Replace lower control arm bushings, HELP!!!

[BrianSD_42]

Has anyone had a stock LCA fail on the trail?

When my spindle broke I was told it was likely metal fatigue. That spindle failure (on the trail) cost me a full $3K in damaged front end parts and tires.

Now that my LCAs and bushings are nearing 260K miles I'm considering just buying each side brand new with the bushings already installed for $210 each. Also wouldn't that make the replacement much easier?
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[APhelps]

Has anyone had a stock LCA fail on the trail?

When my spindle broke I was told it was likely metal fatigue. That spindle failure (on the trail) cost me a full $3K in damaged front end parts and tires.

Now that my LCAs and bushings are nearing 260K miles I'm considering just buying each side brand new with the bushings already installed for $210 each. Also wouldn't that make the replacement much easier?
.

I should be removing the LCAs from my 3rd gen tomorrow. I have a complete set of front/rear control arms that I'd sell you. Could even help you remove/install all the bushings as well. If you're interested. I recently replaced my upper control arms, rear control arms and panhard bar with a combination of polys and OEMs.

Really getting the bushings out and in on a southern california vehicle isn't difficult. I'd speculate for the midwest guys things are a lot tougher.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Thanks for the offer!. I'll pm you.

My arms appear fine but yes the bushings are old as F. I meeting wanted to replace them because of metal fatigue which I know sounds crazy but after you break down in the desert like I did it won't sound crazy. So if I did replace the arms it would be with brand new metal OEM.

 

[BrianSD_42]

[MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION]

Just watched your video for this. Really awesome. Thank you so much for doing these videos. I hope YouTube is taking care of you

 

[bike]

Has anyone had a stock LCA fail on the trail?

When my spindle broke I was told it was likely metal fatigue. That spindle failure (on the trail) cost me a full $3K in damaged front end parts and tires.

...

I haven't seen or heard of a LCA failing. The worst I've seen is Assburns LCAs starting to stress crack where the forged lower section is riveted into the stamped mild steel wishbone. For a total failure I would imagine the lower forged section could crack and sheer entirely, but probably at that point you've hit something so hard the truck would be totalled anyway. Having the steel around those rivets failing could happen but again for all three rivets to pull out would take sheer ignorance over many years to get to that point. To have either of these failures I would imagine a lower ball joint or spindle to break way before or in addition (I have also snapped a spindle on trail, sucks). Not saying it couldn't happen, but I've never heard of a LCA breaking. Seen a few arms in scrap yards that were slightly bent, and mounts damn near ripped off the frame, but no complete failure.

Buying new arms with bushings pre-installed is definitely easier, but unless you go through Toyota you're still running a questionable bushing. My experience with Moog bushings was terrible.

As far as removing them, I put a simple propane torch on the inner sleeve. Get it hot enough to where you twist and pry it free from the rubber. A pair of vice grips or channel locks was sufficient. Then torch the outside of the arm to again heat the rubber to a point where you can grab the rubber with some needle nose or a screwdriver and expose a section of the metal outer sleeve. From there grab a sawzall and cut a slit in the sleeve. Hammer the sleeve inwards to kind of a folded C shape and tap it out. Took me roughly 30 mins per arm to get both bushings out, not too hard of a deal. I tried with the bottle jack and ended up with it stuck halfway in the bushing and then broke it trying tk retract it haha.

 

[theesotericone]

Has anyone had a stock LCA fail on the trail?

When my spindle broke I was told it was likely metal fatigue. That spindle failure (on the trail) cost me a full $3K in damaged front end parts and tires.

Now that my LCAs and bushings are nearing 260K miles I'm considering just buying each side brand new with the bushings already installed for $210 each. Also wouldn't that make the replacement much easier?
.

Never seen a LCA fail on the trail. Not saying it couldn't happen but the chances are you'll break something else way before the LCA gives.

Buying new arms would be 420 bucks using your figures. Whiteline LCA bushings cost me 62 bucks delivered. The only labor savings you'd be getting is to not have to press out the old bushings and put the new bushings in. I had the old ones out and the Whitelines in in 30 minutes. YMMV.

