SOLVED: Is This Normal for Lower Control Arm?

[4Runner4Leon]

**** Edited: The answer is that the movement I saw in the control arm was normal, but the noise is not. I probably didn't have to replace the bushings, but oh well. See post 35. ****

Original post below:

While replacing my front spring recently, I noticed that with the shock/spring assembly out, I can move the LCA up and down fairly easily (with the pivot bolts still fully tightened).

I don't recall ever being able to move a control arm this easily without loosening the pivot bolts in any other vehicle.

Is this normal for a 4Runner?

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[St Runner]

Nooo

 

[St Runner]

It will move up and down but it should be firm, any side play or wiggle and the control arm bushings are bad. Aftermarket poly bushings will move easily up and down

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Ooops, looks like I had the video set to private. Any thoughts on this?

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Pretty please? Help a brutha out?? :attention:

 

[Bad Luck]

Ooops, looks like I had the video set to private. Any thoughts on this?

As long as the bushings aren't torn then this really isn't a problem. You don't want the bushings to be binding during rotational movement otherwise that causes tearing stress on the bushing rubber.

Edit: You don't want any side to side or up and down play in the bushing, but ease of rotation is fine.

 

[apohl17]

4Runner4Leon When I did the front end on my 3rd gen, it definitely wasn't as loose as this. My guess would be your LCA/UCA bushings are worn "in", but whether they have any lateral play or not is the big question.

Good to know you won't be turning green on any of us...

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Thanks guys, that's reassuring. I didn't notice any play in the control, just the fairly easy up/down movement. Maybe I'm stronger than I thought, who knew . I'll leave it be for now, LCA bushing replacement looks like a narly job.

 

[mtbtim]

Leon, check the tightness of the front cam bolt with a torque wrench if you have one. The torque spec is 96 ft-lbf. You won't be able to get onto the rear one with a torque wrench unless you have a 22mm crows foot wrench you can attach because the steering rack will be in your way. If I were you, I'd double check the front cam bolt on both sides with a torque wrench and then for the back cam bolts I'd get onto it with a long 22mm box end wrench and crank on it. When alignment shop techs do an alignment, they usually don't break out torque wrenches. How do I know this? It's because I've watched a few alignments happen on my rigs and they just get onto the bolts with big box end wrenches and crank them down to that German spec of "Gudentite".

I would have to say that your control arm is moving way to easy and I suspect that the last guy who did the alignment on your rig hasn't been pumping enough iron because he didn't get them as tight as they should be. If you're going to follow my advice, have the wheels weighted by the rig and not suspended in the air. Bushings should be in their neutral spot when you tighten them so they aren't bound up or have torque on them at a state of rest.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Hey Tim, that front bolt seemed pretty tight when I put a box end on it (I couldn't put a torque wrench on it with the skid in place, and I didn't bother taking it off in the moment). I can do that and try again.

I'm just puzzled by this because I'm used to control arms where the outer sleeve is pressed into the control arm, and the inner sleeve is pinched by the bolt and nut, so the only motion that occurs is due to the bushing rubber flexing - and that's usually pretty hard to do by hand. This seems much too easy, like something is actually rotating rather than rubber flexing.

 

[mtbtim]

Hey Tim, that front bolt seemed pretty tight when I put a box end on it (I couldn't put a torque wrench on it with the skid in place, and I didn't bother taking it off in the moment). I can do that and try again.

I'm just puzzled by this because I'm used to control arms where the outer sleeve is pressed into the control arm, and the inner sleeve is pinched by the bolt and nut, so the only motion that occurs is due to the bushing rubber flexing - and that's usually pretty hard to do by hand. This seems much too easy, like something is actually rotating rather than rubber flexing.

If the bolts are tight then the bushing rubber might have torn enough to allow that easy movement of the arm. I'd take the skid off and take a closer look at the bushings. But, if you're not experiencing any front end problems, maybe just leave it alone for now.

 

[GPsevinSixx]

Too floppy. Likely torn bushings as they look like original rubber. Doesn't appear to have any resistance or "spring back" jounce to it in the video.

 

[phattyduck]

Generally to move the arm down like that requires a 2'+ long pry bar if all the pivot bolts are tight (wedged in the upper arm). I'd wager you have some torn bushings. They may just not be loose enough to wiggle in other ways with manual manipulation yet.

