pitman arm ball joint just snapped..

[chapel gate]

pitman arm ball joint just snapped

Jumped in the motor to get some beer, started turning round at the bottom of the street. Then the horrible prang sound of steel snapping..


Pitman arm ball joint had snapped. Could of been really nasty at 60..


I replaced the ball joint about three years ago, because of time, against my better judgement i fitted a roughtrax number...


These wear out and need replacing, but shouldnt snap, this could of been nasty.


So stick with toyota, and beer is good for your health..

 

[Dave2000]

Scary stuff Mike. No strange noises beforehand, no warning at all something was amiss?

regards

Dave

 

[frank rabbets]

I assume it was not seized and twisting ?

 

[clivehorridge]

Exactly the same thing happened to me Mike, it sheared of on the taper, flush with the pitman arm.

I concluded that the ball joint must have progressively seized, and thus over stressed the taper pin.

You could see from the fracture that it had happened over time.

Mine failed reversing in the garden, what disaster may have occurred at speed is better not to think about TBH.

Glad you're all safe anyway, the repair is easy.

 

[Dave2000]

Now your scaring me guys TWO breakages! Going to order and change mine.........you know...just in case. If I do not change it and have an accident and harm (or worse) someone then I would have to put my hands up and call myself a wanker and deserve the consequences, this car is 21+ years old so not worth the risk IMO. The breakage at slow speed probably due to the additional loading?

regards

Dave

 

[chapel gate]

No, nothing obvious dave.

See pictures below frank..

Its funny isnt clive how lady luck sometimes smiles upon us.

The joint is completely dry, although not completly seized i could move it one way with a lot of pressure from my thumb.

As i mentioned, i replaced this about three years ago. The oem joint that had developed play was original, about 220000 miles on it and still full of grease..

 

[Knucklehead]

Not just a roughtrax issue.Previously replaced all the ball joints with 'made in japan' items from Milner.Noticeable unwelcome play in 3 out of the four within a year. Straight to the bin with them, OE jobies been in the last 3 years, no more worries.Dave.

 

[frank rabbets]

Thanks for the pics CG. Surprised it passed last MOT as it appears to have been dry for some time. It looks like it's been cracked for some time.

I used a none OEM part from Milners so I'm guilty of not following Toyotas instructions. ONLY USE GENUINE TOYOTA PARTS.

I would not buy a Toyota branded part from Milner either. There are forged car parts now in forged OEM boxes.

Glad you didn't have an accident.

 

[frank rabbets]

P.S. My joints are all original with no play and still greasy. 21 years old and 140,000 ish miles.

 

[clivehorridge]

Of course, the tendency on maintenance checks is to test for play with a breaker bar. However, this test goes nowhere when a ball joint is seized almost solid. Imagine the stress on that pin with the full power of power steering on one side and the weight of cruiser wheels with a payload of some 3 tonnes at speed, on the other.

Yes, Lady Luck has been good to us, the thought of traveling at 100kph with a detached steering wheel in hand, is scary to say the least. IME, these trucks need to be steered all the time, especially under heavy breaking.

 

[frank rabbets]

If you look at the angle of the first crack it looks like it's an impact crack i.e. at right angles to the steering arm. I would think the impact stresses on the joint are much greater off road than on. Twisting stresses too.

If you do a lot of off road the stress with a free joint bends it back and forth in line with the tube and it will break sooner or later. Sooner with a cheap joint.

Really nasty. I'll check mine today!!

 

[frank rabbets]

P.S. The joint on the other end of the tube must take an identical force assuming neither are seized.

 

[Dave2000]

Mine has just clocked 242,000 miles/21 years, (note Mike's 220,000 mile comment on an OE part) nothing in the history about replacements, it may be there somewhere though? As my policy is to now replace with OE or better I have decided on the complete drag link in Chromoly, heavy duty ends which are greasable. I have been told I am wasting my money on a tough link as it moves potential damage elsewhere which is true but I hope not to hit anything hard enough to find out. I also get trade and the CM/HD drag link should work out about the same as retail on a stock unit,

Funny how last week I was banging the speedo needle against the trip meter reset (allegedly) down the bypass, and since reading this thread have been driving around as if I balancing an egg on a stick!

regards

Dave

 

[clivehorridge]

P.S. The joint on the other end of the tube must take an identical force assuming neither are seized.

