Wrenchin... Adventures under the hood... Put em here.

[Aldo]

Is it me or has Moog gone to shit now that they're making most of their parts in China. OEM Toyota ball joints last forever, Moog you're lucky to get 40K out of.

It’s not just moog. Total crapshoot on everything- its become a usual occurrence asking for failure rates from all sources.

[Rideski]

Reply with quote doesn't seem to be working at the moment. Re the brake convo a ways back. Does anyone get their rotors turned at Napa anymore? Been a while since I've needed to.

Quote button working again.

So I called around and none of the parts stores seem to turn rotors anymore.
Met a guy that runs a Firestone though the chamber of commerce and they turn them, so I just let him do the front axle. $170 with new pads and turned rotors is not much more than doing it myself.

I asked for Akebono pads but he wanted a bunch extra for those which seems weird since they don't look that expensive online. But I was in a hurry and just went with his standard Napa's.

Reportedly the rear rotors can't be turned, so when those pads are shot I'll probably do new rotors and pads all corners myself.

[gravitylover]

I think that the next time I need stuff like that I'm going to try Mevotech. I like the features and I've had 2 mechanics now tell me that they prefer most of their stuff over just about everything else. I just had a pair of Moog sway links fail in 30k miles, even in a 4k pound minivan I should be able to get more out of them.

[El Chupacabra]

The ball joints I'm replacing on my truck are Mevotech TTX. They would've been OK to keep, except the genius who installed the lower ones didn't put them in correctly and left out the grease zerks - so they've never been greased, can't be greased, and are squeaking like crazy.

Sigh...

[Touring_Sedan]

It’s not just moog. Total crapshoot on everything- its become a usual occurrence asking for failure rates from all sources.

Agreed. We have a few vehicles in our fleet that were assembled during the days of the pandemic parts shortages. Each has had multiple small parts failures. Things that you would usually expect to last half the life of the car, (fuel pumps, injectors, HVAC controls, etc) are shitting the bed at under 50K miles. It's all been covered under warranty, but it's concerning none the less.

We call them the "Covid Cruisers."

There's no way in hell I'd be looking at a used vehicle that was produced during or shortly after the pandemic.

I imagine it'll take a while for some of those shit parts out of the supply stream.

[fatnslow]

I think that the next time I need stuff like that I'm going to try Mevotech. I like the features and I've had 2 mechanics now tell me that they prefer most of their stuff over just about everything else. I just had a pair of Moog sway links fail in 30k miles, even in a 4k pound minivan I should be able to get more out of them.

I have used Mevotech LCA's and they were not the highest quality but Like Aldo said lot of mfg's quality outside OEM is unpredictable. Keep in mind every brand offers multiple grades of parts and that can okay into the life cycle. The LCA's I used were the highest level but the lower ball joint boots failed within 2 years. They offer "life time" but it still a PITA to have to replace something multiple times.

[highangle]

The ball joints I'm replacing on my truck are Mevotech TTX. They would've been OK to keep, except the genius who installed the lower ones didn't put them in correctly and left out the grease zerks - so they've never been greased, can't be greased, and are squeaking like crazy.

Sigh...

That's what I put in my 1997 F350 back 5-6 years ago. TTX is the best for D60 front end, and everything else they make that specific line for. Napa has them as their top of line, but Rock has them cheaper, likely for your application. They're superior to Moog and others. Doesn't go for their other lines, but TTX is the best.


You're way into it now, but you could prob free the ports, put a new zerk in, and flow the dirt out with new grease and be good. TTX ball joints are metal on metal inside, no plastic in the ball or socket to wear out.

They come with several different zerks - rt angle, shorty, plugs etc - if there's a clearance issue. Uppers are usually close to the front axle u-joints, and a pain to grease. I have to use a short zerk and a RT angle grease gun hose fitting, which sucks.

[El Chupacabra]

I've already beaten on those lower ball joints with a hammer, and I used a pickle fork to separate the knuckle - - they're toast now, just not fully removed yet. I sprayed more PB Blaster around the ball joint to let that soak in another day before I go at them again with an impact gun and the Autozone press.

