lower strut mounting bolt and nut

[Herculean T4R]

I am in the midst of installing 3" toytec suspension lift kit. Any issue if I install the lower mounting bolt facing front and nut facing back which is opposite to OEM setup. I tried everything but couldn't get the bolt go from the back as the bolt head is interfering with the cv half shaft.

Thanks!

 

[TCMach]

I believe it has to go bolt head by the half shaft or else the bolt can interfere with the CV boot. I just stick a jack under the LCA and move it around until I can get the bolt all the way in, worked every time so far and ive gone through 3 front lifts

 

[Herculean T4R]

I have been messing with it for 4 hours now. I have been pushing the upper control arm down with a pry bar and bottle jack. I will try again tomorrow by lifting the LCA. Been worried that I will strip the threads on the bolt by trying to force it in the lower strut mounting hole. what a PITA.

 

[TCMach]

that sucks man, have you tried turning wheels at all so the CV boot is oriented differently?

sometimes you can get away with loosening the upper mounting bolts a bit. that gives you a little play left and right, and leaves the bottom eye a little lower

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

When I did my LCA bushings, I had to disconnect the LBJ from the LCA with a balljoint remover from Autozone (free rental). I obviously also had to disconnect the lower bolt on the coilover. When I was reassembling, I put the LCA in loosely and put a jack under the LCA and raised it into position to easily put the lower bolt of the coil over in place. While doing this I made sure that the stud of the LBJ was positioned to go into the LCA hole. Then all I had to do was jack the LCA up and put the castle nut on the LBJ stud. I did my LCA bushings after I did my 3" Tundra coil spring lift, and had the same exact issues your having. I was able to get it in by "guiding" it in with a long 3/8 in extension. But the threads did get marred and made put the nut back on a PITA. If I were to do it again, I would put a jack underneath the LCA, pop the LBJ loose from the LCA, loosen the LCA adjustment bolts and lower it down until tension is off the coilver and easily slide the bolt out, then do the reverse to reassemble. Just need the tool which looks like a large Pitmann arm puller and comes in the front end service kit ( not the one with the big C-lamp and receiver cups)

 

[Herculean T4R]

It took me 6 hrs, but I got it done. Driver side was difficult as the cv boot was in the way. I was able to turn the wheels which allowed just enough gap between cv boot and LCA for me to slide in the bolt. Was PITA for sure. Glad I didn't break anything.

 

[RafiBomb!]

I stripped mine trying to tighten it back up after swapping my 5100s in. Nut ate the threads right off. This was 15 minutes after the Toyota dealership closed and on top of that, there was nowhere else to get it. Ended up having to wait til Tuesday to fix it. :frusty:

 

[TCMach]

I stripped mine trying to tighten it back up after swapping my 5100s in. Nut ate the threads right off. This was 15 minutes after the Toyota dealership closed and on top of that, there was nowhere else to get it. Ended up having to wait til Tuesday to fix it. :frusty:

Just an FYI for you and anybody else who runs into this. One of my lower bolts seized and I had to cut it apart, these bolts are not stocked at Toyota so I ordered one but was out of luck at the time which is a problem because I DD my truck. Ran to ACE hardware and picked up a bolt that fit. Ran it for a couple days no issues and keep it in my spare parts bag now. I believe it was an M14 x 3". Take your bolt with you to compare sizes just to make sure. I've got an OEM bolt back in there now but as far as getting you through a couple days it'll do.

 

[s20004runner]

once i got just a tip of the bolt into all the holes (the lca bracket -> shock -> lca bracket0 - I use the impact to 'screw' it in some more then tightened it w/ the bolt and that seems fine. Have done it multiple times now.

The bolt and its threads seem to be pretty durable.

 

[snivilous]

Just an FYI for you and anybody else who runs into this. One of my lower bolts seized and I had to cut it apart, these bolts are not stocked at Toyota so I ordered one but was out of luck at the time which is a problem because I DD my truck. Ran to ACE hardware and picked up a bolt that fit. Ran it for a couple days no issues and keep it in my spare parts bag now. I believe it was an M14 x 3". Take your bolt with you to compare sizes just to make sure. I've got an OEM bolt back in there now but as far as getting you through a couple days it'll do.

There's nothing special about that bolt lol. Maybe if you really wanted a smooth collar and not fully threaded then you would need some washers to space the nut out to torque it nicely... Otherwise as long as it's snug doesn't matter, hell a grade 5 would work totally fine I bet.

 

[gamefreakgc]

I agree on the hardware store parts. They are usually just as good for what is needed as what is found at a dealership or auto parts store. If you manage to shear a brand new lower shock bolt in half, well, let's just say you're lucky you only sheared a bolt!

The more common problem is finding one with the same size and thread spacing. I often find the right size bolt only to find that the threads are too big/small.

 

[adkins]

Could always buy a nut and bolt if the bolt gets messed up. I just used a big screw driver to line up the holes. Went right in.

 

[D Farms]

just unbolt the ball joint, that will allow you to move the spindle out of the way and also move the lca down a bit further. if you cant get it in though without undoing the ball joint bolts it probably means that your coils arent aligned for the ubj to fall between them.