LCA cam seizing repair

I'm working on a friend's 2.5 gen and the front LCA cams have seized like most have. The rear cams are free. Instead of replacing the lca, could I drill out the front cam from the bushing instead of replacing? Or is too hard of a material to drill out?

 

If the hardware is frozen, it’s likely the bushings need replaced as well.

 

You'll have to cut the front bolts on both sides of that arm of the LCA. Once removed, you can drill out the rubber and fold the bushing sleeves in with a chisel and hammer. It's a tedious process but can be done. I've done it before, just take your time.
AND, when cutting the bolts, get some Diablo carbide tipped blades. They'll make short work of the hardware. If you try and use the bi-metal blades, you'd better have a bunch. Trust me on this one.

 

I'm not talking about replacing the bushing, just the cam bolt. The bushing is in good shape and dont want to replace the LCA if I dont have too. I did full LCA on my personal rig cause all 4 were shot. This is a friend's rig. I'm a heavy equipment mechanic and machinist. Was just trying to bounce some ideas off of TW

 

I just dealt with this a couple of days ago. Secure the vehicle with some jack stands. Step 1.take pictures and make markings of the current location,with vehicle s upported, remove front bolt Soak everything in PN blaster and let it seat a couple of hours. Step 2.(before installing heat the interior of the cam, this is optional) Replace the front bolt,Loose the rear and front bolt just enough that you can tell it’s not making any pressure over the tabs. Step 3. Secure a 19mm socket in the back and a large enough Wrench(can’t remember the size, apply a lot of force back and forward, spray, heat, twist, do not pry on the front(it needs to come off on the front). Step 4. You should be able to remove the rear with no issues. Then bang with a rubber mallet, of a piece of solid wood in between a solid mallet of hammer( you will deform if you hit it directly) step 5. Repeat the process until a ol wack sends the sleeve flying. Don’t be alarm if the front round tab in the front falls off, you can re align and press upon installation. Just remember DONT hit the sleeve directly with a solid hammer. You’ll fuck it up!

edit* picture for reference on the once you should be twisting to include the one in the back(19mm)

 

Again, I did it this last week with 100% success. After being removed wire wheel the fuck out of them and used silver anti-seize prior to re installation.

 

My cam bolts are basically frozen. Luckily they froze with good alignment.

 

But if they're seized, you'll likely have to cut the bolts to get them out.

 

The thing that many folks - especially those who don't live in areas where they use road salt - don't realize, is just how fast these bolts corrode and just what a pain they are to get out once rusted. As evidence I offer the following pic of one of the bolts that came out of my 2021 4Runner (same front suspension as a Tacoma) when it was just 5 months old after having gone through just one Rochester, NY winter. Note the corrosion that has already started and imagine how bad it could get in 3, 5 or more years. And the corrosion isn't limited to the bolts. It also extends to the sleeves the bolts go into. The two parts literally corrode together and that's what seizes them.



So, what should one do to prevent this from turning into a disaster that requires new bolts and lower control arms? The reason I took (all four) of the bolts out of my almost new truck was to liberally apply Never Seize to the bolt shanks before reassembling everything and getting an alignment done. Once everything corrodes together, the likelihood of getting the bolts out of the LCA sleeves is pretty low. And slapping new bolts into already rusted sleeves is just going to lead the same problem down the road.

 

100% the road to go, the ones on the front are always a PITA, the 4runner I worked on was 2018 and the guy tends to drive in water crossings and the beach. And indeed they where bad. They looked shiny and full of anti seize at the end.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cam-bolt-question-now-with-answers-and-writeup.502084/

 

+100x on the carbide blades. If you only have bi-metal then

 

Agreed on the carbide. I went through two bimetals yesterday just cutting one sleeve out, no bolt.

 

Long ago, I used a C-clamp style ball joint press. Plenty of repeated lube, and a little heat. Popped the bolts free. Heat with candle wax, could also work well, but hard to get in this location.

 

I didnt think of using that. I'll give it a shot. I always anti-seize the cam bolts before I put them in for a little protection. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

 

Lots of parts I use the antiseize on. On those bolts, I used some marine grade grease. Again, it was a long time ago.

 

When I replaced mine, I slathered the hell out of them with Lucas Red N Tacky.

I put that sh!t on everything.

I also smoked my cam tabs trying to get one of them out with one of those fancy big C-clamps.

Let us know how it goes! (But I have a prediction....)

 

Don't like antiseizing or greasing suspension parts, I prefer fluid filming stuff like that. It stops the rust and has less of a chance of allowing the bolt to come loose on its own.

 

I DID have to re-torque mine a couple of times.

 

Used antisieze on my wife's rav4's rear LCAs, could not get them to stay tight, had to clean them and reinstall. The fluid film I used for round 2 seems to be holding ok.