Stuck lower control arm ruined my day

SlvrV8Rnnr

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I've been wanting to bump my Bilsteins up to 2.5 for quite some time. And once i got it lifted i could then get tires for my new stealth 6 wheels. A badly broken hand and surgery has kept me from getting to it. Well I finally had a free weekend and my hand felt good enough so I started around 2:30p. Got to the LCA and it would not drop down. I couldn't even budge it with a pry bar. Drivers side drops right down after loosening the bolts but the passenger side is stuck. I even banged on the bolts with a hammer and nothing. I had to put everything back together and give up. What am I needing to do here? I'm thinking new bushings after researching the site. Should I contact the local Toyota first thing Monday?
 
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Bushings and cam bolts most likely. I had the same problem but it was both sides. The 05+ tacoma bushings from moog on rockauto fit and are WAY cheaper then oem. The moog can bolts on rock auto work as well and are greasable to help prevent such problems.
 
I've been wanting to bump my Bilsteins up to 2.5 for quite some time. And once i got it lifted i could then get tires for my new stealth 6 wheels. A badly broken hand and surgery has kept me from getting to it. Well I finally had a free weekend and my hand felt good enough so I started around 2:30p. Got to the LCA and it would not drop down. I couldn't even budge it with a pry bar. Drivers side drops right down after loosening the bolts but the passenger side is stuck. I even banged on the bolts with a hammer and nothing. I had to put everything back together and give up. What am I needing to do here? I'm thinking new bushings after researching the site. Should I contact the local Toyota first thing Monday?

Did you losses the cam bolts? I had the same problem but after loosening the cam bolts and putting a 3 pound hammer on the back of a pipe and giving the LCA a couple of taps it dropped right down.
 
I had the front cam bolt all the way out at one point. But the back cam bolt would not budge. Breaker bar didn't work. Pounding on it with a hammer in different places didn't work. All I have is hand tools. I soaked it with pb blaster and may try to get back to it today. Otherwise it's going to the dealer on Monday. I appreciate the feedback.
 
Now I'm in big trouble...

Well guys I worked on it again today and only made things worse. Still could not get the arm to budge and now I cannot get the nut back on the rear cam bolt. I even tried another nut that I had on hand and it would not work. I'm thinking the threads on the bolt got damaged when I was hammering on it. So now what do I do? The toyota dealership is approximately 3 miles from my house and the top speed is 35... Can I try to drive it there in the morning with only one cam bolt tightened down on my passenger lower control arm? The other bolt is not going anywhere... Like I said I spent 2 days trying to get it out.
 
Bad news man.
Your cam bolts are likely frozen to the metal sleeve on the LCA bushing.
You would be wise to cut your losses (pun intended) and order some new LCAs. I got mine from RockAuto (Moogs ~$200 each) and some new Moog greasable cam bolts (~$35 x2 sets). You then cut out the old LCAs and cam bolts with an angle grinder and replace with the new parts.
It sucks. I just did it about a month ago.

Google "frozen Toyota cam bolt".
Sorry.
 
20 bucks at home depot and get yourself a propane touch and heat it up till its nice and hot.

Then use a BFH aka big ****ing hammer on the stem with the nut up side down
 
20 bucks at home depot and get yourself a propane touch and heat it up till its nice and hot.

Then use a BFH aka big ****ing hammer on the stem with the nut up side down

For what it's worth, I had the same problem on all four of the cam/caster adjustments on my LCAs and ended up having to cut them out. Which I don't recommend doing. Ever. Take it to a shop to have them handle it.

After a full day of PB blaster, hammering, heating with a torch, hammering some more, and cursing, I nearly resorted to animal sacrifice in an attempt to knock them loose. Needless to say, my sawsall was super, super pissed by the end of the project, though +1 to Ryobi for durability.

Whatever you do, get a greaseable kit. If the shop/dealership won't put a set in, buy some from Rockauto and slip them in yourself. I live in CO, so rust is about zero concern for me (the previous owner lived in OH for a time and then moved to CA), but the incremental difference in cost is worth it if I never have to go through that misery again.

As for driving without the bolt, if you have a metal file and a sawsall (or a dremel and a boatload of patience and cutting wheels), you can cut the end of the bolt off and file the burrs so you can get the nut back on. Disaster scenario would be rear of the LCA breaking loose on the way there. The bolt will hold it, but without a nut, it could slip loose and fall out. Putting the nut on, even at the very end of the bolt, will keep that from happening.

It's obviously not optimal, but if you're gentle with it and limp all the way to the shop, you shouldn't have any issues. If you haven't had your lower ball joint replaced, expect the techs to mention replacing the whole lower end kit. Once the new cam/caster kit is in, though, you can probably handle that stuff yourself.
 

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