Rear LCA Bushing question

[wtfemery]

So i realized the weird rear end shimmy/wobble I’m having on my new-to-me 5spd probably isn’t the removed sway bar and has more to do with my LCA’s. Jiggled the right one the other day and it was loose enough to clank around. So i ordered new white line bushings to replace them ASAP. I went and made sure they were torqued down good, and they were real tight, but i tightened them a tad bit more to where i couldn’t clank it with just my hand anymore. I have one question though… it’s hard to see the actual bushing, but I can tell that the actual bolt is still moving around within its hole. Is that what normally happens when it’s worn out or is that a separate problem? Surely the tightness of the bolt isn’t the only thing stopping the whole LCA from moving forward and back, right?

Here’s a pic you can see where the washer has rubbed off the wd40 i had sprayed on there the other day when making sure the bolt was torqued enough.

 

[Twisted Sid]

Id pull the nut and washer off (leave the bolt in place) and see if the hole is ovaled out. If it is, you might have to put some weld washers in place and welded on to make the holes round again. You'd also probably have to get some longer bolts from the added thickness

 

[GhostRing]

I may be mistaken by the photo, but that looks like a nyloc nut, split ring, and washer holding things together.
None of which are original.

I would strongly suggest confirming you have the correct factory or factory-equivalent sized hardware in there before moving forward.

eta:
It's also fairly painless to remove a single LCA and check the condition.
Level ground and parking brake and you'll likely just pop it out & back in.

 

[wtfemery]

I may be mistaken by the photo, but that looks like a nyloc nut, split ring, and washer holding things together.
None of which are original.

I would strongly suggest confirming you have the correct factory or factory-equivalent sized hardware in there before moving forward.

eta:
It's also fairly painless to remove a single LCA and check the condition.
Level ground and parking brake and you'll likely just pop it out & back in.

holy shit you’re right! i just went out and looked at my other truck… looks totally different!!

the bushings still look shot though so still gonna do that but jeez looks like i’m ordering the correct hardware too!

thanks for pointing that out i might not have noticed that on my own

gonna need to take a closer look at all the other aftermarket parts on this thing…

 

[wtfemery]

That bolt was crazy stuck on there! all that banging around really fused it together. Anyway, finally got it off, and indeed it is ovaled out…

I guess if i get the OEM bolts/nuts they won’t fit when i weld washers over the holes to bring them back to round…

Would it be fine to just give this bolt a good wash and reuse it except with the washers welded onto the frame or is that stupid?

edit: I do have more threads left on this bolt so i guess i can grab some additional washers to weld rather than welding the single washer it already has…

 

[GhostRing]

Is the current bolt an exact fit for the bushing sleeve?
I would find the bolt(s) that match those, and then find weld washers to match.

 

[wtfemery]

ended up just getting new bolts, for the weld washers i just did the best i could with regular washers. the old ones were loose on the bolt, got new ones that fit snugly. Got the bushings swapped and greased and the washers welded and it’s all buttoned up nicely now. The weird shimmy has gone away! Gonna do the other side soon but i don’t think it’s ovaled out on the other side.