'Redneck" lower control arm - LCA Bushing Press

Nazupag524 · May 28, 2015

I'm getting ready to buy an energy suspension control arm bushing kit but I only need the lowers. Does anyone out there need the upper bushings?

Burnwithin · May 28, 2015

i had the same issue on my 2010 tacoma with 85k miles i did the bilstien 5100 and AAL 1.5 rear 1.75 in front and when went to do the alighment it was all froze up so i also used a sawzall to get the LCA off both side were siezed up. I got all new OEM parts both front bushings and rears new bolts cam gears nuts all of it and it was around 350 to 400$ but i didnt want to use aftermarket bushings sence it would have only saved me maybe 20 bucks at most i used heat and air hammer to get them lose with no luck. After I got the LCA's out I just
set the bushing on fire let them melt and pushed the outer ring out like butter. and when i did the alignment it was cake after

Crom · Nov 12, 2015

Old thread but good info!

Crom · Nov 12, 2015

https://youtu.be/JZ5BMfkuHlM

nd4spdbh · Nov 13, 2015

Crom said: ↑

https://youtu.be/JZ5BMfkuHlM
Click to expand...

yeah i wouldnt do that way as thats spreading the two attachment points of the LCA.

Crom · Nov 13, 2015

It looks worse than it is. It's not too much pressure. The jack is basically acting like a stopper. When heat is applied, the bushing expands and only has one way to go, and that's out! As I recall, @brutalguyracing tried it and it worked really well. I just refound the video again last night and wanted to post it. Probably deserves it's own thread...

Sandman614 · Nov 13, 2015

Crom said: ↑

It looks worse than it is. It's not too much pressure. The jack is basically acting like a stopper. When heat is applied, the bushing expands and only has one way to go, and that's out! As I recall, @brutalguyracing tried it and it worked really well. I just refound the video again last night and wanted to post it. Probably deserves it's own thread...
Click to expand...

I've done it too and it works well. For any concerns of it bending the arms out, when I reinstalled I had to bend the outer tabs in a little, meaning it did not bend.

TacoBow · Nov 13, 2015

The jack method does work well for a bushing that's defiant, but not so much for one that's rusted fast into the LCA.

Pause the video at 49 seconds and inspect the body of that bushing once it releases from the control arm. Smooth and still cylindrical with no gaulded surfaces. Now compare that to the control arm bushing from the salty state of PA seen on page 1.

Significant difference. The rust on the control arms themselves suggests a southern or later model year vehicle was depicted in the video.

Not that it's a bad method, but that jack would have simply not prevailed here. Opting for a larger bottle jack or increasing the heat required to free the PA application would have damaged the LCA as nd4spdbh noted. PA corrosion issues often require much more heat than a hobby propane torch can provide. Their primary use here in a garage setting is for soldering or lighting cigarettes. Aside from a new vehicle purchase, a southern vehicle offered for sale is favored in the northern states for obvious reasons.

Crom · Nov 13, 2015

TacoBow[OP] said: ↑

The jack method does work well for a bushing that's defiant, but not so much for one that's rusted fast into the LCA.

Pause the video at 49 seconds and inspect the body of that bushing once it releases from the control arm. Smooth and still cylindrical with no gaulded surfaces. Now compare that to the control arm bushing from the salty state of PA seen on page 1.

Significant difference. The rust on the control arms themselves suggests a southern or later model year vehicle was depicted in the video.

Not that it's a bad method, but that jack would have simply not prevailed here. Opting for a larger bottle jack or increasing the heat required to free the PA application would have damaged the LCA as nd4spdbh noted. PA corrosion issues often require much more heat than a hobby propane torch can provide. Their primary use here in a garage setting is for soldering or lighting cigarettes. Aside from a new vehicle purchase, a southern vehicle offered for sale is favored in the northern states for obvious reasons.
Click to expand...

Thanks for commenting. I appreciate your thread and OP, very ingenious.

Why not just just set the bushing on fire?

TacoBow · Nov 14, 2015

Setting them on fire is a proven option, one that Burnwithin used -

Burnwithin said: ↑

... After I got the LCA's out I just set the bushing on fire let them melt and pushed the outer ring out like butter, and when i did the alignment it was cake after.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking his username implies he might carry a lighter.