The problem with how the lower BJs were installed by the prior owner of my truck is that the zerk has to face rearward, pointed towards a little notch in the control arm, so that you can get a grease nozzle on it when it's all back together in the truck. The ones on my truck pointed inwards towards the center of the truck, directly underneath the CV axle, where there's no clearance for the zerk or to put the grease nozzle.

The uppers are easy to grease on this truck - zerk is on the top side of the ball joint. I'm replacing both whole upper control arms anyway, because the rubber bushings are pretty rotted out. The lower control arm bushings look to be in better shape so I'm leaving those as is.

[caulfield]

Q for the shade tree mechanics, especially those with GM truck experience: would you replace a front wheel bearing if it feels at all less-than-smooth in your hands? These are unit bearing assemblies (hub and bearing in one unit, can't regrease them, can't do anything yourself other than change them out).

I agree with you that replacing the bearings was the right call when you're that far in, but you can kinda regrease them via the wheel speed sensor. Something to consider a few thousand miles from now at least

[El Chupacabra]

Lower ball joints are out, had to beat them out with a big hammer. That sucked. Ball joint press loaner tool wouldn't stay straight enough to use it to press them out.

New ones are in, and installed in the correct orientation - - see photo showing the notch in the control arm for allowing grease zerk access. Loaner tool worked fine for installation - the top side of the control arm is flat and so easy to press against.

Tip for installation of ball joints: I put them in the freezer overnight, thought it might help shrink the metal just a tad and help them press in more easily. Sure didn't hurt to try it.

It's 41* out, so calling it a day. Will reassemble everything else tomorrow, which should be easy.

And then will look at the pitman arm, which I kind of expect will suck to remove. I'll pull it off the center link first and see if the ball & socket feels sloppy by hand - if it feels tight and smooth, I'm tempted to just leave it be.

[El Chupacabra]

One side finished, lunch break. Went together well. Sway bar end link will be the last to reinstall - may have to pull the whole sway bar for more pitman access, but that's easy.

[El Chupacabra]

And it's all done.

Posterity post: in case anyone else is doing the pitman arm on a 4WD GMT800, it was actually pretty easy - - do this:

Remove the nuts on both ends of the pitman. Pickle fork and hammer to separate the pitman from the center link.

Remove all 3 bolts to the power steering box - leave the lowest and most rearward in place, very loosely. Get underneath the truck, support the PS box with your hand while removing the last bolt - - lift the box off the center link, then lower it back down at an angle (rotated forward a little bit, so the bottom of the PS box rotated rearward a little). Reattach that last bolt to the PS box, loosely, but with enough threads to hold it in place. This allows room to attach a standard pitman arm puller tool - so remove the pitman that way. Mine popped loose fairly easily this way. Bolt the PS box back to the frame and install the new pitman.

Installing a new pitman arm is easy once the old is out. Have a very large wrench for the pitman arm nut - or a very large adjustable wrench. There's no room to get a socket on it to torque it to spec (180-something ft lb). Luckily my neighbor has a lot of very large wrenches, so I borrowed a 2' long MAC wrench of the correct size.

[Mazderati]

Nice work, Chup.

[byates1]

https://youtube.com/shorts/RVKF0lAMe...SsuWDyIh0z_FZW

Check this guys channel out. Legit motor shop in UT. Pretty cool

[Buzzworthy]

Anyone in here do a CarPlay upgrade to an older vehicle?
I’ve got a 2010 Tundra that’s only at 83k on the odometer. It’s going to last till it rusts out. So I’d like to upgrade the entertainment unit as a start. I’m iPhone. No idea how this works.
Any pointers?

[gravitylover]

Go to Crutchfield and put in the vehicle details and it'll tell you what's available and what kit you need.

[Touring_Sedan]

Anyone in here do a CarPlay upgrade to an older vehicle?
I’ve got a 2010 Tundra that’s only at 83k on the odometer. It’s going to last till it rusts out. So I’d like to upgrade the entertainment unit as a start. I’m iPhone. No idea how this works.
Any pointers?

