I have a question for the masses. I stopped by a local off-road shop to get a quote on getting my 2007 4Runner a lift/leveling kit and some new tires. I was looking at the Bilstein 5100 3" lift kit. The shop wants to see if the control arm bolts can be loosened. They mentioned something about them corroding inside the bushing sleeve. If they can't get them out, he said I'd have to opt for new arms at an additional cost. If I'd have to replace these, then I'll have to rethink the kit and go with something a more affordable.
Is it necessary to remove these bolts? The only reason I decided to do a shop as this is a daily driver and I'd like to get everything done at one time.
What are your thoughts? I'm also thinking 3" lift plus a 265/70/17 tires would make it a bit too tall for the width of the vehicle. My wife will drive this on occasion and I want her to be comfortable driving too.
He's talking about the cam bolts used for alignment on the lower control arms. Mine are seized in place, and as such, I can't get a perfect alignment. That said, they're seized in a good place, so they're not too bad. You'll still have issues with steering angle and probably caster. My caster is somehow okay. Driving wise, it can be sometimes unpredictable, but it's nothing that you can't handle. If you have your hand on the wheel, it's not going to **** you over.
You don't need to remove these to install the lift, but you need them to align. If you want to replace them, you'd have to use a sawzall on the LCA mounting bolts to chop it off, then put on new LCAs, or stamp out the bushings on your existing ones and replace (recommended, but you'd need your vehicle on a lift for a while). LCAs are not cheap new, best to buy a used set and retrofit the bushings with new OEM or polyurethanes.
That said, this was more of an issue with the earlier 4th gens. You might be fine with a 2007. Also depends on your locale, if it's in a wintery area, salt might have contributed to seizing.
If you've gotten an alignment recently with no issues, you'll be fine.