LCA Bushings: OEM, Energy Suspension, Whiteline

Well boys. We did it.

Mevotech LCA's are installed with new ES bushings and new OEM cambolts. What a F$%#ing battle.



Took it for a quick test drive after putting everything back together. I think it may have actually made my ride quieter - maybe placebo, I don't know.

Surprisingly, my driver-side cambolts weren't fused and I was able to knock them out with a hammer. Wooo!
Passenger side was a different story...

 

For those who have installed the whitelines have any of you been experiencing the slipping that throws off the alignment? Would the marlin crawler HD frame brace kit help prevent them from slipping?https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/marlin-crawlers-upcoming-hd-lca-frame-brace-kit.610921/

 

I haven't found my alignment off at all just through driving, but will know for sure at my next alignment. I should be getting that done fairly soon.

 

I ran whitelines with Total Chaos cam tab gussets for years with lots of offroad miles, and never had an issue holding an alignment.

I'm guessing you'll be waiting a while for Marlin to come out with those for the 1st gen...

 

Awk didn’t realize this was a first gen thread haha but nevertheless thanks for the insight fellas I appreciate it.

 

Did you use oem cam bolts and stuff as replacement or the moog package they sale? About to jump into this similar project on my 2000 tacoma got almost all the front end taken apart (upper ball joint, shocks and spring assembly, upper control arm, and sway bar connector thingy) have new replacement parts for it all ready to go mostly moog except monroe shocks. Got to the lower part of it all which i have new moog lower ball joint kit for as well and i have the energy suspension poly bushing kit for control arms but didnt quite know what im getting into. Wondering if i should order the moog camber bolt set and replace it while ive already got it all pulled apart to do the lower control arm bushings? Never posted on a forum before so sorry if its sloppily written question/questions. Made a profile and figured id give it a shot for some advice.

 

Not sure if im even posting to the thread or just the person i clicked reply too honestly.

 

I wouldn't use those cam bolts. The hole that the bolt goes through on the cam plate can round out. Same with the SPC ones. There aren't really any quality aftermarket cam bolts as far as I know.
Just get some OEM ones.

 

You may have no choice. Sometimes, the only way to get the LCAs off is to cut off the cam bolts. As Ian said, go with OEM cam adjuster assemblies if you have to cut off the old ones.

 

Anyone know any links for all the parts sold as a set OEM or can help me figure out which numbers i need to order from the diagram? I really appreciate the help, was starting to get a little overwhelmed. I was just gonna put a leveling kit in originally and its now turned into a whole front end project. Thought about just leaving the lower control arm alone and doing all the other stuff i talked about but have a feeling it will bite me in the ass in the future and shoukd just bite the bullet and do it all while i have it apart. Any other suggestions or advice?

 

This website is nice to diagrams and tracking down part numbers. Here's a link to the that suspension section but with it configured for my truck. Your PN's will be the same though as all 4x4 first gens have the same front suspension parts for the most part.
https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine/unit?c=Toyota&ssd=$*KwGeqrue4f_nytvsxcSXy8bS8vXrmpWYmYuVp9eP3omWj_CK2dmEjpeY1tLYw8y1gMXPxM6Jlp-GipOSg46XiJ-UnZmK2dmOwo-QiZiVmpnDyaKO0NTdxcnq09eYhI6Xiomamp6cw8vFgI2IwtiPkIjXq6b-7OeJgI2IxZbZ3YyP-PHinJyZudaz_uDu4O3viITV2ZHPj5CLwtjGxNnbxcrEzomWjZvVAAAAADHg3nc$&vid=0&cid=2&uid=284727&q=

9008011283 - thru bolt
4840935050 - sleeve that the bolt goes through
4845235020 - rear cam plate that the bolt threads into

Depending on your situation, you might be able to reuse some of the parts if they are salvageable.

Definitely take care of it while you're in there though. No sense in pulling it back apart shortly after to fix something you could have done at the same time in the first place

 

It's the sleeves that rust to the bushing. If you don't live in a rusty place there's a good chance you can save a couple.

The bolt and cam plate/nut are usually fine.

Might be worth trying to pull it apart and see what you can save before you spend a lot of money on new hardware.


Also - may not be helpful unless your local, but I bought complete cam bolt sets for $5 from Yota Jims in Denver. He had a bin full of a couple hundred of them. Might be worth a call and see if he'll ship.

 

I was close in New Mexico for most me and trucks life but in Arkansas now, thanks for all the help, advice and links to get me to my next steps. Will most likely be back on here before im done.

 

Looks like I'm a little late to the party! To answer your question - yes, I did go with OEM Toyota cam-bolt assemblies. Welcome to TW by the way!

Definitely the most expensive bolts I've ever purchased, but after one look at them when they arrived in the mail, you could tell they'll hold up better than the MOOG ones.

To drive that point home - A buddy of mine with a beautifully built 3rd gen 4Runner was having alignment issues. Pulled the LCA's out - turns out previous owner had installed MOOG (possibly SPC?). The bolts had rounded out the "washers" responsible for changing the alignment, so he couldn't hold an alignment - let alone change it really.

Looks like someone else was able to dig up the Toyota part numbers!

While you have the LCA's out, I believe you'll get a chance to take a peek into the cross-member for the frame that runs between your LCA's. Great opportunity to try and clean it out a bit! I found so much dirt and sand in mine!

 

OMG - Where were you when I bought my cam bolt sets? LOL I dropped a fair chunk of change for my set.

 

Anyone have any experience with the moog lower control arms as a whole? Started doing the bushings on the upper control arms and its a pain in the ass and time consuming to get all the rubber out without marring up the metal so it doesnt lose material. Was thinking of just ordering the lowers from moog since the bushing come installed already and i could be on my way to slapping it all back together and having my truck back. I already have moog lower and upper ball joints and sway bar links. The upper control arm bushings im putting in are the energy performance red ones. My cam bolts looked good and not seized but havent took them off yet so im not 100 percent sure but would definitely order OEM on those because of all yalls advice. Appreciate any advice and help thanks again!!!

 

If you have a drill I use a wire wheel to get the rubber off the sleeve... Thing is standard replacement bushings you need to cut out or otherwise remove that sleeve

 

From what I've read on other threads, the Moog bushings that come pre-installed in their LCA's tend to be very "soft" or squishy and wear out really quick - end result being alignment issues.

 

I recently pressed in some Whitelines into some new Napa lower control arms. Some bushings pressed in easy and others I had to tape in with hammer and large socket. The metal sleeve around the bushing has a little bit of anti-seize before I pressed them in but a couple metal sleeves I could press back out of the LCA eyelet by hand. The metal sleeve only has about 1/4" tapper where its actually pressed in tight. I would tape one in and the other would get loose. Is this going to be a problem later on. I figured once I get the washers on and the caster bolt through it and torqued that the sleeve has no where to go and pop loose. I'm second guessing myself thinking I should have just gone OEM.