Front control arm rebuild?

[Spktyr]

I have read that doing the rear control arm bushings is a pain in the arse and that it's best to get a second set of arms from the junkyard and swap out the bushings ahead of time to minimize the time the truck is out of service. I am thinking this would be a good idea for the fronts as well, but I notice the lower front control arms are of a design that I've not really seen before - the point at which the lower ball joint attaches to the lower control arm appears to be a separate piece riveted to the rest of the control arm stamping.

1. Are these large rivets known to wear out or get loose?
2. Are there any other reasons to not pull some used control arms off at the junkyard and re-bush/repaint/rebuild them ahead of swapping them into my truck?

Thanks.

 

[CaboRunner]

All of the bushings are relatively easy to replace. The fr. LCA bushings are actually the easiest. All you need are basic tools, a torch, and your stock bottle jack. Takes about 2hrs to do both sides.

All the rear control arm are really easy also but you need a 20 ton press and a torch. I have a crappy harbor freight press but it works and was less than $150 on sale. I used a few different sockets to press the bushings out. Mtbtim has some great videos on YouTube to get you going in the right direction.

So, a $20 torch and $150 press can have the whole job done in 1 day without having to buy additional control arms

 

[Spktyr]

Unfortunately, I don't have the space to put a press - I'm working on my truck in my apartment complex parking lot or occasionally a friend's garage. I can have a friend of mine take the arms and press the bushings out at his work, though.

So there's no technical reason not to reuse a used front lower control arm? The rivets don't tend to wear or wallow out with age?

 

[thezentree]

Buy new lower control arms from Toyota. They come with the bushings already pressed in and you'll want them when you bend the LCAs that came off your truck when you try to press the bushings out with a bottle jack.

Seriously. They're not that expensive and will save you several hours of work even if the old bushings come out without trouble.

 

[Spktyr]

Worth considering - though I really an aiming to put in polyurethane bushings, probably the softer ones from Prothane (about the same durometer as rubber but a bit stiffer). PU bushings last much longer in my experience and are basically oil proof, not a trivial concern for a truck that turns out to leak oil.

That said, I will go shopping for the LCAs new from Toyota to see the price point - but does this hold for the UCAs as well?

 

[tx_shooter]

Worth considering - though I really an aiming to put in polyurethane bushings, probably the softer ones from Prothane (about the same durometer as rubber but a bit stiffer). PU bushings last much longer in my experience and are basically oil proof, not a trivial concern for a truck that turns out to leak oil.

That said, I will go shopping for the LCAs new from Toyota to see the price point - but does this hold for the UCAs as well?

I had this same scenario in January this year. I ended up taking the chance to upgrade my UCAs to Camburgs (would have went TC if I had the spare scratch) and ordered new LCAs from Camelback Toyota Parts online. The stock bushings lasted my rig 250k miles and I do not see myself keeping the rig past 500k so it will be the next owner's problem. The shop cost to replace the bushing made the new LCAs much easier in shop labor.

I paid out a lot in January - new LCAs, steering rack + inner/outer tie rods, and new tires to replace the badly worn tires. But it drives great now and that part of the rig is worry free for another 250k miles.

 

[thezentree]

Worth considering - though I really an aiming to put in polyurethane bushings, probably the softer ones from Prothane (about the same durometer as rubber but a bit stiffer). PU bushings last much longer in my experience and are basically oil proof, not a trivial concern for a truck that turns out to leak oil.

That said, I will go shopping for the LCAs new from Toyota to see the price point - but does this hold for the UCAs as well?

I can’t speak to the UCAs since mine are aftermarket SPCs.

 

[Mzs14]

Just gonna throw this out there about the rear control arms, rent the heavy duty 23 pc. ball joint kit from Advanced Auto and you don't need a press. The rear uppers pop out easy after cutting the flanges with a razor knife. The rear lowers will push the center rubber section out and then you can use a hacksaw to cut the sleeve followed by a hammer and chisel and your done.

Edit: All credit due to Timmy who coincidentally posted below me, I am in your debt sir.

 

[mtbtim]

All the bushings on your control arms are replaceable with the right tools. The ones that can be the hardest are the front LCAs because of the fact that sometimes the cam adjusters can become rusted inside the bushing sleeve and then you're forced to cut them out with a reciprocating saw which is a little bit of a pain in the ass.

To answer your question about the rivets on the LCAs, I haven't heard of anyone reporting them falling apart unless it's someone in one of the rust belts of the country where they fall apart due to corrosion. So no, there's no technical reason to replace the LCAs unless you like wasting money. Replacing the OEM bushings with some poly bushings from Whiteline is very cost effective, but yeah, it requires some of your time to do it.

[MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I have made videos for replacing all the control arm bushings on our rigs. Grab some popcorn and get comfortable because there's lots to watch.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kmaZNBp1gZM" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6FzEHygizoI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_lZbAd1_EUM" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IvBid-kIdiI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nq-lzK7CPKQ" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Wedgy]

I have done two front and rear bushings twice now and both were very as far as pressing out. Both of these were on west coast salt free vehicles so I think a lot of the stories of difficulties are from rust belt vehicles.

 

[Jaysen4runner]

Why do everyone recommend Toyota OE bushing. I did OE bushings, they didnt hold for my kind of wheeling. I would recommend Whiteline Bushing, OE was done within 1yr of wheeling and hard washout roads.