Burned by the Doorman Lower Control Arms

[BigFishAllDay]

You are obviously a much better person and contributor on this forum than I am. You win the popularity contest but it's not going to affect how I conduct myself on this forum. I will continue to do what I do and I think the large majority don't have a problem with me sharing helpful videos. The reason I post our videos when the chance presents itself is because somebody doing a Google search might come across my post and be stoked to find our video and our channel. I know there's got to be a huge number of people who wrench on their 3rd Gens that haven't discovered our channel yet. By posting our videos, there's better chance people will find our channel and benefit from our work.

The overwhelming response to our channel has been very positive and I'll let the positive feedback fuel my motivation to keep spending an enormous amount of my personal time making new videos with Sean. Happy Trails BFAD.

Tim, I think you will find that if people find your contributions helpful they will often do the job of promoting them for you. If you were to stand back and simply observe, you would probably find that others would link your videos in their thread responses, on your behalf, and to your credit.

I understand the desire to be recognized for your work, and I assure you, that will come on it's own... with or without your self promotion.

Happy trails to you as well.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Maybe it bothers you that our contributions to this forum have surpassed your contributions.

I'm a bit late to the game here but I think you are unnecessarily taking offense at a small comment.

I don't watch your videos either. In fact I'm sure that there are lots of members here who don't watch your videos.

It isn't an insult. There are plenty of reasons some of don't, first and foremost because it takes time and like many others here I've got little to spare.

Now I'm sure that as soon as I NEED TO watch a video to better understand one of the hundreds of things that can be done on a 4Runner I will be grateful for the existence of such videos, which I hear are great. The South Park references are always a plus. Again -- it is awesome that you guys did these videos for the community.

But it really shouldn't be taken as an insult when someone else says in so many words: I didn't really need to watch and already did X on my own. No biggie, end of story.

I have always considered (for the most part) T4R videos and write up threads something to read or watch when needed and not until then. This is just personal preference. I have a lot of other videos I'm working on such as The Vietnam War which I'm only on e2 of and is quite a time suck (but very good).

Edit: Sorry if it seems like I'm butting in.

 

[mtbtim]

Tim, I think you will find that if people find your contributions helpful they will often do the job of promoting them for you. If you were to stand back and simply observe, you would probably find that others would link your videos in their thread responses, on your behalf, and to your credit.

I understand the desire to be recognized for your work, and I assure you, that will come on it's own... with or without your self promotion.

Happy trails to you as well.

People do post links to our videos all the time and it brings a smile to my face every time. I see it mostly on the Facebook page 3rd Gen Mafia. I just think "promotion" is a word choice that means our motivation is ill-placed and self-serving. The main payment for Sean and I is finding that our videos have helped people out. It's that simple.

Take it easy.

 

[BrianSD_42]

[MENTION=95183]octanejunkie[/MENTION] where the f##k do you find these lmao GIFs.

 

[mtbtim]

I'm a bit late to the game here but I think you are unnecessarily taking offense at a small comment.

I don't watch your videos either. In fact I'm sure that there are lots of members here who don't watch your videos.

It isn't an insult. There are plenty of reasons some of don't, first and foremost because it takes time and like many others here I've got little to spare.

Now I'm sure that as soon as I NEED TO watch a video to better understand one of the hundreds of things that can be done on a 4Runner I will be grateful for the existence of such videos, which I hear are great. The South Park references are always a plus. Again -- it is awesome that you guys did these videos for the community.

But it really shouldn't be taken as an insult when someone else says in so many words: I didn't really need to watch and already did X on my own. No biggie, end of story.

I have always considered videos and write up threads someone to read or watch when you need to and not until then. This is just personal preference, I have a lot of other videos I'm working on such as The Vietnam War which I'm only on e2 of and is quite a time suck (but very good).

Edit: Sorry if it seems like I'm butting in.

Hey Brian, I've been around on this earth long enough to know an innocent comment when I read it and BFAD definitely had something that was bothering him with the fact I post videos every chance I get. We all know the search engine on this forum is not the greatest and a Google search with all it's algorithms is not always going to produce a result of somebody finding our video for a topic they are seeking help on. The fact that our videos live in more than one spot increases the chances somebody will find it.

BFAD would like my videos to be more organically found by people and that's his opinion and he's entitled to it. In addition to this forum, I post our new videos in the 1st Gen section of Tacoma World and I post them on the Facebook page 3rd Gen Mafia. I also respond to topics on both of those sites, many times with one of our videos linked, to help people out. I know for a fact most Tacoma World forum members aren't on T4R and many on 3rd Gen Mafia probably aren't either. The fact that I'm posting our videos on multiple sites and multiple threads increases the chances somebody will find one of our videos and be totally stoked that they did.

