Three problems related to front suspension upper ball joint have been reported for the 1998 Toyota 4Runner. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Two weeks ago I was driving down a flat paved road and my lower ball joint (atm 1012460) came off for no reason causing me to skid to a halt. My tire was sideways and pushed into my fender causing damage to the wheel well and other parts. This part (lower ball joint) was replaced 8 months prior along with tie rods, axle, control arm, upper ball joint and a number of other items in that area. Riebes auto parts replaced the faulty ball joint, tire, fender, and other parts that were damaged. I just got it back last night and my wife stated it felt like it was pulling to the left. I drove it to my mechanic and on the way the other side popped of going 15 mph on a flat road. So all the same damage again. This is a serious issue because y wife and kids were just in the car a few hours before this happened. If it would have occurred on the freeway it would have resulted in rolling. Altrom lower ball joint for a 1998 Toyota 4runner was the part.
- the contact stated that while driving the 1998 Toyota 4 runner with 80000 failure mileage at 15 mph the right front wheel came off. The vehicle needed to be towed. The mechanic stated that the upper and lower ball joints were sheared. The vehicle had been repaired. The current mileage was 106,870.
Front suspension failed, causing a-arm to collapse. Front end is sitting down on tires. Dealr has not been contacted. The ball joint connecting a-arm to bottom backing plate failed.