Slipped LCA bent cam tabs, Dealer wants to replace frame $26k

I doubt the bolts were torqued to spec.

 

You know? That’s kind of creepy!

 

I think they trying to push you into trading it in for a new one. It will be on the used lot by the end of the day.

Nothing makes sense here.

The thing that bothers me is now there is paper trail showing you have bent tabs. Search the Toyotaowners.com site, enter your vin, and going to show frame damage.

Toyota just fucked you for selling it in the future for full price.

 

Most likely OP's last alignent was done by a lazy tech who did not lose cam bolts or those were seized and they continued to turned them.

 

^^^THIS.
Any Braking did not cause this.
Loose cam bolts from an alignment maybe a cause.

 

I would bet that whomever did the last alignment bent the tabs. They flatten out very easy if the tech torqued on them without somehow taking the weight of the wheels. I see it happen all the time with my customers when they take it to a cheapo alignment place.

Total chaos or dirtking tabs wont make your vehicle less valuable. I would argue the opposite. Most people will never know the difference when its done too.

I wouldnt worry about warranty either. But thats just me.

 

I'd get the new tabs put on & be done with it.

Whoever did your alignment last fucked it up!

 

Fix it and carry on! Nice catch and thanks for the info on this. Enjoy that sweet truck!

 

After everything I have but my truck through including a highway speed panic brake due to morons stopped in the middle of the road to race. My cam tabs are still in check I would agree with everyone else's comment on somthing else took place to cause that. Be it previous damage from an alignment shop or a loose bolt or a previous impact and this one was just enough to finally push it over hard to say.

Look into after market kits that replace and reinforce the tabs and carry on. Unless that dealer is is footing the bill they can shove that suggested frame replacement way up their butt.

 

This, cost me $300 for a welder and can tabs

 

Sounds like a combination of under-torqued control arms and an overzealous auto-brake system. Since the abs module is doing the braking it can be quite sharp with the force of that high pressure pump behind it..

26k is absolutely a "go-away" price.. what a joke

 

Bent cam tabs have been an issue since the 2nd gen came out.
Mostly happens on truck that are wheel hard.

Toyota decided to use a larger diameter bolt on LCA for the 3rd Gen. But left the same weak came tabs. They fixed half the problem.

 

OP, have you had any recent/semi-recent suspension work done?

I have a hard time believing the cam tabs were flattened IF the cam bolts were anywhere near the torque spec.

I'm going to say this as someone who pre-empted any potential trouble with the marlin crawler lower pivot+tab brace kit (and I'm only running a middling weight 33" tire), but under 99.999% of normal on-road driving, the clamping force on the control arm bolt should be more than sufficient to prevent the tabs from being able to slide around enough to completely flatten the alignment tabs. Even with massive potholes at speed, the bushings should be able to absorb enough impact energy to prevent the tabs from getting smooshed.

If you had any recent suspension work done, or an alignment, the tech may not have done the final torque with the vehicle in the ground, leaving insufficient clamping pressure on the pivots to clamp the alignment bolts and cams in place. If not getting an alignment, they may have loosened the LCA bolts to allow the arms to droop, making it easier to finangle parts into place.

Any way you slice it, the damage sounds done. A cam tab kit should be able to correct this and prevent it from happening again.

 

Doesn't really matter if the tabs were flattened before or during the incident. Whatever happened was sharp enough pull the alignment out.. he felt a difference in alignment right after.

Its not like those flimsy stock tabs help keep the vehicle in alignment. The overall torque of the bolt is supposed to do that

I dont think the tabs already being flat is what helped or allowed this happen.

 

I've only seen this from incompetent techs, even at the dealer it happens.

 

At least now we know what a 3rd gen frame replacement costs when paying out of pocket.

When the Toyota OEM design sucks, there's no point in taking it to the dealer. You know that saying about trying the same thing (OEM parts) over and over again expecting a different result? If your truck sees dirt at all, TC cam gussets are a good start. You may find the cam bolts still can drift off road for the simple reason the cams are round. There are cam delete kits from Bison, 333, and Poly Performance, but they typically need to be used with adjustable UCAs.

 

Is there anything he can do to get help from his dealer? Do they really have to hide behind frame replacement?

 

Thanks for the ideas and brainstorm here. It was aligned at the dealer 5k mi ago so I suspect they didn't torque the cam nuts to spec. I'll check it more thoroughly tomorrow when back in town and post pics if interesting.

I doubt there is anything practical to do aside from an aftermkt repair kit. But that is a pretty crappy way to go from absolute perfection to essentialy a salvage title value. As such I appreciate these as well as any additional ideas.

 

Yes you don't really have any options other than the cam tab kit.. but I wouldn't worry about the salvage title concerns. Just because some guy at a dealer says the "frame is toast" doesnt make it so..

It's stupid and irritating but you still have a nice truck. once the cam tabs get upgraded you'll have stronger rig with added value