# Ball joints on a 1999 Toyota Tacoma



## Jody Hawk (Aug 7, 2009)

I've got a question for y'all mechanics on here. I have a 99 Toyota Tacoma with 140,000 miles on it. I went to get my oil changed the other day and the fellow comes in and says all four ball joints are completely gone on my truck. He said he could give me a price to replace them if I'd like and I said sure. He came back and said $850  but since their business was slow and his guys needed something to do he could do it for $610. I told him that I was gonna get a couple more folks to look at it and get their opinion. My question is, shouldn't the truck be riding rough if the ball joints are gone in it? Is it common for them to go out at just 140,000 miles or does it sound like this guy trying to make some extra money off of me because his business is slow?


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## siberian1 (Aug 7, 2009)

Is it a 4x4


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## 7Mag Hunter (Aug 7, 2009)

Sounds very high to me....Have you noticed tire wear in the
front end ????  Pulling to ethe side ?? Loose steering ????
I have a BIL in Douglasville that has a shop and if you want
me to call him and ask for price, just PM me with truck details
and I will call him.


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## Gaswamp (Aug 7, 2009)

That is high for ball joint replacement Jody.  However, anytime you get up to that kind of mileage it is possible they might need replacing.


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## Jody Hawk (Aug 7, 2009)

It is a 2 wheel drive truck. My wife's boss told her that if it was the ball joint, it's not likely that all four would go out at once. He said it's odd that all four are bad at once. I just had new tires put on this truck not long ago. I would think if the ball joints were going bad, they would have told me before installing the new tires.


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## Gaswamp (Aug 7, 2009)

that would be odd usually front goes first. If you know what to look for they are pretty easy to tell when they are going bad. I have a 1996 and 2000 2wd Toyota Tacoma ext cab. I just replaced my front ball joints on my 2000 at 150,000. Of course my toyotas live a hard life since they are rural mail trucks.-


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## Davis31052 (Aug 7, 2009)

What the guy meant, probably, was that the rubber boots that surround the ball joint are either split open or fallen off due to deterioration.  This isn’t uncommon and you should have them replaced.

The boots are there to keep the grease in and the dirt out, split or missing boots allows the opposite to happen and the joint gets filled with grit, and the water from the road washes away the grease.

Worse case scenario is you drift off the side of the road, bump a curb, or make a sharp turn that flexes the front suspension, to the point where the joint pops apart.  Kinda like a dislocated shoulder.  When that happens, you’re stuck where ever it happens.  Go ahead and call a tow truck. 

As far as getting it repaired, do your homework, source the parts at one of the many online sites, then call around and inquire as to the labor rate at various shops. That will give you a rough estimate as to what the real cost should be. 

 I just did uppers and lower on a 2WD Dodge Dakota for a co-worker and charged him $400.00 labor.  He bought his own parts from Advance Auto for about $230.   His original estimate to repair at the tire store was $750.  So I saved him a little.  Good Luck!


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## Broncoxlt (Aug 7, 2009)

Just had upper and lower ball joints put on my s10 at 160,000 was $470.00 w/alignment at sears.Shop around firestone quoted me right around $1000.00 with alignment.


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## jcofer (Aug 9, 2009)

Jack it up under the lower control arm and check for play.  By doing this, it takes the pressure off the ball joints themselves, and you can easily check for play.


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## deerbandit (Aug 21, 2009)

I've got 160,000 miles on my 1999 4x4 and it used to have 35" tires on it for 75,000 miles and my are in good shape. Very odd they would all go out at the same time. It would also ride very bad.


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