Front Lower Ball Joint: Inspection: Inspection

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2009 Lexus IS 350 and 2009 Lexus IS 250. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

INSPECT FRONT LOWER BALL JOINT
1. Inspect the turning of the front lower ball joint.
  
  Fig 1: Inspecting Front Lower Ball Joint
  Courtesy of © TOYOTA, LICENSE AGREEMENT TMS1002
  1. Flip the ball joint stud back and forth 5 times as shown in the illustration.
  2. Temporarily install the nut, and use a torque wrench to turn the nut continuously at a rate of 3 to 5 seconds per turn. Take the torque reading on the 5th turn.
    Turning torque
    
    0.5 to 6.0 N*m (5.1 to 61 kgf*cm, 4.4 to 53 in.*lbf)
2. Inspect the turning of the tie rod ball joint.
  1. Flip the ball joint stud back and forth 5 times as shown in the illustration.
  2. Temporarily install the nut, and use a torque wrench to turn the nut continuously at a rate of 3 to 5 seconds per turn. Take the torque reading on the 5th turn.
    Turning torque
    
    0.8 to 4.5 N*m (8.2 to 45.9 kgf*cm, 7.1 to 39.8 in.*lbf) or less
3. Check the dust boots for cracks or grease leakage.
  If the value is not within the specified range, replace the front lower ball joint with a new one.