I don't need everyone to like what we're doing. I know, some would rather read a write-up instead of watching one of our lengthy videos. I knew going into this that I wanted our videos to be very comprehensive and that makes them long. But, at least people can't say after watching one of our videos that we left out an important detail or didn't show every aspect of the repair of mod.

I'm sorry that it bothers some on this forum that I post our videos when the opportunity arises, but really, get over it. My intention is good and I know without a doubt the high majority of the people that find one of our videos appreciates it and is thankful we took the time to make it.

A high high majority of my exchanges on this forum have been very positive but this isn't one of them. But, like I've told Sean, I don't shy away from conflict and I couldn't let BFAD's comment stand without a response. I've now said all I need to say on this topic and I'll go on my merry way now.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

...We all know the search engine on this forum is not the greatest and a Google search with all it's algorithms is not always going to produce a result of somebody finding our video for a topic they are seeking help on. The fact that our videos live in more than one spot increases the chances somebody will find it...

Folks should try Brian's search method, it works great. I'll link it, just in case a lesser search fails to find the "How to Search" thread while someone is searching about searching...

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-t...far-more-accurately-than-standard-method.html

Maybe I should cross post the link on TW, too, just in case. :

 

[nissanh]

Really? Which part?

funny thing is Doorman makes a huge amount of parts for OEM cars, if you look at a lot of the switches on your 4runner it has the doorman name on it. I guess their aftermarket division is run by the new engineers straight out of school

Really? Which part? This is the first time I am hearing this name!

 

[MattJakobs]

Folks should try Brian's search method, it works great. I'll link it, just in case a lesser search fails to find the "How to Search" thread while someone is searching about searching...

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-t...far-more-accurately-than-standard-method.html

Maybe I should cross post the link on TW, too, just in case. :

You’d think someone would’ve made it a sticky

 

[Johnnie]

It seems like some people get the doorman LCA bushings with out a problem and some do . in the end it at least sounds like doorman has quality control issues that make their product inconsistent. I know some of the other suspension parts I bought from them have worked out fine. the real issue with the LCA bushings is the time and effort and alignment costs to install them, if you get a bad batch its not just returning them and trying again, its a lot of your time and another alignment bill. so it seems the easier parts to replace might be worth it to save money if there is no alignment costs or significant labor involved

 

[Renegade_Medic]

So I just did my Whiteline bushings and here's what I did:
Put the sleeve in the bushing and assembly like youre going to put it in.
Then toss them in the freezer for a couple months. Ok, in fairness probably would be ok after about 6-8 hours, I just didn't have time to do mine.
Use a torch to heat up the housings and press out with a jack as shown in the video.
After cleaning up the opening with a wire brush or whatever, heat them back up with the torch for a couple minutes, basically after about 20 seconds after the powdercoating is bubbling, you're good to go.
Run inside and grab the frozen bushing (one at a time) and quickly slam it in the opening and hit it with a big ass hammer.
Repeat for each bushing.
If you have a helper, have them retrieve the frozen bushing while you keep heating the opening. Once you put the bushing in, you only have a couple seconds to knock it into place before they are seized together. I had mine done is about 3.5 hours doing this, no presses or big vises or Giant C clamps and the such. It's quick and easy that way.

Whiteline bushings made a world of difference.

 

[nat103]

Don't feel too bad [MENTION=58318]Johnnie[/MENTION] , I consider myself fairly savvy when it comes to 3rd gens and I made the same mistake... below is a quote from a post I made in the build thread for my '97 when I realized that the Dorman arms were crap. Unfortunately, the realization came AFTER they cost me a set of tires.

The big problem with the Dorman arms is the bushings. They are too soft and when they see road force, they allow the front wheels to toe out. They also allow for all kinds of janky motion in the arms while turning.

So, in trying to save a couple hundred dollars on new LCAs I cost myself almost $700 in tires.

My 2001 needs LCAs currently, and I have a brand new set of OEM arms from Toyota in the garage awaiting install. They cost me $380 but included new OEM bushings already pressed into the arms and will make for a trouble free, and WORRY FREE repair.



Original Dorman LCA install post (where I was still putting cost ahead of reliability) > http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...runner-%93build-thread%94-13.html#post1322470

Haven't made it through the entire thread yet but here's a great video on replacing those.

https://youtu.be/kmaZNBp1gZM