 

[BrianSD_42]

You guys have great points. I should probably save the $400 bucks for sure.

I have seen a 2nd Gen Tacoma break a front LCA but that guy was doing stupid stuff with his truck.

 

[mtbtim]

[MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION]

Just watched your video for this. Really awesome. Thank you so much for doing these videos. I hope YouTube is taking care of you

You're welcome Brian. Sean and I are making money from our channel but it doesn't come close to compensating us for the time we put in. But, money was never the motivating factor to start making videos anyway. When I posted my first ever YouTube video, I had no idea people made money from YouTube and that some made a very comfortable living from it or have become wealthy from it. We just like to help people with the videos we make and our favorite form of payment is hearing back from people saying how a video of ours helped them do a job on their rig that they thought was beyond their capability.

Our channel is steadily growing and I do foresee a time where we will be generating enough income to compensate us for the time we put in but that is still a long way off and who knows how long we'll be doing this. Some days when I'm really frustrated with the filming, I question if this is how I really want to spend my free time instead of out bike riding or something else. But, I like helping people and I know our videos are helping out a lot of people. The key I think is to have a balance. At first, I was helping out anyone who contacted me. Now, for my own sanity, I'm trying to only help those that need help with a job that will generate a new video for us to share on our channel. When I help a person out with a job we've already filmed, that helps just one person. When we post a new video, that helps out anyone in the world with an internet connection. If I helped everyone out that contacted me, I could almost wrench on every one of my days off. An example is the rear axle seal job. I've now done that job around 12 times helping various people out in the Bay Area and I've turned down at least a dozen or more people asking for help with this job, because like I said, I don't want to spend all my free time wrenching.

Probably a hell of a lot more of a response than you were expecting, wasn't it? Anyway, thanks Brian for your support of our channel. Happy Wrenching!

 

[BrianSD_42]

Glad to hear and thanks 1000x. I would have just used the like function but apparently it's either broken or removed.

 

[MaineRunna]

Moog makes a whole replacement LCA, just do that. Rack just needs to be moved a little bit to get the LCA bolts out. Get all new adjuster bolts, sleeves, cams, etc. Either OEM or the SPC ones.

 

[mesooohoppy]

hi ya'll. i need help understanding this thread as i cannot see pics.

i am looking at the energy kit. it says i have to reuse stuff. do i have to reuse the washers that are pressed onto the ends of the metal sleeve AND the outter metal sleeve (that gets pushed into the LCA)? Or do i just reuse the end washers?

here are the instructions and they are not 100% clear to me:
http://imagesrv.catalograck.com/imgVD/ENE/17P17661.pdf

i dont mind reusing the washers on the end that spin, but i do not want to reuse the big sleeve that i just pushed out of the arm and is all rusty.

here are a pic of my bushings:

 

[fourfive]

i dont mind reusing the washers on the end that spin, but i do not want to reuse the big sleeve that i just pushed out of the arm and is all rusty.

You have to reuse the big metal outer sleeve also. Get the whitelines if you haven't already purchased these because it gives you everything you need for the bushings. I initially bought the energy suspension LCA bushings years ago because I was planning on using the original Toyota washers, sleeves, etc to keep everything close to "OEM" but realized it was going to be more work than what I had time for so I bought the whiteline bushings. They have worked great for the last 60,000+ miles.

 

[mesooohoppy]

You have to reuse the big metal outer sleeve also. Get the whitelines if you haven't already purchased these because it gives you everything you need for the bushings. I initially bought the energy suspension LCA bushings years ago because I was planning on using the original Toyota washers, sleeves, etc to keep everything close to "OEM" but realized it was going to be more work than what I had time for so I bought the whiteline bushings. They have worked great for the last 60,000+ miles.

thank you. i ended up having someone else read it and i re-read it after i got some food in me. we came to the same conclusion.

this does seem like way too much work when you can just push in fresh bushings. these are what i went with because ive used them on other cars in the past with great sucess:

Strongflex Front Lower A-Arm Bushings 96-02 4Runner + USPS Flat - $103.65 : Sonoran Steel Fabrication LLC, Toyota Truck Parts

theyre expensive because they come from poland (shipping). ive ordered directly from them in the past and shipping suuuuuuucks.

