Advice for bushing / lower control arm fix...

Hey guys, this is my first truck and I've been working on getting it back to good health. I'm learning as I go, never worked on a vehicle before.

Background: bought 2008 TRD Sport. Replaced brakes, rear leafs, battery, and tires. Went for alignment and was told wheel bearings were too loose to align. Replaced wheel hub assembly/bearings. Went back for alignment - told one of the bushings on LCA is busted, and again, can't align.

Questions:

1) Is there a good tutorial on replacing the just the bushing?
2) Should I be replacing all the bushings? (Est. 115,000 miles)
3) Replace one or both lower control arms? If so, does 3rd gen. components fit my 2nd gen. tacoma?

Obviously, the truck must been pounded that the brakes, bearings, and bushings have all failed in the last few months. Any other major concerns to diagnose or give attention to?

Thanks and peace

 

Depending on if the truck was used where road salt is applied, you may find that your Camber Adjustment Bolts are also seized up. Since you need to remove them to replace your LCA's and to do most alignment work, it might be wise to look into them too. As for the LCA's themselves, you should generally replace them in pairs. Be very careful on what kind you put in. Some (Dorman cough, cough) are pretty pathetic.

 

Look into LCA's with pre-installed ball joints. Removing and replacing them requires a major league press.

 

Thanks for the tips. Car has been in Hawaii, so no road salt, and overall pretty minimal rust, but I will look into it. I would definitely replace both sides... on that note, do you have a brand/manufacturer that you would recommend? Local dealer quoted $650/LCA. This person has 3g parts available (https://honolulu.craigslist.org/big/pts/d/kailua-kona-3rd-gen-tacoma-parts/7234410895.html) with approx. 50k miles, but I read that LCA are the only component not compatible with 2nd gen...

 

The best aftermarket LCA's I've personally seen are Beck & Arnley.