I was so relieved it snapped in the garden, the first thing I did when I got the truck back to Bucharest was to replace all the ball joints.

Don't take any chances on this guys, if in doubt, swap 'em out. They're not bank breakers, but a failure could be the end of life as we know it.

A few months after the failure, I had the main steering box shaft to the pitman arm shear off! I still think there might have been a connection, the extra stress trying to move a seized ball joint for who knows how long. Surprisingly, I never noticed any untoward stiffness in the steering, until the new joints were fitted that is.

After, the steering felt smooth and as light as a feather

 

[chapel gate]

I wouldnt worry too much dave, i think the problem was the fact i didnt replace with toyota. The rest of the joints are original and ok at 256000 miles. The mot tester picked up a small amount of play on the original joint and put it down as an advisory, thats why i replaced it, so he would of checked it.

Was yours an oem joint clive or after market? Your right about steering under braking, at present if i was doing any sort of speed and had no steering i would, best case scenario be through a hedge and sitting in a field...

What do these cost nowadays knucklehead?

 

[clivehorridge]

I wouldnt worry too much dave, i think the problem was the fact i didnt replace with toyota. The rest of the joints are original and ok at 256000 miles. The mot tester picked up a small amount of play on the original joint and put it down as an advisory, thats why i replaced it, so he would of checked it.

Was yours an oem joint clive or after market? Your right about steering under braking, at present if i was doing any sort of speed and had no steering i would, best case scenario be through a hedge and sitting in a field...

What do these cost nowadays knucklehead?

I don't rightly know CG, but I'm guessing original.

It's a 1995 truck originally owned by the Canadian embassy in Bucharest.

It then had its second owner in 1997 and 2 years later in 1999, it was bought by the guy I bought it off.

He owned it for 7 years till I bought the truck in 2006 and the PO did as little maintenance on it as possible.

Anyway, they're all Mr T joints now, thank goodness.

 

[chapel gate]

Theres an illustrious past clive!

 

[clivehorridge]

Theres an illustrious past clive!

Yep, good or bad, it's good to know.

I got absolutely zilch service history with the truck, big gamble, but she's tidy now after 10 years of my TLC, moderate use and limited abuse.

We have an understanding, me and the truck, use it or lose it and like an old dog, it just loves getting dirty

 

[Dave2000]

I do worry but not panic Mike so I will order anyway. As mentioned I will go for the Chromoly if they have it in stock, if they do not have it I will get an OE part. FWIW mine passed the inspection on the week before Christmas, but they would have been looking for looseness in the joints not stiffness. Sounds like a bout of Land Cruiser arthritis going around.


EDIT:

I spent an hour or so 'Googling' for known problems for the LC and the confirmed list for recalls which comes up is for :

• Toyota 4runner
• Toyota Avalon
• Toyota Camry
• Toyota Corolla
• Toyota Fj Cruiser
• Toyota Highlander
• Toyota Prius
• Toyota Rav4
• Toyota Sequoia
• Toyota Sienna
• Toyota Tacoma
• Toyota Tundra
• Toyota Venza

And as you can see our LC is not there, FWIW virtually all the Toyota recalls (and there are plenty of them) are post 2000 and mainly for the American market, but either way the LC was sold there and is not in the list. What did come out was the Toyota T100 having a steering arm fail and this IS a common problem on a relatively new model. I will remain a little paranoid for the moment but do not see this as a common problem on our cars. What I do see is a vehicle that was so well built that it is going to be with us for a long while yet and parts are failing but, then we take Mike's failure of what is a 'young' part and you have to wonder where the regular suppliers are sourcing their stock, this is way more worrying than an old OE part failing after 200,000 miles.


regards

Dave

 

[Knucklehead]

What do these cost nowadays knucklehead?

Sorry, not sure of UK prices, I picked mine up on a trip home to OZ.
Amayama might be worth a look or maybe Simon for a UK quote.

Dave.