Help! Goodyear left my lower control arms loose

Hey guys I need some help. I went to Toyota yesterday for a "clack" noise whenever i compressed the suspension. They told me that my lower control arm alignment bolts were a full turn loose and the cams were upside down.

Additionally, my tires were chunking up because of it.

They said they tightened everything up, and I should take it back to Goodyear to fix what they broke, and that it's possible that the holes in the LCA are hollowed out from it being able to move.

The clack noise is still there. I'm at Goodyear and they are denying that the tire wear is from them, because there were some missing wheel weights.

They also told me that the truck was almost perfectly aligned, however their "before and after" spec sheets were printed 4 minutes apart.

Is this not impossible? I've been driving for thousands of miles with loose lca bolts. Think they're lying to me?

 

Did you notice steering issues that could have been related to a poor alignment?

 

You've waited way too long to be able to pin this on them.

 

Yes, I noticed it starting to degrade a bit after a while, and the steering wheel was shaking at 60 mph

 

Why? This was only a couple of months ago

 

I had a (kinda) similar issue recently. Went to Mr. Tire for an alignment, was charged $160 for an exotic alignment. The tech ended up bending my alignment tabs down because my cam bolts were seized up. Went back to Mr. Tire and demanded a refund for the "alignment". Ended up getting together with another TW member and we repaired it ourselves. If I were you I definitely wouldn't trust Goodyear to make any "repairs". Most you can do at this point is try to get a refund from Goodyear and take the hit for the additional parts (and labor if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself)

 

When you say, "it's possible that the holes in the LCA are hollowed out from it being able to move", what exactly are you referring to?

 

Wallowed out would be more accurate. But while possible, fairly unlikely.

Yep.

Time isn't the big issue. Thousands of miles is.

 

Essentially, if the bolt isnt tight, it can allow relative movement between the bolt and the hole wearing it out as vibrations and bumps travel through the parts, I assume.

 

Hmm, i'd be surprised if that were the case. Those sleeves are galvanized hardened steel I couldn't see a couple months of friction wearing them out that badly. I'm assuming the clunk that youre hearing is the lower control arm moving in the slot on the LCA mounting brackets?

 

I thought so, but even after they're tightened down, I'm getting the same "clack" under hard, quick suspension compressions like slamming the brakes or hitting a driveway entrance

 

Which is why I am wondering if those holes are deformed

 

UPDATE: they agreed to remove my LCA bolts and in order to allow me to inspect them. I inspected, and the bolts and the holes were in good shape, and showed no signs of excessive wear.

I'm not sure what this clack is, and I have no proof of the alignment. They've agreed to refund my 3 years alignment plan.