn.

I don't wanna spend unnecessary money... but I do want to understand the situation. Because this is one part you DO NOT want to break on you while you are driving!

g3tb3nt · 01-29-2008, 12:15 PM

Actually found them off Ebay. They're still available online and they do have a website, toyolexparts.com. The parts aren't listed on the site so you may have to call. I paid $110 for both. Here in Calgary, they wanted $135 a side.