Sweet! Lots of good advice. Very much appreciated. 4WD22R, thanks for the link to the FSM. I'm really not sure why I couldn't find that myself.

Kewlynx, I don't think I'll be needing the PB Blaster since I live in Arizona, but I've got some around just in case. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One more question though: How do I know (besides taking the dealership's word for it) that the ball joints are the problem and not the wheel bearings? I jacked up the truck today to have another look, and I really could not tell where exactly the play in the wheel (top to bottom) was.

Jack up the front end; spin the tire; listen. Should be quiet and even-sounding. Bad bearing give you a bit of a grinding noise. We have a front end maintenance writeup in the Toyota Section (via link above in the header) if you need it.

BJ's-grab top/bottom of tire, rock it; any play points to them. Also, the truck will have a rough ride if they're on the way out.

The 'lever test' (for lack of a better term) should be in the FSM under the front axle section for inspecting the BJ's.

its also good to have a buddy with you. Have him grab the wheel and wiggle it up and down, side to side. Look closely at the ball joints while he moves the wheel around. the should NOT move at all. also look at tie rod ends and idler arm. if you get play in the wheel and the BJ's aren't moving and the tie rod ends aren't moving, then its probably wheel bearings.

how are the tires wearing? uneven tire wear, especially on the inside or the outsides, is a sign of a bad ball joint. It messes up your camber. it could also be an alignment issue too.

Adam F, I'll try your suggestions. There's no uneven wear on the tires because they're new. The old ones seemed to be pretty evenly worn as well.

In the FSM, there's one picture showing a person's shoe on the tire while the front wheel is off the ground, using a lever on the lower suspension arm I guess. Then, there's another picture showing a lever lifting up the tire, with a block of wood as a fulcrum. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can try to do whatever it is those two pictures are supposed to show.

I don't think there's any grinding noise, so I guess the bearings are okay. I still would like to check them since they're about due to be repacked with grease.

Looks like everyone's got you on the right track. The BJ's are definitely the first things to replace for safety issues. I just did upper ball joint spacers and new ball joints for the bottom and it's not really all that hard.

I have both a ball joint pickle fork as well as a tie rod pickle fork. I hate using them if I'm not replacing the ball joint because I can never use one without tearing the boot, but that's a different story.

The lower ball joint wouldn't even come out with the tie rod fork (smaller than the bj fork) so I used a tie rod puller-similar to a pulley or gear puller. A BFH can work just as well as long as you have good aim and aren't afraid to hit the ever living sh*t out of the control arm!

Even though I did this for the ball joint spacers, it's not a bad idea to reduce the tension on the torsion bars and put a block of wood or something between the upper control arm and the bumpstop. You can only fit about 3/4 to 1/2 an inch in there but it makes the whole job a little easier.

As far as doing the wheel bearings are concerned- grease packers are your friend.

Not to mention lots of brake cleaner and PB Blaster for the whole job. Be sure to spray the PB liberally on all nuts and bolts a day ahead of time. Even an hour can make a world of difference with PB Blaster...I love that stuff <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

Since you'll already have the grease gun out it's a good time to lube the ole driveshafts. No telling when they were done last...well, unless you do know...but my point is that they get neglected too often. *Insert cheesy cliche* An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" />

LOL OK I'll shut up now

Forgot a little tip--take the OUTER tie rod loose, rather than the inner. You can bap it with the BFH instead of using the pickle fork, and save tearing the boot. You'll be removing the lower end of the shock; a good gronk with the foot on the a-arm and you'll manage to clear the upper bj to pop it out; mind the fingers! I use a pry bar. If you have trouble aligning the shock mount going back together, a floor jack has been helpful in the past.

I turn the spindle assy over a pair of 2x4 blocks and knock it out.

OK I guess I won't shut up...a few more things popped into my head after rereading the thread.

As far as the power steering pump is concerned it seems to be a rather common occurance and will involve either a rebuild or replacement of the pump. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be certain of where the leak is first though.

The valve cover gaskets- fortunately for me the driver's side is the only side that was leaking so I just did it and saved the other gasket for later on down the road. You may want to consider the same depending on your situation.


As far as the "flush" services are concerned- it's dealership BS. Do they need flushing? Yeah, probably. But you can do it yourself at home and save a couple hundred dollars.

BTW I used to work at a dealership so I know how they operate <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

There is one exception- the Intake/Fuel cleaning. If they use BG products this is a really good thing to have done. This service usually runs $100-130 but is well worth it since it's not something you can do on your own.

Basically they put a can of fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank...nothing amazing there, but it is BG which is IMO better than any other injector cleaner on the market.

But anyways, the important part is where the intake/combustion chamber cleaner is used. In a nutshell, they use a pressurized system to spray cleaner into your TB while revving the engine slightly to keep it from stalling. From there clouds of black smoke start billowing out of your exhaust. When I did mine I pretty much engulfed the whole car lot <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />
After the smoke dissipates it's cleaned the intake and combustion chamber of a lot of carbon buildup which can cause piston ring blow-by and thus oil consumption.

If by chance they do use BG products (both Yota dealerships near me do) get a can of MOA (motor oil additive) every other oil change or so. This in addition to Valvoline maxlife significantly reduced the amount of oil I lose between changes.

Wow I've written so much lynx posted between my posts and I've been writing constantly <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" />

OK now I think I'm done <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />