Seized LCA and alignment issue

good luck, I would check the torque on the cam bolts most of these techs do not properly torque them, one of mine was at 70 ft/pds should have been 100 ft/pds

 

If you don't want to try to remove the sleeves a better option then replacing the control arms is to just replace the front bushing in the control arm. Quite a bit cheaper. If I were you I would definitely remove the rear bolts and apply never seize. When the rear bolts seize it's worse than the front sleeves siezing. Your going in for an alignment anyways, just mark the rear cams, remove the rear bolts and apply never seize, install and go for your alignment. It's not going to cost you any more.

 

Smart man, good idea. Thank you. Did just that. Before and after pictures of time with the wire wheel below. Applied the anti-seize after taking the pictures. The rears are definitely not seized. The fronts however, are definitely seized.

When you say the fronts are easier to cut out than the backs, is that simply because it's easier to cut through a hollow tube than a solid bolt?

 

That doesn’t look too bad. If the fronts are of similar severity then I think they’d be able to be popped out with a press, no problem.

 

Yeah but how do I get the tube out in order to remove the LCA altogether so that I can press out the old bushings?

 

I was talking about what I mentioned earlier. Use a ball joint press kit, one you can rent from the auto parts store, and use the proper sized deep socket (my 11mm works best for this) and press the sleeve out of the bushing.

 

I wish I had a pic, but on the front sleeve, both cams will pop off, leaving only the tube in the LCA. That’s what allows this method to work.

 

Or they go the opposite and hammer the shit out of it with an impact.

 

No I know what you mean, I had mine pop of previously when I was trying to turn it before the realization of how seized it is. Do you know of any writeups on how to do this method? It sounds like it could be almost as much or more work than time with the sawzall and a few good blades.

 

The point of doing this is to salvage the tube. That way you don’t need to cut anything, no new hardware, no new lca, etc. I’ve done both methods, as I work on people’s trucks on the side, and neither method is difficult. With the right blades the saw cuts through like butter. But again, the point here is to salvage it. You could go run to the store and rent the tool, give it a shot and if it works, your new alignment will be spot on and they can make adjustments like normal.

Have you looked up the price of oem alignment hardware? It is not cheap. All hardware for all 4 corners is about $200 last I checked. That’s why it’s worth the effort now to try and save it.

 

Gotcha. Okay I follow now. Thanks for helping me understand. I'm still going to wait and see how tomorrow's alignment goes, although I don't have terribly high hopes. Either they can get it into spec and I'll be fine until I have to cut/press down the road if necessary, or I'll have to do the work now. But if I can get away with it for the time being, I think that's going to be the plan.

Either by pressing or cutting though, won't I have issues removing and reinstalling new bushings into the LCA? I heard that is the major work involved with the job if you don't want to buy a whole new LCA. That's really the bridge I'd like to avoid crossing. I know I can cut the fuckers out if nothing else works.

 

That’s the thing though, the press method I’m talking about only works if it isn’t too far gone. Now is your only chance to try and salvage it. If you wait and it rusts more, that option is off the table.

As far as bushings, yes they’re a pain in the dick. I just rebuilt my lcas and it was a lot of work, and I’m a very DIY type of guy. I would not recommend going that route.

The way I see it you have a couple options. Try my press method tonight, and see if you can salvage it. If so, it costs you nothing and you have piece of mind knowing your stuff works as it should. If it doesn’t work, put it back together and deal with it later down the line.

Or, do nothing and eventually have to cut them out. No harm in that, unless you get to the point you can’t get in alignment specs for whatever reason and you start wearing tires out prematurely.

Eventually if you do get to the point you have to cut them out, your options are new/used lcas (oem is the only option right now) or new bushings. Bushings are a bitch but you could likely pay a shop to deal with it and still come out on top.

 

When you put it like that you really drive a hard bargain. Honestly though I am going to wait and see how tomorrow goes. Part of me hopes I can't get into spec, and I'll be forced to do the job now. But the other half of me is ready to put down the wrenches for a bit. Been working everyday for a week now on various jobs of oil changes, brakes, extended brake lines, brake bleeds, ECGS bushing, rear suspension install, front suspension install, and now this. None of it was patriotically hard, but I'm not exactly known for working fast. I'm learning as I go, and enjoying the process, but it's been hot as fuck here and I think I'm ready to take a break. So I'll see. If I can get into spec tomorrow I think that will be the end of working for now.

I'm also a DIY guy, probably too much to a fault. Yesterday was more time waiting in a shop that I have in my entire life combined. I'm too stubborn, and usually if I can't do the job myself I won't want to do it at all because I hate having to rely on others and don't trust their work. The idiots yesterday only solidified this belief.

 

That’s why I was trying to explain everything in depth so you can at least make an educated decision, one way or another.

 

You did a very good job, thank you. I am grateful for the advice and knowledge. I'm amazed how guys my dad's age got anything done on their cars before the internet and forums.

 

When the rear bolt comes out and the front bolt comes out the only thing holding in the control arm is the front cam sleeve. No amount of hammering is going to get the sleeve out. Once they are seized in because of the tight tolerances the rust prevents removal. The easiest way to get the control arm of is to bend the rear flange on the front mount. The flange bends easily with a hammer and you can get enough room to twist the control arm out. Simple hammer back the flange to the original position. The front eccentric on the sleeve will pop off with a chisle and hammer. It's just splined to the sleeve. Once the control arm is off the only way to remove the sleeve is to grind on the inside for the length of the sleeve until you reach the inside bushing. You then fold the sleeve in on itself them remove it. I do this with an air hammer but it could be done by hammer and punch. A ball joint press tool will not remove the sleeve. The sleeve is brittle and thin and it collapse on itself before it moves. If someone got it out this way the sleeve was never seized. Make sure you have the new sleeves before you start for obvious reasons.

 

Ok I follow you. So assuming I do all that, what about the bushings themselves? They’d need to be replaced? Burn them out? What about getting new ones in? I’ve seen some writeups using a bottle jack to press them in.

 

If your careful and don't grind into the bushing when removing the sleeve you wont have to replace the bushing. I use a long grinding bit mounted in an angle grinder to cut into the sleeve. I check my progress with a light shining on the opposite side. You can see the metal "changes" as your grinding.

Changing the bushing is the last thing you want to do and should be avoided but I do have a method to do them as well and it take me about an hour to do both bushing on a control arm.

 

That’s where I disagree. I have, twice now, removed the sleeve from the lca while it’s been seized in there. Seized enough to prevent rotation, but I was still able to get it out with the ball joint press.

 

It wasn't seized, it was just stuck. If you had wailed on it with BF hammer while still in the truck it would have come out. When they are truly sievzed in the press just collapses the sleeve. I've taken lots of them out by twisting and hammering when they are just starting to seize.