Dealer Aligment Failed - Seized Camber/Caster Bolts - DIY Fix

Good point, I managed to skim past that detail.

 

LBJ? Why will I need to do anything to thw ball joint? I’ll just take the whole LCA off, remove and replace the bushings... then install all new cambolt hardware slathered in anti-seize

 

We did two trucks that both had over 120K on them so it just seemed like the right thing to do since we had them apart. You're probably fine on those. Obviously the damn salt took it's toll on cams and bushings which is what happened to mine.

 

I'm confused. Those alignment numbers look just fine. Granted it's not perfect, but it's all in the green,

 

Ah I see, yeah I’ll wait on the ball joints.

How’d you cut your cambolts? I see that there’s probably enough room for a sawzall blade..

Other than that it seems all I need to do is drop the bolt at the ball joint and the shock and the LCA will be free. Probably will need to stabilize the wheel a bit while it’s off. Sound right?

 

Truck pulls to the right, wheel 5-10° off-center also

 

Yea, The camber could have come down a bit, but mostly it just needed a toe adjustment. Now the toe is the only thing right

 

He said Toe was all he could adjust. It’s the camber/caster adjustments that he said are seized. Said he couldn’t get it with a breaker bar.. Gave up and told me I need new LCAs... charged me for the Alignment though!!

I’m bringing it to a mechanic I know to take a look. If he can break the bolts I’m going to get my money back from the dealer. I’ll also have him grease up the sleeves. We’ll see..

 

I'd get some liquid wrench, or a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF and start soaking them over the course of a week before bringing it to him.

 

He definitely moved the rear cams. That's the only way he could have screwed up the caster and camber.

As I mentioned earlier, your right side pull is not caused by alignment.

 

My rear cams were fine, it was both fronts that we had to take the sawzall to. Yeah, support the UCA with a ratchet/cam strap and take everything loose.

 

If they're all locked up then how was he able to change your caster & camber? Sounds like BS to me.

 

He said toe was all he could adjust..

 

Yoe is done w/the tie-rods, not the cams. The caster & camber numbers from the "before" & "current" are different so he had to of been able to adjust them some. If he adjusted them some then he can adjust them more.

 

I think the issue is that the front most cambolts are seized, but not the rear, so he was not able to get it perfect.

 

I soaked mine with 50/50 acetone and ATF twice a week for 2 months. They wouldn't budge. Took it to my mechanic. He burned up a bunch of sawzall blades. He tried pressing out the bushings - said they wouldn't budge. I anticipated this and had all new hardware and some used LCAs from a member in Cali.

That was around 60K miles on the odo.

 

There really isn't anyone to blame here.. the alignment did improve before and after.

Toyota isn't going to risk having a bolt back off because of lube on the threads. Their legal teams scrutinize what is considered acceptable risk and they decided that putting them in dry is safer for their bank account. Any lube is just going to wash off in 6 months anyway.

OP, good luck getting your money back if your other mechanic manages to break the bolts loose. If the dealership had broken or stripped off a bolt trying to break it loose, you wouldn't be happy

 

He got them loose but the sleeve is totally seized in the bushing. Labor on pressing them out and new bushings in isn’t worth it. I ordered new OE LCAs (which come with new LBJs) and cambolts.. thanks for all the help guys. This one stings a bit because when it’s all said and done, all I achieve is an alignment.

 

Parts ordered for anyone curious:

 

Hey @EDDO, is it pretty self-explanatory which of these cambolts, nuts, plates go on which connection points on the LCAs? Some of them look pretty similar from what I can tell.. Hoping once I get it all it’ll be clear