Lower ball joint issue on pre-Tacoma trucks?

[BMarino]

Hi everyone!

Planning on buying a 1994 Toyota Pickup, with the 22-RE 2.4L, manual, 4x4.


I previously had a 2003 Tacoma and got rid of it recently due to the lower ball joint failure issue. I agree with what was said on some forums on the fact that this is a design flaw, not a manufacturing defect. I didn't want to be driving a truck without being able to have peace of mind on my safety and others' safety on the road.


As said now I'm considering buying a pre-Tacoma Toyota pickup (1994). However, it seems to me their IFS design is exactly the same as the 95-2004 Tacomas (check out the three photos below, first two from a 1989 truck, third one from a 1st gen Tacoma). At least the lower ball joint seems to me to be the exact same design as the 1st gen Tacomas'. In spite of this, I have not seen any report pertaining those earlier pickups on having the lower ball joint failure issue as the Tacomas do.


Could someone here please give me any knowledgeable feedback on this? If I'm gonna buy another Toyota pickup, I wanna make sure it's not gonna have that same issue as the 1st gen Tacomas.



Thanks a lot, and cheers from Mexico!



Bernardo.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I thought the 95-04 Tacoma ball joint issue was primarily manufacturing flaws. There might be a design issue but if there is it would be compounded by poorly made components. There's a whole lot of Tacomas, 4Runners and Hilux trucks around the world that share this same IFS construction so I doubt it's a problem for most people, well as long as you don't lift the truck 4" and run 35" tires.

I've never heard that there's a fundamental issue with 86-94 Toyota IFS other than there's a practical limit to any ball joint on how far it can be pushed. I had my 1991 for 300,000 miles and replaced them a couple of times as they wore out. I wasn't easy on my truck but I also didn't abuse it.

Personally I'd just assume the worst on a used truck and replace them with new OEM parts and worry about other things after that.

 

[Clay]

I recently sold a 1990 4runner with 300k miles and original ball joints. It had the torsion bars cranks probably 250k of those miles too. I'll add that I haven't ever heard of them failing on older trucks but I have actually seen in person failures on 1st gen tacomas.

 

[Crenshaw]

No failure issues as far as I can tell.

With a mild lift and 34s I do go through a whole front end every 2-3 years depending on how much I beat on it. It is crucially important to not use junk components, especially for the BJ's. My last set developed play in the lowers after very few miles and they were the cheap option at Napa. I've had good luck since with the Moog Problem solver (I think?) models- they're much bigger than the set I recently pulled out.

 

[dman93]

I replaced mine around 175K/18 years on my old T100 and handling and ride improved noticeably. But I never felt at risk. New shocks, steering damper and sway bar links and bushes as well, and the front end felt like new.

 

[Nikkshepherd]

If this is a major concern of yours, so much so that you sold your truck because of it, you could always by a long travel kit. Kit includes beefy upper and lower control arms / ball joints..

 

[RainSR5]

While the lower ball joint does look the same, the rest of the suspension design - and how the ball joint is loaded - is completely different.

In the Tacoma the spring is attached to the lower control arm - so the lower ball joint is continually in tension supporting the weight of the truck.

On the pre-Tacoma the spring is attached to the upper control arm - so the UPPER ball joint is continually in compression supporting the weight of the truck.
The lower ball joint is not carrying the load of the vehicle weight like in the Tacoma.

 

[Kmrtnsn]

Get a Dana 44 and fab up control arms for it.

 

[xlcaferacer]

I have a 1989 pickup and have never really worried about this. I do agree with Crenshaw that you need to use good ball joints and they do only last so long if you really use your truck off-road. I too have found that my ball joints and steering components do show some wear as the year's go on but I stay on top of checking them.
I have been running balljoint spacers for the last 4 years and replaced the upper ball joints when I put in the spacers. Two years ago I went to 35" tires and replaced the lower ball joints and tie rod ends at that time. At that point the truck had around 140,00 miles on it and the lower ball joints were still stock and showed just a little "play" in them, the outer tie rod ends; however, had a fair bit of "play". I'm now at about 165,000 miles of both on/off-road and my front end is still in good shape and I use it as a daily driver and primarily on trails up to a rating of 6 on a 1-10 scale. I am impressed with the durability of the early Toyota ifs front ends. They don't offer a whole lot of travel unless you go to a spendy long travel kit, but I have been completely happy with mine. If you do end up going with this era of truck, I would highly recommend upgrading the idler arm though as this appears to be the weak link. I had braced my idler arm and while it kept it from breaking, they still wore out. I replaced them about once a year after it started seeing more trail time. I eventually spent the money on a Total Chaos idler arm and haven't had to touch that part in 3 years!
I also have 2 4runners from the same generation as the 1st Tacomas and haven't experienced any ball joint failure. These 2 trucks have around 200,00 miles and 140,000 miles and both have "mild" lifts but spend there lives only on the street and forest service roads.
Long winded; i know, but this is my experience and I hope it helps.

 

[BMarino]

Thank you everyone for your useful feedback. I apologize for replying so late; after the initial post I went on tackling a series of stressful events but things are evening out now!


And I actually have great news: did get that pickup I was planning on buying, after clearing out this lower ball joint doubt.


Here's the new thread on it:
https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...-pickup-for-the-sierra-madre-oriental.193432/


Cheers and thanks!

 

[bkg]

Selling a Tacoma because of worries about ball joints? I don’t think I’ll get my head wrapped around that decision making process.

There is ZERO similarities between the HiTrac suspension and that under the Tacoma outside of the concept of being IFS.

 

[BMarino]

Selling a Tacoma because of worries about ball joints? I don’t think I’ll get my head wrapped around that decision making process.

Well, it simply is risk management. Being a DESIGN FLAW more than a manufacturing flaw, I'm not willing to be driving it, putting my life and others' lives at danger because of something that can fail without much previous notice, and constantly being worried about changing those ball joints every year or couple years or so as so many people suggested in other forums as the way to avoid the danger.

My opinion is heavy duty components on a quality truck should last AT LEAST 3-4 years without any worries, and be able to extend their use to 5 years with only minor worries.


But then again, I'm mexican, and we are not used to being constantly maintaining in perfect order our vehicles, and we expect them to keep working in the essentials regardless of that. No wonder many rural ranchers down here use old F-150s and F-250s FORDS and GMC Sierras from the 80's and 90's as their reliable work trucks.


Cheers!

 

[DaveInDenver]

I think you're fixating on an Internet problem that isn't really a problem. There are lots of abused Tacomas with lots of miles on them run by owners who don't replace ball joints every other year. All IFS has an inherent design weakness in that you have ball joints loaded in such a way that failure is devastating, so you must maintain and inspect chassis parts as standard operating procedure. There's nothing to suggest that the tens of millions of Toyota IFS trucks built globally have any particular design flaw.