Service life of Mk1 MR2 ball-joints?

tq_mr2 · 08-24-2009, 04:42 PM

Hi,

I am wondering, how long do the ball joints in a 1985 MR2 supposed to last?

Also if anyone had replaced their ball joints, please tell us at how many miles and whether they thought the old ball joint was still good or not.

Thanks.

Sincerely, Tom 85 MR2 with 251,000 miles (original owner)

Jackstand Queen · 08-24-2009, 07:19 PM

Original equipment ball joints start to wear out around 150k mileage and up.

If the car is driven slowly, and conservatively on smooth roads the BJ's could last a lot longer.

If your suspension is all original stuff, you need to look at replacing the wheel bearings, struts, bushings, ball joints, steering knuckle joints, brake lines, and brake calipers.

Toyota's are long lived, but they aren't magic and their stuff wears out eventually.

mr3 · 08-24-2009, 09:00 PM

[QUOTE=Jackstand Queen;482928]

If the car is driven slowly, and conservatively on smooth roads the BJ's could last a lot longer.

[QUOTE]

How true.

iceNine · 08-25-2009, 01:57 PM

I just replaced front and rear ball joints. They were originals on my 87. I had tried to replace them about 6 years ago but couldn't get them out of the control arms. I finally got a press that was designed to push really hard and they finally popped out (with considerable force, one flew past my head and hit the wall with a bang about 7 feet away). Three of the ball joints seemed in pretty good condition (rubber intact and joints rotated without binding). The right front was in less than perfect condition with some binding but I really think that I probably did a little damage in my previous attempts at removal and not from driving. I bought the car new in 87 and I wasn't shy about driving it hard or over rough roads at a good speed. So overall I was impressed with the Toyota ball joint durability.

tq_mr2 · 08-25-2009, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceNine

I just replaced front and rear ball joints. They were originals on my 87. I had tried to replace them about 6 years ago but couldn't get them out of the control arms. I finally got a press that was designed to push really hard and they finally popped out (with considerable force, one flew past my head and hit the wall with a bang about 7 feet away). Three of the ball joints seemed in pretty good condition (rubber intact and joints rotated without binding). The right front was in less than perfect condition with some binding but I really think that I probably did a little damage in my previous attempts at removal and not from driving. I bought the car new in 87 and I wasn't shy about driving it hard or over rough roads at a good speed. So overall I was impressed with the Toyota ball joint durability.

Ice,
If you don't mind me asking, how many miles are on your '87?

--Tom

Dave In Indy · 08-25-2009, 10:35 PM

I did mine at 164,000 miles and they were both metal part of the balls were cracked up. I had one fail on my 87 CRX at 187,000 miles. It failed in the BK drive thru. If it had been on the interstate I would have been killed. The whole car hit the ground on the drivers side. Ball joints are one thing you don't screw around with. $35 a piece it dirt cheap. I suggest using a torch to heat them prior to pulling them out as they are solid. It tool me 2 1/2 hours on one side and 3 hours on the other to get them out without a torch or WD40.

iceNine · 08-26-2009, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tq_mr2

Ice,
If you don't mind me asking, how many miles are on your '87?

--Tom

I have a little over 140K miles on it.

I would really recommend this ball joint press kit: - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Before I got it I spent fully 6 hours on one corner with torches, lube, a sledge hammer with the arm in a vise all with no success. In fact brute force can make things worse if you deform the spindle where it fits into the arm. With the tools in this kit each corner took about 5 minutes or less to remove.

curvesrgood · 08-26-2009, 01:18 PM

I replaced mine at 130K... I drive hard and they were definately going out. MOOG makes some REALLY nice ones, I'd reccomend those, and they're actually milled correctly (unlike the other 2 sets I tried on the front, and one on the back). That or Toyota. At least they're both made in Japan

.

Snap... forgot to mention I also did the other goods while in there too... tie rods (upgraded the rear to the twosrus), bushings, and wheel bearings (had a bearing definately going bad on the rear). While I was doing, I also did some KYB GR2's since I'm stock ride height on crap Southern NC roads. The car handles fantastic and the Toyota mechanic that did my alignment said it rode like it should... I agree at this point! Not quite as sporty as my Supercharged car that has Eibach's and better inserts, but still fantastic. I didn't want to align the thing several times ($$ adds up quick!!) so I knocked it all out in one stay on the lift.

someone · 08-27-2009, 04:31 PM

curvesrgood

did u have to replace the hubs when u replaced the bearings?

thnx

mr2tim · 08-27-2009, 04:40 PM

340,000 miles w weekend competition treks out of state occasionally and Mon-Fri go to work. WTF?

tq_mr2 · 08-28-2009, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr2tim

340,000 miles w weekend competition treks out of state occasionally and Mon-Fri go to work. WTF?

Are these the original ball joints, bushings and wheel bearing? If not, when did you replace them? Thanks.

curvesrgood · 08-28-2009, 08:10 PM

I replaced one hub... I had a mishap on one rear (tire/wheel/strut housing collapsed outward a few months back on me while going around a tight curve at 45-50MPH... that's what I get for not double checking behind Dad!! He left the bolts that go through the strut housing loose, so the top one's nut came off and the bolt fell out mid-curve... fun little 180 at speed!?!) so I did replace that one. I was told that if you didn't have considerable wear that there wasn't a need to replace the hubs. If you had pretty noticeable wear they said it was a good idea to replace them. I could feel both wobbling a little, but I didn't replace the driver's side and it feels just fine. That help any? Hope so

. Good luck, this is a fun job, we did it in the shop ourselves aside from having the bearings pressed in, I took that up the street to a guy with a press.

