Lower Control Arm Bind when changing Shocks

I installed 5100 shocks on the front today using this method from @Soft Taco : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9N1fvbGAEw&list=PLrbHj-V7O2tj1Ojtlh7vaOy0UAJkSHEZi&index=37 of applying pressure to the lower control arm with a jack. This is on the driver side (the first side I did). When I reached the step where you pull the shock and spring out, the lower control didn't drop, even with the bolts totally loose—I ended up pulling the control arm down and away with a ratchet strap. After that, I was able to install the new shock. No issue on the passenger side.

Any issues that I should look for? It's going in for an alignment on Tuesday.

 

They said it took them four hours to fix the alignment, but it's aligned now and drives well.

 

If you loosened the lower arm cam bolts and the arm still didn't want to drop then the cam sleeve and bushing sleeves would be seized together within the pivots. Might also be why the alignment shop had such difficulty.

 

Ah, got it. Thanks for the info.

 

Those cam bolts are almost always seized! I just swapped mine over to SPC’s and they were really close to being completely seized up. Any time I remove the cam bolts I load them up with anti-seize when I reinstall them. It’s crazy how fast these corrode and lock right up. They also need to be free in order to do a proper alignment.

The problem is that there’s 3 layers of metal in there all touching each other with no anti-corrosion from the factory and they aren’t sealed. The layers of metal also don’t move during suspension cycling, just the bushing. So they become one pretty fast. SPC’s have a nylon sleeve between the bushings sleeve and cam bolt sleeve. I still load them up with anti-seize though.

 

heres my 2023 right from the dealer brand new. cam bolts were factory rusted in. one was almost siezed and had to be hammered out. owning tacomas before i knew to pull every bolt off i could and antisiezed when new.

 

I have a set of 5100 front shocks in my garage waiting for me to get up the courage to dive in.
Now I'm wondering if it might be worth the $ to have a shop do it.
My truck is a 22 with 30k miles. Thanks for sharing.

 

That’s the way to do it!

 

I bet you’ll be ok, just start soaking them with PB Blaster or something similar.

Get a paint pen or grease pencil, mark the tabs so you can line them up if/when they shift. Loosen up the bolts to get PB in there better, then tighten them back up. Do that for a couple days and it should help significantly. It’s a little bit of work but worth it.

 

Its really not that hard. Pay for the alignment. Save on the install.

 

I installed the front Bilstiens yesterday. No problem with the control arms binding. PB Blaster did the trick.
I had my iPad in the garage and referred to the Team oil drip video as I went.
The first side was the learning curve. The second side went a lot easier.
My truck rides so much better. I had already installed the rear shocks @ 12k.
It felt good knowing I had saved myself $400.

 

Congrats!