Advice for cutting out a siezed LCA cam bolt

I know there are a bunch of threads about this but i didnt see a lot about how guys did it. I got 3 of the 4 bolts out but the last one, the front passenger cam bolt sleeve is siezed.



For a week prior to this job, every day i heated these bolts then after they cooled soaked them in Liquid Wrench. I did that again with this sleeve and doused it in 50/50 ATF and acetone then wailed on it with a sledge hammer but this baby a'int movin'
Got the new sleeve from Toyota but i have to get this out. Does a sawzall really cut through the bushing and sleeve? What about a metal cut wheel on an angle grinder?

For those who have gone before me, what method worked best?

 

I've used an air chisel to punch out the sleeve before. Another time, we did use a short sawz-all blade and it did cut through. Just be mindful not to damage the LCA (if you're saving it) or the frame.

 

if you are replacing the control arms, grab a torch and heat that thing up, and by heat it up i mean make it glow red and use either a chisel or a air chisel to punch it out. i highly recommend using a face mask because there will be serious smoke, which most definitely give you cancer

 

I use “Carbide Grit” Sawzall blades for hardened steel. Never tried to cut out a LCA. Home Depot and other home stores carry them. The one I have currently is a Lenox 800RG.

 

Sawzall

 

Sawzall is enough to get through that bushing and sleeve?

But yes im replacing the whole LCA so i could care less about the bushing

 

yes, I got through all 4 of mine with a Milwaukee Fuel M12 Sawzall and 3 Lenox blades. Total time to cut all of them out was maybe 45 min, and that includes me moving around and getting set up.

 

I would go sawzall before I tried an angle grinder. You'll have a bit more control that way and won't chew up the truck.

 

this, i had a seized lower bolt on my coilover and torched for as long as it took me to sip a beer. Then hit it with hammer and it came out. When I reinstalled I put anti-seize on the bolt.

 

I tried this but it didn't work. I can try putting heat on it longer, though. Even a sledge wouldn't losen it the first time

 

ya it can be tough. I torched it 5 times before I just held there for what seemed like an impossible amount of time and then beat the shit out of it. I was almost about to give up.

 

I'm a pro at this. Every, fucking Toyota truck I've owned in the last 20 years has had a froze cam bolts.

A saw all works but takes forever.

The angle grinder with a cut off disc is the fasted way bar none.

Most corded angle grinders have too high of RPM for a novice to use on these cam bolts. The cordless models of angle grinders work great! The RPM is much less and they stall quicker when you start to bind the cut off wheel as it goes deeper into the bolt/bushing.

Honestly, I wish there was a "stickie" for new Tacoma owners to have the dealer pull these cam bolts and anti seize them.

 

Sawzall - I used 3 blades on 4 bolts, took less than 5 min each. Don’t waste time on a used blade, just throw a new one on each time.

 

I've ran shops for years. You either cut them out with a sawsall or you punch them out with an air hammer. Best is the sawsall.

 

I dont have pneumatics so sawzall it is. Any particular metal blade needed? Are the Lenox the best?

 

Lenox makes good blades, buy multiple blades because u will go through them. And if u try the chisel method, u can use a regular hand chisel, just takes more effort. U can even use a big bolt if u have one laying around, if the heat didn't work that means ur not heating it enough. I remember many times where i ended up putting holes in control arms with a torch from all the heat. Those bolts will not give up, they put up one hell of a right.

 

Anti seize works wonders, i put it every bolt i ever take out. I thank myself later when the bolts come out with ease

 

I had to cut three out of my old T-100 a couple of years ago. I used the sawzall.
After you smoke the end of the blade, use your cut-off wheel to cut off the bad part of the blade and keep going. If you can, keep it wet with some WD-40 while you're cutting, it will keep the blade cooler and make it last longer.
Mine were tough as hell. Good luck!