Suspension installation questions

First of all this will be the first time I have touched suspension equipment, this is my first car. I have been able to do a lot of stuff myself on the car, fluid flushes, spark plugs, ignition coils... the basics. Oh and I rebuilt 2 dirt bikes so I would say I am moderately capable. I saved up some money to buy a little lift for my car. I will be getting upper control arms, PREASSEMBLED coilovers, sway bar spacers, leaf springs, rear struts, U bolts, the whole shebang. It will end up with 2.5 in the front and 1.5 in the rear. Time I have, patience I have, money for an install however I do not have (yet). I can get my hands on jack stands and I have a bay in my garage available. I would prefer to do the work myself over a weekend.
I have been watching as many YouTube videos as I can, it all seems relatively straitfoward (but what doesn't until you actually try to do it) Has anyone done all of this themselves? what specialty tools will I be needing? I have a ton of tools in my garage but my dad was never a car guy so a lot of the specialty stuff I will need to buy myself. I would love some guidance from anyone who knows what they are doing or has a good video explaining the process. If I am missing how this is actually an extremely difficult job I would love to know. If that is the case how much am I looking at shelling out for a professional install?
Thanks for reading

 

Torque wrench(s), I have 0-75 ft lbs I don't remember if I used the 250 lb for the job. Assortment of metric sockets (long and short). Band strap for moving rear axle under new leaf springs. Just doing UCA? I had to cut the lower control arm (LCA) out. Needed a Sawzall and carbide blade.

 

Expect to fight the LCA. Spend the $15 on the carbide blade and have replacement cam bolts on hand.

Don't tighten the cam bolts until you are at ride height. Otherwise you will twist the bushings and case them to fail sooner.

It's not "hard" but then again it's just bolts and metal. Engine replacements are not "hard", just have a lot of steps. so take that at what you will.

 

I am not doing LCA, only uca, I did read that about pinching/ ripping the bushing if your tighten it down without it at ride height. Cam bolts are the one that go all the way through correct?

 

Correct.

If you are lifting the truck, you will need an alignment. And if history is any indicator the forward cam bolt, or both are seized in your truck. You will need a new LCA and cam bolts to get an alignment. It's like the only "Gotcha" tacomas have... Jeeps on the other hand...

 

I thought I read I only need LCA if those are seized. Any way I can avoid that and find out if they are seized when I go to get it aligned? Or is there a way to test if they are seized?

 

If you mark the cam position, loosen the bolt and can turn it at least 1/2 a turn then it's likely not seized. Return cam to marked position and re-torque.
Unless you live in Arizona and have never driven in the rain then MAYBE they aren't seized.

 

And I Can’t just cut the cam bolts, install new ones greased and call it a day? Why do I need completely new LCA is what I’m asking.

 

I think his point is determine if they are seized before you take it in for an alignment.

Also, don't do final torquing on the U bolts or any leaf spring bushings until you have it on the ground.

 

Nobody is telling you you need LCAs, you need BOLTS. You are likely going to need to cut the bolts off to be able to lower the LCAs to get the longer struts in.

 

“You will need a new LCA and cam bolts to get an alignment.” From Zcolorado. Quite literally said I will need new LCA so obviously someone is telling me I will. (5th message in the thread)

 

He is saying that as you MAY have to remove the LCA to get the new "taller" struts back in. AND your truck is a 2010, ODDS are your LCA bushings are about shot as well, so, you asked, and if youre going to do this and keep this truck, its best to do it all at once and be done so you have a nice new fresh front end! The ball joints would be new as well (if you change both the UCA and LCA), one of the things you need to look at is your steering rack if its leaking or not, also, take a look at your CV boots for any dry rot or tears because once you lift, you will add more stress to them and if theyre original they MIGHT tear immediately and one last thing I will add, if youre lifting your truck, get the ECGS bushing on the drivers side done as well while youre doing all of this. If you dont, at 2 1/2 inches, you MIGHT, again, no one has a crystal ball to see, you MIGHT get the well known bearing noise from lifting a 14 year old truck!

All of this isnt hard, just time consuming and patience and time are your friends. Do not try and rush through this process. Good Luck!! You have a lot of help here if you ask!!

 

OK, I missed the 'a', leading you to believe you need 'a' LCA, but 'a' LCA isn't going to help you if the bolts are seized as there are 2 on the truck. And if you're boing to need 'a' LCA, which one, they are side specific. At the age of your truck, if 1 bolt is seized, it's likely more will be seized...Murphy's Law.

 

Working through this step by step. LCA first, can I just get the pair from ExtremeTerrain? They come with bushing but I can’t tell if I will need to reuse bolts which it sounds like I can’t do… any idea on a good kit to get? Do I need special ones because of the lift? I can confirm the steering rack is not leaking . CV axles, it is a 150k mile truck, do I just bite the bullet and get new ones? How hard are those to install myself? Now the EGCS bushing, I have never heard of that nor know what it does, do you know where I can get a good one? I’m sure I can find a YouTube video on installing that as well. Rough country kids have is so easy pay 800 bucks and have their truck lifted right up. better to do it right though…

 

Oh and for anyone who has done this at home, I have access to a DIY shop that is 7$ an hour for a lift so I can get the truck higher to work on it. Any parts where you recommend I go to the shop because it is worth the 7$ an hour? All the leaf spring videos I have found use a lift not just jack stands.

 

So should I just go with OEM lower control arms? Get all the bushings and bolts so I don’t end up with problems down the road?

 

No need to get LCAs, bushings would be a good idea, I believe they are replaceable...from the parts site, they are available separate.

 

Actually that’s exactly what I am saying.

correct. The cam bolts seize into the LCA bushing. The bushings are difficult and frustrating to replace. Replacing the whole LCA is easier and worth the time and effort. I have MOOG LCAs in mine and they are great. OEM is best, but my Moog ones have been great and a fraction of the cost

OEM cam bolts are ideal though. If you are lucky you only need to replace one bolt and one sleeve out of the 6? Pieces that are part of the OEM cam adjusters.

 

see above. The cam bolts seize to the bushing itself. Total pain, and EXTREMELY common.

if it’s easy to throw the truck on a lift I would go around and check the cam bolts before ordering LCAs. Mark the cam adjuster location, loosen bolts and see if they will turn. They will move since they are in rubber, but turning more than 1/4 turn will prove if they are seized or not. Then you know what parts you need.
If you get extremely lucky you won’t have any issues. But I doubt it.

get LCAs from rock auto. OEM cam bolts from a dealer or eBay. ECGS bushing from ECGS (east coast gear supply) you will need the extractor tool. If you have a local Facebook group ask if someone has one. It’s something you only ever need once, but you need it to do the job.

I’d love to have access to a lift, but this job is fine on the garage floor.

 

Perfect, I will get those checked, RockAuto is awesome I’m so glad you sent that over..
Is there 6 or 4 cam bolts? All the list online seem to have 4. Is that the same or different than “mounting hardware” that comes with the LCA?