What parts are most likely to break while off roading?

Was wondering what parts might be the most likely to fail during an off road adventure? Also might anyone be able to put a cost on having them fixed or diy replacing them yourself? Like how much would a broken tie rod, wheel bearing, or ball joint cost to have a shop do it vs at home diy replacement?

 

transmission

 

Tie rods, hub bearings, front CV axles, and ball joints are all susceptible to damage with hard wheeling. I don't think any of these are particularly expensive if you DIY, but you'd want to get an alignment after replacing a tie rod.

 

I know a pretty good answer to this. Replaced everything but bearings. Bought a ball joint separator tool, and sealed boot replacement kit in place of zerk balljoints. And bought a large Crowsfoot socket for tie rods (I replaced outer tie rods, and inner tie rods & bellows. Give me a moment to find my pricing

 

@Thatbassguy mighty fine advice
You think if you keep upper control arms and knuckle supported, and maybe mark up the previous adjustments with chalk, that you dont require alignment after ball joint swap?

 

I don't really know. I just meant that you'd want an alignment after a tie rod swap.

I've heard of people doing their own alignment successfully. It sounds too tedious to be worth the money to me, though. I don't think they're generally all that expensive.

 

Predator steps

 

I thought our transmissions were pretty notorious for being bulletproof. Have you heard of anyone's A750 failing on a trail?

 

Bodywork, I ripped off part of the silver rear valance a couple weeks ago lol

 

Wiring. Over the years I've seen branches break wheel speed sensor wires on two vehicles, transfer case actuator wires, rear locker wires, and oil level switch wire (3rd gen Tacoma).

Spare parts I recommend carrying:
Serpentine belt, front and rear brake hoses, inner tie rod and boot, general wiring repair kit (fuses, butt & ring connectors, wires, heat shrink), rear ABS wire (can be cut down and spliced into any corner), headlight bulb if halogen, wiper blades, spare engine air filter for mud pits, spare hoses of various sizes seen under the hood and hose clamps, jump pack.

Depending on duration of trip, wheel bearing may not be necessary - if it starts groaning during the trip, you can still drive home.

Haven't seen a ball joint separate on the trail with 5th gens. Likewise with U-joints. IMO if you check these things at home and fix if you see grease leak or slop, they won't fail on the trail.

The 2UZ V8 has a low-hanging alternator that likes to be caked in mud and fail. But that isn't a concern on the 5th gen.

 

This. Rear silver valance part is about $500 from Toyota.

Front bumper cover, both the silver part, and the lowest portions that are in front of the tires are also likely to suffer trail damage.

Muffler and exhaust pipe are easy to nail.

OEM skids can get dinged up, but that's what they are there for.

Factory running boards.

 

I managed to find a silver rear valance off marketplace for $30 luckily.

 

I think it’s Trolling?

 

You’d have to really be abusing it to break stuff. Only parts I’ve seen fall off watching YouTube are the front and rear bumper facials.

 

OP, are you trying to weigh the cost/benefits of offroading whilst owning a 4runner?

 

The things that will break while off roading will be whatever you forgot to bring that day to fix it. That’s always been my experience.

 

Yes, also wondering how hard can I go lol. Wanted to get an idea of what kind of costs I would be looking at when I break something and what a worst case scenario might me in "going hard"? Parts aren't the problem right now it would seem it's availability and paying for labor that is stupid expensive right now.

 

I recently took my can am 850 north edition on a brutal ride with boulders, mud, downed trees and logs. In a blink of an eye $1500 worth of damage. That was just plastic and a headlamp. Everything is too expensive these days and nothing is in stock.

 

True, global supply chain is weak.

 

Let's be honest.

You aren't going to be able to keep up with a comparably equipped Wrangler with an equally skilled driver off-road when it comes to rock crawling type situations. You will be the first one to break something when everyone is equally matched.

When it goes to running at higher speeds out in the desert, you'll probably pull away without too much effort.

At the end of the day, you'll have the more pleasant ride home. Especially since you won't have ducks flying everywhere whenever you accelerate or brake really hard.

All that being said, the sky's the limit with what you can break - it's a question of how aggressive or conservative you are. Play the game right and you break nothing. Play it wrong and you end up like this...

 

Your wallet will break first.

 

No... Supposed to say you'll be fine nothing can break ever lol.

 

A lot of unhappy endings start with bucking.

 

Honestly? Your stock tires are the first to go. Then your rocker panels will take a beating.

Cheers
Mike

 

Trail repairs I've done on other people's 5Gen rigs that had to get fixed on trail:
Upper and lower ball joints
Outter Tie rod end
Passenger axle
U-joint
Abs Wires and sensor (especially in snow in the front)
One front driver brake hose
Rim gouge on OR aluminum rim
Valve stem rip out

Hubs will not typically grenade
Alot of other things you can limp it back and get it home. Even a blown out axle can usually be nursed off the trail but can get weird when the cv boot tears out and the axle can do interesting things without the boot holding it together (depending on how it broke).

I keep an upper ball joint, a lower ball joint, a brake hose and fittings that will work for front or rear, a universal split cv boot just for getting home, a good spare tire, Schrader valves, outter Tie rod end and cold beers!

 

You're welcome to run the trails with me anytime! Because I'm more like duct tape and bailing wire level, lol.

 

Some of these lists are exhaustive and appropriate, depending on what the “adventure” entails.

If you’re just starting out, keep it simple! Go out and have some fun with your friends.

Let your version of adventure be your guide to preparedness. I think you’ll have more fun that way.

Cheers
Mike

 

I always have the family with me so getting stuck overnight is not typically an option haha! All that said, I have only had the abs wire in the snow issue so far. I don't push hard enough to break things unless everything has gone really sideways

 

I'd get recover gear first before you start carrying extra parts. Straps, jack and traction boards if you're on mud or sand.

 

If you don’t have extra money, don’t go hard. Especially if you’re not going to be doing your own repairs.

4runners or jeeps off the showroom floor are not indestructible. In many ways, many mods like oversized tires make them even more tender.

While part of off-roading fun is in the risk that you might break something, or get stuck, etc, ultimately you can easily choose a “wheeling” style that fits your budget. I personally think that it’s possible to be more gentle on a vehicle during off road travel, than normal busted up urban roads. It’s all in how you decide to drive.