08-24-2009, 04:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
tq_mr2 MR2_85_original_owner Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Service life of Mk1 MR2 ball-joints? Hi, I am wondering, how long do the ball joints in a 1985 MR2 supposed to last? Also if anyone had replaced their ball joints, please tell us at how many miles and whether they thought the old ball joint was still good or not. Thanks. Sincerely, Tom 85 MR2 with 251,000 miles (original owner)

08-26-2009, 01:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
curvesrgood three mk1's Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: NC Posts: 499 Thanks: 8 Thanked 33 Times in 28 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	I replaced mine at 130K... I drive hard and they were definately going out. MOOG makes some REALLY nice ones, I'd reccomend those, and they're actually milled correctly (unlike the other 2 sets I tried on the front, and one on the back). That or Toyota. At least they're both made in Japan . Snap... forgot to mention I also did the other goods while in there too... tie rods (upgraded the rear to the twosrus), bushings, and wheel bearings (had a bearing definately going bad on the rear). While I was doing, I also did some KYB GR2's since I'm stock ride height on crap Southern NC roads. The car handles fantastic and the Toyota mechanic that did my alignment said it rode like it should... I agree at this point! Not quite as sporty as my Supercharged car that has Eibach's and better inserts, but still fantastic. I didn't want to align the thing several times ($$ adds up quick!!) so I knocked it all out in one stay on the lift. Last edited by curvesrgood; 08-26-2009 at 01:25 PM..

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08-24-2009, 07:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jackstand Queen Cage Fighter Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 840 Thanks: 75 Thanked 64 Times in 60 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	Original equipment ball joints start to wear out around 150k mileage and up. If the car is driven slowly, and conservatively on smooth roads the BJ's could last a lot longer. If your suspension is all original stuff, you need to look at replacing the wheel bearings, struts, bushings, ball joints, steering knuckle joints, brake lines, and brake calipers. Toyota's are long lived, but they aren't magic and their stuff wears out eventually.

08-24-2009, 09:00 PM	#3 (permalink)
mr3 unskilled Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Plymouth Mtg, Pa Posts: 2,408 Thanks: 24 Thanked 98 Times in 93 Posts iTrader Rating: (7/100% )	[QUOTE=Jackstand Queen;482928] If the car is driven slowly, and conservatively on smooth roads the BJ's could last a lot longer. [QUOTE] How true.

08-25-2009, 01:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
iceNine Some Skills Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Maryland USA Posts: 61 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	I just replaced front and rear ball joints. They were originals on my 87. I had tried to replace them about 6 years ago but couldn't get them out of the control arms. I finally got a press that was designed to push really hard and they finally popped out (with considerable force, one flew past my head and hit the wall with a bang about 7 feet away). Three of the ball joints seemed in pretty good condition (rubber intact and joints rotated without binding). The right front was in less than perfect condition with some binding but I really think that I probably did a little damage in my previous attempts at removal and not from driving. I bought the car new in 87 and I wasn't shy about driving it hard or over rough roads at a good speed. So overall I was impressed with the Toyota ball joint durability.

08-25-2009, 10:35 PM	#6 (permalink)
Dave In Indy Some Skills Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 61 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	I did mine at 164,000 miles and they were both metal part of the balls were cracked up. I had one fail on my 87 CRX at 187,000 miles. It failed in the BK drive thru. If it had been on the interstate I would have been killed. The whole car hit the ground on the drivers side. Ball joints are one thing you don't screw around with. $35 a piece it dirt cheap. I suggest using a torch to heat them prior to pulling them out as they are solid. It tool me 2 1/2 hours on one side and 3 hours on the other to get them out without a torch or WD40.

08-27-2009, 04:31 PM	#9 (permalink)
someone looking to go sideways Join Date: May 2009 Location: ATL Posts: 14 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	curvesrgood did u have to replace the hubs when u replaced the bearings? thnx

08-27-2009, 04:40 PM	#10 (permalink)
mr2tim SUPERcharZed ToyZ RacZer Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: South Florida Posts: 1,789 Thanks: 8 Thanked 118 Times in 111 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (6/100% )	340,000 miles w weekend competition treks out of state occasionally and Mon-Fri go to work. WTF?

08-28-2009, 08:10 PM	#12 (permalink)
curvesrgood three mk1's Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: NC Posts: 499 Thanks: 8 Thanked 33 Times in 28 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	I replaced one hub... I had a mishap on one rear (tire/wheel/strut housing collapsed outward a few months back on me while going around a tight curve at 45-50MPH... that's what I get for not double checking behind Dad!! He left the bolts that go through the strut housing loose, so the top one's nut came off and the bolt fell out mid-curve... fun little 180 at speed!?!) so I did replace that one. I was told that if you didn't have considerable wear that there wasn't a need to replace the hubs. If you had pretty noticeable wear they said it was a good idea to replace them. I could feel both wobbling a little, but I didn't replace the driver's side and it feels just fine. That help any? Hope so . Good luck, this is a fun job, we did it in the shop ourselves aside from having the bearings pressed in, I took that up the street to a guy with a press.