-Charlie

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Yeah, this all makes sense. I don't feel any springback like I would expect from properly performing bushings. The truck drives great though, so I may just let this go for now (see no evil) until I find a reason to pull out the steering rack, or Timmy decides he has to make an LCA bushing video .

 

[mtbtim]

Yeah, this all makes sense. I don't feel any springback like I would expect from properly performing bushings. The truck drives great though, so I may just let this go for now (see no evil) until I find a reason to pull out the steering rack, or Timmy decides he has to make an LCA bushing video .

Sean and I already made two videos on this subject Leon. You're a day late and a dollar short. You could utilize Part 1 to swap out your bushings if you don't own a press. We showcase the bottle jack technique in this video:

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Since some guys had managed to destroy their control arms using too much force and maybe not enough heat using the bottle jack technique, we decided to make another video showing how you can do it with a press. I debated if using a press would work but [MENTION=168172]sleepydad[/MENTION] proved it can work with a Harbor Freight 20 ton press. So, we followed his lead and made our own video on using this technique. The other reason for Part 2 was to cover how to deal with frozen cam adjuster sleeves. It's fairly common to find one or more of your cam adjusters rusted into the bushing sleeve and no amount of pounding on them will free them. So, you have to cut them out. Here's Part 2:

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[nissanh]

Are the front and rear bushings on that A-arm are same or different?

Tim, how are those whiteline bushings holding on?

I might replace the bushings on my 97 but wondering what bushing to buy or just get the control arms.
Part number for front: 48061-35040: Rear is 48061-35050

 

[mtbtim]

Are the front and rear bushings on that A-arm are same or different?

Tim, how are those whiteline bushings holding on?

I might replace the bushings on my 97 but wondering what bushing to buy or just get the control arms.
Part number for front: 48061-35040: Rear is 48061-35050

The part numbers for the OEM rubber bushings are different front and rear so they are different bushings. I helped [MENTION=148218]JZiggy[/MENTION] swap his out and he chose OEM replacements. I also remember Jordan paying attention to how the original ones were installed into the arm and we got the new ones installed in the same orientation. Basically looking at how the gaps in the rubber bushing were oriented in relation to the arm. Maybe Jordan will see I tagged him and will chime in because I don't know if I'm describing this very well.

My Whiteline bushings are holding up fine but I probably only have around 8k miles on them. Too early to tell what the longevity of the poly bushings will be on my end but I'm guessing there's some dudes who probably have 30k or more miles on them by now.

You can save a considerable amount just replacing the bushings. I think the hardest part of this job is if you find one or more of your cam adjuster sleeves is rusted in place inside the bushing sleeve. It's some tedious reciprocating sawing even with some good blades.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Sean and I already made two videos on this subject Leon. You're a day late and a dollar short.

No worries, glad you already have one. Looks easy enough, the biggest pain seems to be fighting with the rack to get the bolts out. Mine is totally rust free, so I don't expect any issues with that.

I'll probably go with OEM bushings. Looks a quality day with my suspension is in my future.

 

[mtbtim]

No worries, glad you already have one. Looks easy enough, the biggest pain seems to be fighting with the rack to get the bolts out. Mine is totally rust free, so I don't expect any issues with that.

I'll probably go with OEM bushings. Looks a quality day with my suspension is in my future.

You may as well replace your steering rack bushings at the same time. Read the video description for the LCA bushing video and read the pinned comment because we provide updated information in both areas. Basically, you don't have to mess with the steering rack boots. You can get the steering rack back far enough to clear the rear LCA bolts if you disconnect the power steering line bracket on the driver side frame rail.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

You may as well replace your steering rack bushings at the same time. Read the video description for the LCA bushing video and read the pinned comment because we provide updated information in both areas. Basically, you don't have to mess with the steering rack boots. You can get the steering rack back far enough to clear the rear LCA bolts if you disconnect the power steering line bracket on the driver side frame rail.

Cool, thanks Tim, I didn't look at the details yet, so this is good to know. And I replaced the rack bushings a couple of years ago, so those should still be good.

I'm mentally trading off spending $50-70 on each arm new bushings, vs getting new Toyota arms for about $200 each and saving all the press work. I'll probably just replace the bushings, but will ponder a bit more.