Lower A Arm Maintinance

[blkexp98]

Its past time for me to change out my lower a arm bushings and i think i can handle its removal and installation with my factory jack and my milling vice. I figured i would also change the ball joint while i had it off. Would you recomend biting the bullet and buying a ball joint press tool or a 20 ton shop press for this? The 20 ton press would be much more useful to me afterwards but it also costs a good bit more too.

I plan to use the whiteline bushings and the normal 555 ball joints if i can find them so thats why i dont just get a replacement set of arms. I dont have any rust issues either so thats another reason.

I unfortunatly have modifyitis too so the press would probably turn into a project after i finish the a arm so thats both a good and bad thing.

Thanks for any help.

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[blkexp98]

I should also add that if there are any other options to consider feel free to post them. Ive done a little reading on the complete Superpro normal and offset arms but havent come to a conclusion yet. They would save some time though since they are apparently made by whiteline as well. I dont know about the balljoint quality though.

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[gfxcruncher]

Your experience may vary from mine, but for what it's worth...

I had zero luck trying to press out the bushings, wound up having to cut the rubber, press the centers out and then cut the sleeve and use punches to roll them and then they came out. Doable, but super unfun for sure.

I did the 555 LBJ too. Problem was the old ones basically tapped out with a hammer and the 555's slid right in with no resistance, needless to say a loose fitting LBJ isn't ideal. Probably one of the reasons Toyota doesn't sell LCA's without the LBJ, that's my guess anyway.

Wound up getting new OEM LCA's at McGeorge, should have done that from the get go...

The Superpro adjustable LCA's... (looks like they use the bushings you're thinking about using) those could be sweet.

My.02, a lot probably depends on the condition and how hard you're wheeling etc...

 

[MikeinNH67]

Rent/borrow the balljoint press from a local autoparts store. With the shop press you'd have to get the right pieces to do the job. If you like tools like me, get both as the press pieces in the balljoint tool are useful on the shop press.

 

[Hi-desertT4R]

I did this a while back following the thread in the maintenance section by [MENTION=429038]y=mx+b[/MENTION]. My LCAs were almost completely rust free too. The bushing were easy to remove using the bottle jack. I too installed Whiteline bushings. Ball joints are a little more difficult using the O’reillys ball joint press tool and cups. A little heat and a BFH helped persuade them. Having a press would be invaluable.

 

[blkexp98]

Humm. I didn't consider if the ball joint socket itself would be too loose. Wonder how common that is and that would be my luck. I may need to do a little more digging on that subject and see how common and what the end resolutions were. Id hate to waste a couple vacation days because I disabled the car and couldnt get it running to go back to work.

Metal condition wise my A arms look good and I currently dont do any heavy wheeling. Id like to get more into it soon though but with that said I dont have any crazy suspension plans yet.

 

[bob3dsf]

FWIW. I decided to get a Harbor Freight 20T press. Mainly to have tools on hand for changing rear wheel bearings. I had to change my fronts relatively soon after buying. I think water got into them during its prior ownership. Reading through the forum back then I learned how much was needed to change Toyota rear wheel bearings. I figured a HF press, a weld together puller tool from ebay, and other needed tools, would be cheaper than paying a shop to do it. But I also was thinking about all the other things I could do with a press. I like building things and other DIY projects/tinkering, etc. I decided also to put an air/hydraulic jack on it, and I'm thinking about a press brake as well. A kit with sleeves and cups for the press are needed to change the ball joint. But I stumbled into a good deal on new OEM LCA's locally, so I'll just swap them when needed. However, at 290k, my original ball joints are still A-OK. I check them every oil change.

 

[Bassturd]

For me personally I would rather use specific suspension tools over a shop press. I can get ball joints and bearings pressed in and out of hubs and LCA’s faster on the car then I can taking it all the way apart and starting that balancing act on the press! I think when it’s time to do my LCA’s I’m just going to order some oem replacements and swap them out hassle free.