Looks like you'll need a head unit, trim piece and wiring harness. Perhaps an adapter or two for steering wheel controls or amp depending on how your Tundra is equipped. It'll be pretty easy on a vehicle like that.

I have a pretty decent set of trim tools if you need to borrow them.

[El Chupacabra]

Go to Crutchfield and put in the vehicle details and it'll tell you what's available and what kit you need.

Buzz, if you've never done a car stereo yourself, then go with Crutchfield. They'll give you all the info you need, phone support, etc. If your Tundra has steering wheel controls for the stereo and you want to keep them working, they'll have the correct adapter for that too.

There are cheaper sellers, but nobody else provides as good DIY support.

If your Tundra doesn't have a backup camera, this would be a good time to add one too. This is also one of my spring truck projects - - adding a double DIN Android Auto compatible head unit and backup cam to my 2005 truck. I picked a cheap license plate cam from Amazon, like $25, but had decent reviews.

For the stereo itself, tons of good options. Buy a real name brand (Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC, Clarion, Sony, etc), not a no name Chinese thing (random Amazon cheapies, Dual, Pyle). It's worth the minimal cost difference ($100 maybe). Decide what you want first then, go shop: Carplay, and what else? DVD /CD drive or just use USB /streaming/ Bluetooth, Sirius XM, built in GPS or just use Carplay, wired or wireless Carplay (wireless generally costs a good bit more).

[The Reverend Floater]

Seconded on Crutchfield.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[Buzzworthy]

So I need streaming and Sirius radio compatibility with CarPlay from iPhone. And I have steering wheel controls. No disc stuff.

Prices aren’t horribly terrible until they want an additional $240 for the retrofit kit and assorted wires.

[anotherVTskibum]

So I need streaming and Sirius radio compatibility with CarPlay from iPhone. And I have steering wheel controls. No disc stuff.

Prices aren’t horribly terrible until they want an additional $240 for the retrofit kit and assorted wires.

It's doable for cheaper if you buy minimalist components elsewhere, but getting everything you need from them usually means you pay a little more for an install that is much easier and completely reversible while other methods might involve permanent modifications.

[snowaddict91]

It's doable for cheaper if you buy minimalist components elsewhere, but getting everything you need from them usually means you pay a little more for an install that is much easier and completely reversible while other methods might involve permanent modifications.

This. And their install instructions have always been accurate and easy to follow in my experience. That's worth the cost difference for me.

[Touring_Sedan]

Crutchfield is kinda like REI. You either pay out the nose and get your new kicks from the store and pay an extra 30% or you try them on in the store and buy them cheaper elsewhere.

Route 1. Crutchfield will lay out everything you need, add it to the cart and just check out.

Route 2. Crutchfield will lay out everything you need. Copy and paste the part numbers into the Googles and pick them up elsewhere.

I like eBay for head units. You can typically get last years model or a refurbished form about half the price.

I like Amazon for the small bits that are mass produced. Wiring harnesses, trim finishers, etc.

I'll just do a general search for anything I'm missing, like the steering wheel control or amp adapter.

As for the install process, I guarantee there's a Tundra Gravity Research site where someone has already done this and documented it thoroughly.

The 12 Volt also has comprehensive wiring information and pinouts.

https://www.the12volt.com/installbay...asp?tid=115202

[uglymoney]

I've had issues with bait and switch ebayer's with head units. Delay, frustrating, then just buying from Crutchfield anyway.

Another data point. Shop around for sure. I don't know if the Crutchfield go to is as true now as it was 10 years ago. A brief search was inconclusive. But my 4R needs a head unit and I'll likely just buy from them.

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

[snowaddict91]

For me, the old "time is money" adage comes into play. Crutchfield typically makes it easy enough that I'm willing to pay a premium to hit the easy button. I guess it all depends on your knowledge level and patience.

OTOH, I mount my own fucking skis to save a few bucks. To each their own.