Seized LCA and alignment issue

Went back to the shop today looking for a refund. The owner took it for a ride and agreed that it wasn’t correct, so I let them try again. He adjusted the tie rods and got the wheel back to almost perfect. He said to take it for a long drive and if isn’t perfect to come back again. I wish people would do things the right the first time, and without me, the amateur having to tell the pro how to fix it.

Even still I think tomorrow I’m going to go to another shop to verify the alignment numbers are good and actually what this shop claimed them to be. It drives fine, doesn’t pull, and tires don’t squeal around tight turns.

 

Ok this from a guy that has done thousands of alignments on Toyotas over my career. First, lower cam bolt seizer is a very common occurance and the sleeves and bolts should be removed now before is becomes a bigger problem later. The front cam sleeve seizes to the bushing and the rear bolt seizes to the bushing and they should be removed, cleaned and never seize applied. The specs should be zero for camber, 2.5 to 3 for caster with a half degree difference between between left and right (right side more negetive) and toe set to zero. When test driving the truck the steering wheel need to be perfectly centered, period. There is no excuse for an off centre wheel. BTW steering wheel correction is made at the tie rod ends and needs to be done on an alignment rack. I have had very few customer come backs for alignments that I have completed. The tech that was doing your alignment just isn't very good at what he's doing and I don't blame you on trying a different shop. BTW always ask for a print out of the alignment numbers.

 

I think I got one of these, or a bad LCA bushing kinda metallic clicking noise at at stop the bushing moving, tried retorqing to 100 ft/pds wont budge,

 

Only way for me to remove the sleeves is to cut everything out because it’s all seized already.

 

smart move, for real, im going thru this crap on my 2nd gen freaking expensive pain in the a**

 

You can get SPC control arms and adjust them instead of the alignment cams... did that on my 2nd gen for about 5 years.

 

price?

 

There is a technique to doing it and it comes down to experience and how bad they are seized. It takes me about two hours to remove the low control arms and remove the seize parts and reinstall on trucks where everything is seized. The same job for the shade tree guy would be a nightmare but it really comes down to what is seized. Because your truck isn't that old I suspect the rear bolts will come out but the front cam sleeves would be seized. Cutting the sleeves to remove the LCA leaves you with the problem of getting the sleeve out of the from bushing.

 

You are exactly correct. Rear came free, bolt on the front comes out, but front sleeve is frozen. If I cut, realistically it would be way easier to buy a whole new LCA already assembled with bushings, but just very expensive.

Assuming I can get the alignment correct and clean up and put anti seize on what I can remove, if the sleeve always stays frozen to the bushing and LCA, what other potential issues could happen down the road?

 

would that be a warranty item if the LCAs bolts cannot be adjusted properly? relatively new truck

 

Bought it used as a certified pre owned. That warranty is good for 12 months or 12k miles. Well it’s been 10 months but 22k miles for me. So no more warranty unfortunately.

 

Depends. If it's just a *little* seized, you can use a ball joint press kit and press the sleeve out. I've been able to do this on two separate trucks. Wire wheel the rust off, apply anti seize and you're good to go.

 

I think it’s seized up pretty well. Sprayed it down with a few coats of penetrating oil and had the 30mm impact on the sleeve and it wouldn’t turn at all. But can’t say for sure.

 

No other issues until you need an alignment. You could buy a control arm and I have done that when the truck is still under warranty. I use a grinding bit and carefully remove one side of the sleeve being careful not to grind into the bushing then fold the sleeve onto itself and push it out.

 

Trust me, it's still worth attempting. The one's I've messed with were similar. It wouldn't be a bad idea though to have new arms and alignment hardware on hand anyways, and just return what you end up not needing.

 

Ok yeah if my alignment holds true for now I’m going to live with it, while be aware of the issue for the future.

To me if I’m going to cut and go through all the work I’d probably just buy the whole new LCA, and at the moment I’ve spent so much on the truck in both money and time I’m going to wait until I go at this job. Assuming the new shop can verify my alignment numbers are good.

 

Well yeah, if you cut, you have to replace the LCA, no other options. I'm just saying you don't want to attempt to press the sleeves out, fuck them up because they're so seized, and not have new parts on hand to install.

 

50/50 mix of synthetic waterproof grease and antiseize is what I conjured up. And a 12 gauge bronze brush is perfect for cleaning out the old bushings if you do manage to get them apart without cutting. Air chisel works too for some.. gotta be careful when sanding or wirewheeling existing rust off the cam bolts, they are zinc coated and if you sand that off they will rust even more.

 

Thanks everyone. Advice like this is what makes TW so great. For now, if I’m alignmened then that’s the end of the story. Down the road when alignment is needed and is unable to be reached, I’m gonna just cut the whole fucker out, and replace everything with new parts loaded with anti-seize.

 

jup, I had the same certified used warranty on mine it goes really fast, im hoping for a rust frame replacement deal for my year they replace the LCAs and UCAs with factory stuff and frame if it comes thru someday