Having a garage filled with burnt rubber would have been more like spoiled cabbage and disappointment once the little lady got home. Not a safe move for me at all. I have a vertically challenged wife, 5 foot 1/2 inch and she will remind you of that .05 inch. After 24 years, I've learned not to fabricate any explanation for floating black soot tails that would surely be aloft as she drove into the garage.

Lighting them up in the driveway would have been equally as precarious, since at that time, we lived next door to the local sheriff. Still, I agree that it is a good option if your location permits and fire safety precautions are observed.

White Bear · Nov 18, 2015

Tacobow, how did you remove the lip from the old bushing.

I used a bottle jack a few removing a few of mine, it did spread the LCA a little but it seemed to spring back with no permanent spread. Thanks for the thread though.

BadDNA · Apr 20, 2017

*Zombie thread*
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262286672915
If I'm looking at the diagram right, I only need 4x part #16 (4819060020 - adjustment cams) and new bushings, if I'm taking the "rip and replace" method. Can anyone confirm that those cams come with all the parts or are there other parts in addition to those that I'll need?

Chuy · Jun 2, 2017

Here is a variation of the Redneck and bottle jack methods. Essentially, I used a bolt and a coupling nut to press out the bushings.

For the larger bushing, you need a set of washers with 2 1/8" OD because the OEM washer on the bushing is not wide enough. 2 1/4" & 2 1/2" cups came from a BJ Service kit from Harbor Freight, #60827. 9-inch bolt (grade 8 $18) and coupling nut ($8)is a 3/4"-10 - got them on Zoro. Also get an assortment of 3/4" std and extra wide washers. Need a crescent wrench that opens 2.25". A propane torch may be needed to break the bushings free. Did't take much heat to remove mine; less than a minute for the small one and about 2 min for the large bushing. The large bushing has a smaller ID; so, you need a M12 bolt and assorted washers to press out that bushing (bottom 2 pics). The smaller bushing can accommodate a 3/4" bolt.

Installing the bushings required a 2.5" ID cup for the large bushing. I'm using a customized cup - It's a standard 2.5" ID 2" long pipe but the inside was smooth out with a lathe to remove the seam. Same pipe is used to remove Moog ball joints, which are wider than OEM.

Pigpen · May 14, 2017

This is a great thread! Wish I would have read it last year

thomasburk · Sep 8, 2022

TacoBow[OP] initial post: ↑

So I ran into a little snag and figured I'd share a inexpensive method I used to win the battle of a seized lower control arm bushing... or in my case, 3 of them.

I recently had my stock rims powedercoated and decided to have the trucks alignment checked after the tires were mounted. I went to a reputable local shop equipped with a computerized alignment rack and returned a few hours later to find their tech was unable to bring the truck into spec. The looming problem... 3 of the 4 cam adjustment bolts were seized in the LCA bushings.

I took the truck home, (after declining their estimate of repair), and figured I could work on liberating the cam bolts with some break free type spray lubricant. That was the beginning... of the end.

After numerous attempts to free them, (air / impact tools, mild heat application and a can of PB Blaster), I resolved to remove both lower control arms via reciprocating hack saw. NOTE: Those who have encountered this issue know how hard, as in hardness, these bolt assemblies are. I don't have any pictures of the LCA removal process, but suffice to say that cut off wheels in an angle grinder can get hairy fast... a sparkle wrench, aka cut off torch, is a no go based on the collateral damage potential to surrounding hard and soft parts, and that a sawz-all proved to be the most controlled method for my repair.

With that said, don't skimp on the price of good metal cutting saw blades. I went through $20 dollars worth of the Dewalt general purpose units before buying the HD 5 pack that finally waded through the stuck fast bushing hardware.

So, with the job of the LCA's removed, fast forward to what I do have pictures of... the extrication of the bushings themselves. Chances are, since these are dry assembled from the factory and lack serviceable grease fittings, the bushings too will be frozen in the LCA. A real press, like the 20 ton floor mounted unit in our local shop would be the tits... but, I ain't got one. Not to mention, the price I was quoted to remove the LCA's, push out the stuck bushings, press in new bushings and then reassemble the truck would have allowed me to buy one. Uh, no thanks... so I gots an idea.

