Cutting LCA Cam Bolts out

Hey guys,

My LCA bushings are desperately in need of replacement. Can't get a good alignment and my truck shakes like hell on the highway. Also my front tires are beginning to wear unevenly. I'm from Maryland so I figure all 4 of my camber bolts are probably going to be seized. (alignment shop even told me they were.) New ones have been ordered.

I think I've decided to go with the whitelines rather than the energy suspension poly kit, since I want the best ride quality I can get.

Now what I'm posting this for is to hear from some of you guys who have cut these damn seized cam bolts out. I'm pretty well equipped when it comes to metal cutting (grinder, sawzall, dremel, etc.). I've seen people saying use an air chisel, which unfortunately I don't have. Anyone have any tips? Just cut the bolt heads off, heat them, and pound them out?

Truck is my daily so I don't want to get into a situation where my camber bolts are cut but wont come out.

TL;DR - If you've cut your LCA camber bolts out, any tips?

 

Diablo Demon Blades and a good Sawzall is all you need. The blades are pricey, but way worth the dollar vs trying to use regular blades.

 

Cool. After cutting, did they come out easily with a hammer / punch?

 

I used a cheap harbor freight air hammer cuz I had one, but a good engineering hammer and a good punch would prob work to clear the bolt remnants out of the frame tabs.

Are you trying to reuse the arms? I'd highly recommend getting new arms and hardware and doing it that way over trying to drive the bushing guts out and swap it for the whitelines.

 

+1 on the best metal cutting blades you can get your hands on.

Also, you won't be cutting the bolt heads off, you'll be cutting between the LCA and the flange.

 

^ this is the way.

 

Gotcha. Yeah I watched @Timmah! 's video where he installed whitelines using a bottle jack. Made it look fairly simple so I may just keep my stock LCAs. On a budget right now and I've heard its unnecessary to replace the entire arm. Only hardware I think I need is the camber bolts. Frankly every other bolt/nut on that truck's front suspension has been replaced within the past year or two. This is pretty much the last suspension job to do until I have an entirely new front setup.

 

And cutting the bolt head off to try and pound the bolt out won’t do anything anyway, they’re seized.


I lucked out when I did mine and didnt have to cut any of the bolts. But as mentioned above, find a set of arms and have the bushings swapped and ready to go. Look at your UCA and see how those bushings are, mine were DED.

 

Ok that makes more sense.

 

The way I do this is source good used control arms rebuild them all new hardware then just swap .Since your not rushing around like crazy it makes for a much easier job.

Timmy lives in sunny dry for the most California .

Having to deal with our Trucks would be very interesting

Getting the bushings out is the hardest part I use a Oxy- Fuel Torch to melt and Burn them out.

Once the arms are off they go to the drill press drill through the bolt once the pressure is off the cam bolts the air hammer pops them out easy It is the blows per minute that gets them out

 

That's a verrry good point. Maybe I'll do the energy suspension ones... @jbrandt said that it was fairly simple burning them out. But he's also from CA. Now I'm debating getting new arms. Hmm.

 

Did this earlier this year on my 2nd gen.

DeWalt battery operated sawzall with Diablo thick metal blades. Zero issues.

 

Here's a step-by-step guide along with all the parts you need as well as the tools. Also goes through cutting out the cam sleeves, which pretty much everyone has to do. With links to the blades you want to use.

Step-by-Step Lower Control Arm Bushing Replacement on a 1st Gen Tacoma

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Yeah, burning them out is the same whether you live in CA or not. The easier part for me was the fact that I didn't have to cut off the cam bolts.

New arms is definitely an option. I usually warn people that when a shop tells you that you need new arms, it's because you really only need to bushings, and the shop doesn't want to bother to use their press, and just tell you that you need new arms (that come with new bushings). But if it's to the point where it's a complete PITA to remove the bushings due to rust etc, maybe that's not a bad option.

Maybe consider a used set before looking for new ones. There are lots of people who go long travel who have a set laying around.

 

Awesome. Thanks man

 

Yeah maybe I'll put something up in the buy/sell/trade forum. But frankly if I end up going with ES, I wont have to worry about getting the sleeves out. So now I'm leaning towards energy.

Thanks everyone for the help BTW.

 

While some people do complain about the ride from the poly bushings, at least for me, it's not that bad. I mean, my Kings probably have something to do with it, lol, but I also don't have grand expectations for how a 17 year old off-road oriented pickup truck should ride.

 

Party pooper...

 

I mean I'm the same way. Frankly the truck rides like junk right now (5100s set at 2.5", yes I know I need some 881s, coming soon). I'm not looking for a cadillac ride, just something thats bearable on 4+ hour road trips. I've done nearly 20 multiple hour trips with this setup and it is a PITA.

 

That looks like fun!