 

[3rd3rdGen]

IIRC he ended up getting some oe bushings and installed those instead.

Edit: Ah yes...from a post of JBurt's:

Photobucket is wonky ... pic is blurred out. What is/are the part number(s) for just bushings?

 

[habanero]

[MENTION=173673]3rd3rdGen[/MENTION]

I'm out and about...double-check this:

Lower Control Arm Front Bushing Lower Control Arm Front Bushing Part Number: 48061-35040
And
Lower Control Arm Rear Bushing - Toyota (48061-35050)
Lagrange had them for $51 each one + ship- there may be a BLACKFRI free shipping code, wouldn't hurt to try.

Upper Control Arm Bushing - Toyota (48632-35080)
1996-2002 Toyota 4Runner
Lagrange had them for $31 each

If you get the arm they come with...$172, I think for that option.

 

[mesooohoppy]

If you get the arm they come with...$172, I think for that option.

at 172 a pop i would just buy a spare set on ebay (i paid 25/side) to minimize the downtime and buy the eimkeith LCARs and the strong flex/sonoran steel poly bushings and pimp out the stock LCAs. thats what i did this past weekend and im stoked on em.

 

[4runnerfiend]

I used whitelines: They come with everything you need.


Whiteline Bushings
Front Control Arm - Lower Inner Rear Bushing
1999 Toyota 4Runner
(All 4Runner models)
Part #: W53377A

from Auto Anything. Paid 76.47 with tax and shipping.

 

[Dirt_mcgurt98]

Brother, if you don’t know what you’re doing, It would be to your benefit to pay a professional if you’re not sure. I just did a full over haul on my suspension including lower control arm bushings and I can tell you it’s a pita. At no point though, did I ever have to touch the steering wheel. You only need to remove the outer tie rod, Sway bar end link, the nut on top of the shock(or maybe just the lower shock bolt, not sure if you can get it back together that way though. You gotta compress the coil spring some how. I had to install the shock to LCA and then lower the vehicle down on a jack on that corner and one jack in the back opposite corner to get the shaft through the hole while guiding it), the lower ball joint needs to be removed somehow(Gotta use a big hammer and hit the outside of the LBJ knuckle where tie rod is. I also used a big long pry bar between the LBJ and control arm to pop that LBJ out) keep in mind though, I had to fully disassemble my suspension and I put new inner and outer TREs, new uniball UCAs, new LBJs, rebuilt the rack & pinion. . Assuming you can do all that, you need to then place the control arm in a big sturdy vice because you gotta pound those sleeves out. I had to use an air chisel and it takes some finesse to get them out without damaging the bushing housing. And don’t forget, you need to have a full alignment done after. If you’re not experienced, I wouldn’t attempt it. I have a full shop, professional tools, a lift etc etc and id still almost rather pay someone else $456 to do it if I had to again.

 

[TechHoFFinaTor]

Not sure about the Whiteline polys but with the Energy Bushings, for the lower front control arm bushings, you leave in the outer sleeve.

Cam not adjusting? Strange. There's not much there to stop it from moving if your sleeves are not seized in place. Were you trying to adjust it from the correct side? One side tightens the other side adjusts the cam.


If the old sleeves come out them yep, you can just swap out the A arms. No burning out bushings. It's pretty messy burning out the old ones. BTW lighter fluid for your zippo (naptha) works well do clean up the burnt rubber. Getting out the old A arms is the PITA part. When a press won't work to pull them out then the next best thing I've tried is an air chisel. You pretty much destroy the sleeve into pieces to get the arm to be able to drop out.

I replaced my old bushings the first time with new Toyota bushings. They were trashed again after roughly 20k mi. I'm guessing there is too much flex on the front end for the OEM bushings to rotate that far and that's the cause of the premature failure. This time around I went with the Energy bushings.

Yes, if you have any sort of travel the OEMs won't handle it well. They just end up tearing the bushings.
How did your Energy Suspension bushings work out?