 

[MikeinNH67]

FWIW. I decided to get a Harbor Freight 20T press. Mainly to have tools on hand for changing rear wheel bearings. I had to change my fronts relatively soon after buying. I think water got into them during its prior ownership. Reading through the forum back then I learned how much was needed to change Toyota rear wheel bearings. I figured a HF press, a weld together puller tool from ebay, and other needed tools, would be cheaper than paying a shop to do it. But I also was thinking about all the other things I could do with a press. I like building things and other DIY projects/tinkering, etc.

I bought an HF press for similar reasons and I use it more than I thought I would for other things. I built a base with casters for it that lifts it off the ground about 18". Nice to be movable and at a normal height plus there's storage now. Those rear bearings do not look fun to change.

 

[Ida4runner]

Just get a complete A arm, you'll be dollars ahead than doing all that work to replace a bushing.

 

[y=mx+b]

I'd suggest renting a ball joint press and then you can see if you like it without any monetary investment. Most auto parts stores will rent them for free. I had no complaints using a ball joint press and an impact to get ball joints out or back in. Used the same ball joint press setup to install the bushings too

As mentioned, I have a writeup I made with pictures of the entire process. Mine was a little rusty, so hopefully worst case scenario: Whiteline Lower Control Arm Bushing Tutorial (120+ Pictures)

 

[Jcmeadows82]

I am lazy. If I can pay an additional 200 - 300 bucks to get a better product while spending less time screwing with old crap, that is what I am going to do. So, take that into advisement when deciding if you want to do what I did. There is definitely something to fixing up stuff that is perfectly fine so *shrug*.

I bought SuperPro LCA TRC482 and didn't look back. Came with all the bushings already installed and everything needed to just bolt it up including the new adjustment bolts. Very happy with the product overall. Since I had it out for coating my Rock sliders, I scuffed them up with scotch bright and threw a couple coats of raptor liner on them to add some additional chip protection.

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[ktom3001]

"I am lazy. If I can pay an additional 200 - 300 bucks to get a better product while spending less time screwing with old crap, that is what I am going to do. So, take that into advisement when deciding if you want to do what I did. There is definitely something to fixing up stuff that is perfectly fine so *shrug*.

I bought SuperPro LCA TRC482 and didn't look back. Came with all the bushings already installed and everything needed to just bolt it up including the new adjustment bolts. Very happy with the product overall. Since I had it out for coating my Rock sliders, I scuffed them up with scotch bright and threw a couple coats of raptor liner on them to add some additional chip protection"


THIS!

 

[The Yin]

Rent the tools and use a propane torch

If you have more money and less time, then do like some have mentioned and buy a complete set. Also, it's a good Idea to add some extra coating, as mentioned.

If you have more time and less money, then rent the tools form autoparts stores (Autozone, Advanced, O'reilly). If you have a bench vice, that will help as well. Once you have everything apart, I'd suggest still getting a fresh coat of paint or liner on it. Might as well do it when it's easy.

Now, my biggest piece of advice, since I wasted a whole day or more not doing this with mine. USE A PROPANE TORCH for heating up the old bushings so you can press them out. They need high heat, a heat gun will not be enough. I fought with mine using a heat gun and had to cut/press/scrape/hit things/yell at stuff. Then I went and bought a propane torch (just the can with the torch at the end {I had one already but couldn't find it at the time}). Hit those bushing with some high heat, and you can almost press them out by hand.
When I did this, I though the heat was just to soften things enough to move them out, but it turns out the heat is needed to release the adhesive used for holding in the bushings. I was even able to use the torch to heat up and clean out the pieces of bushing left over after all my cutting/scraping.

Long story short: If you have the time, rent the tools and use a propane torch.

 

[r0cksal0t]

I agree with the more time/less money and vice versa options. If you're lca's aren't rusty and just need new bushings/bj, I see the desire to just replace those - I also enjoy revitalizing old things.

I just replaced both my lca's with OEM, but they were rusted and the bushing were seized so I had to sawzall all 4 bushings to get them off the frame.