With the LCA off and in the vice, I tried a drift punch / hammer technique. This method didn't work to remove the bushing, since the blows of the hammer on the punch were absorbed by the rubber bushing material. It wasn't a complete failure though, in that I was able to slightly fold inward the thin, metal exterior diameter of the bushing captured in the LCA. This permitted a more direct application of the PB Blaster, which I'm sure aided the device I made that pushed the bushing out - my Redneck Press!

Here's a picture of the LCA in the vice, with the Redneck press ready to get to work -

What the press consists of is quite inexpensive... there in the center, running through the bushing, is a longer than required piece of 1/2 inch threaded rod. On the exit side, as in the direction I'm about to push the stuck bushing, is a large socket. The sockets ID will permit the bushing to enter its interior, while the OD of the socket rest firmly against the LCA. I used the stock bushings flanges, that were cut off by the reciprocating saw during the LCA's removal from the truck, as a means of securing the socket against a nut on the threaded rod on the socket side, and the other smaller flange washer as a push point, or chaser if you will, to butt up against the stuck bushing on the opposite side. Add a nut to the threaded rod below the flange washer and begin tightening the assembly with common box end wrenches. Get to twistin' on dem nuts!

Here is a little closer image of the rig snugged up against the LCA bushing -

Here is a picture of the process with the Redneck Press removed, to show that the bushing is indeed beginning to move -

Keep on twisting the nuts attached to the threaded rod, (you may have to add more washers or a smaller socket on the chaser side to lengthen the pushing travel), and the end result will look something like this -

Slide the whole assembly out and the bushing will be captured on the threaded rod... wallah, and she's out! -

Not too painful and certainly a far cry more economical than having that completed at the local repair center.

The reassembly is simply a matter of reversing the Redneck Press procedure... I used the same hardware to install the new bushings by pushing them into the LCA with the same threaded rod technique. To make the install easier, I chose to clean up the receiving body of the LCA with a small file and put a very small bevel on the inside lip of the LCA bushing housing after removing all the residual rust and crud that was left behind.

I took the time, about 5 minutes each, to square up any rough edges with a flat file and used a round file to clean out the LCA housing. I took care not to remove any material from inside the LCA bushing housing, as a tight fit is require to secure the new bushings. I did however apply anti-seize paste lubricant to all the bushing surfaces, including the cam sleeve and bolt assemblies, to prevent this situation from happening again.

Oh and I also wire wheeled and painted each LCA complete... in factory black, to make 'em look nice and add some weather resistance too. The sad thing was, none of the 3 seized bushings themselves that I had to remove were bad... in that the rubber inside each was as good as the new bushings. This issue, and I've read here it's quite common, could have been prevented entirely had Toyota lubed these critical alignment components from the go. A factory grease fitting sure woulda been nice too.

I hope this short read helps someone else who finds their truck out of spec on the alignment rack! You too can fix 'er up with a little effort, regular hand tools at a considerable savings to your wallet.

A final note, 1 of my 3 stuck bushings also involved a stuck mounting bolt. When this situation occurs, you will not be able to run the threaded rod through the stuck bushing after the LCA has been cut free from the frame mounts. In this case, you can still win the battle using a C-Clamp press, (a hand held ball joint style press that can be rented cheaply by the hour from any tool rental place if you don't have one), or a trip to the local shop to have it pressed out will be in order. Try the C-Clamp press first... for about 1/5th of the price you will win that battle too. Plus you can feel good about fixing it yourself.

Cheers fellow Tacoma drivers!
Click to expand...

Cheers to YOU !! Nice work.

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'Redneck" lower control arm - LCA Bushing Press

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Sandman614 Ex-Snarky TWSS elf, Travis #hotsavannahdotcom

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TacoBow [OP] Intentionally cosmetically correct.

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TacoBow [OP] Intentionally cosmetically correct.

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Chuy Well-Known Member

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Pigpen My truck is never clean

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thomasburk Keep on Truckin'

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'Redneck" lower control arm - LCA Bushing Press

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#67 Sandman614 Ex-Snarky TWSS elf, Travis #hotsavannahdotcom

#68 TacoBow [OP] Intentionally cosmetically correct.

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Crom Super-Deluxe Member

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Sandman614 Ex-Snarky TWSS elf, Travis #hotsavannahdotcom

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TacoBow [OP] Intentionally cosmetically correct.

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Crom Super-Deluxe Member

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TacoBow [OP] Intentionally cosmetically correct.

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Pigpen My truck is never clean

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thomasburk Keep on Truckin'

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