Unable to adjust caster

Hey,

I just brought my truck in and they told me they couldn't adjust the caster as the bushings etc were seized. Currently I have negative caster (obviously bad), but I was curious what I would need to purchased to replace that part. They told me they could replace the bushings and other seized parts for 1300, or they could just put in new control arms (which I'm guessing comes with the adjustable bushings) for 1500.

I have a garage and have done work on the truck before, is this doable? They were pretty vague about what was seized, so I was curious if anybody could shed light on exactly what I would need to purchase in order to adjust the caster. I've redone the tie rods in order to get the camber adjusted (the toe was fine) but I stayed with the negative caster as I was hoping to do it myself.

Thoughts?

 

hell ya its do able. might be a PITA but its do able. probably need all new hardware & bushings for the LCA not sure about the UCA. it would be easier but more expensive to replace the entire control arms because to reuse the old ones you need to take out the metal bushings which from what I've read is the hard part.

 

nice thanks. Would I need to replace both lower and upper control arms and that's it? (all other parts would come with the CAs?)

 

What you would need is new lower control arm bushings, new eccentrics, and possibly new bolts. The bushings go in the control arm the eccentrics are offset circles that force the front and back of the control arm side to side to adjust. I have done two Tacoma's with the problem. Mine and my fathers. Hardest part is getting the old bushings out. A sawsall works well for cutting the seized eccentrics between the control arm and the control arm mounts.

 

Somebody link Boyd's thread , I'm on my phone

 

Here

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/176250-diy-lca-bushing-replacement-2005-tacoma-4x4.html

 

Or just buy some take off LCA's here

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacoma-marketplace/312264-fs-11-trd-tacoma-take-offs.html

 

Beauty!

Thanks everyone. Just out of curiosity, if I buy new LCAs, can I just swap them out and not have to worry about cutting out the old bushings?

 

Yes , but you will want to grease the LCA alignment cam bolts prior to reinstalling them similar to what was done in the first thread I linked so you don't have the same issue again

 

Correct no bushing cutting with new lcas, but you may have to cut the bolts and cams to get the old lca off.

 

Thanks!

Any benefits of some LCAs over others? Or just getting any standard one is fine...

 

Do not buy knock-offs. I know a guy who did thinking he was getting a deal and turns out he got screwed. They wouldn't fit and wouldn't take them back.

If your not hardcore offroading just get new stock ones. PM "my50cal". He just got new stock ones super cheap.

Also remember whatever you get you will still need to replace the bolts and cams you cut to get the old seized ones off.

You can also rebuild the old ones so don't go throwing them away. They are worth money.

 

My truck also had frozen cam bolts. The previous owner tried to have an alignment done on it 3 years before I purchased the truck and they weren't able to do it. I found that information in the record on the Toyota owners web site. After talking with my local mechanic we decided to give it another try since the front tires were wearing uneven. Every other day for two weeks I sprayed the LCA's with LPS, PB Blaster and Diet Pepsi. When the truck was brought in to my mechanic he had no trouble at all getting the bolts to move.
If he would've had trouble he would have heated them up with a propane torch until red hot and then sprayed them with water from a spray bottle.
The sudden cooling breaks the rusted bond between metals.
I would try these things before purchasing any parts. Their cheap to try.
Its not like your LCA's are worn out.. their just rusted. Good Luck!

 

sounds promising. i would probably try this before trying a grinder because cutting the bolts with a grinder would definitely suck.. i would personally still get new hardware but thats just me. the control arms themselves are probably fine. its just the trouble of getting the old bushings out that is the pain.

 

They will seize again if they are already that badly rusted. Heck they will probably go right out of alignment as soon as you pull off the lift if they have pitted badly.

Good points.

 

Here's some pics of 1st gen LCA bushing removal and the cam (pic #5) that gets cut. The other side of the 2 piece adjuster cam assembly (not shown) does not get cut an can be reused. It is interesting that the front and rear bushings are different. They seem to be dimensionally the same but the rubber is slightly different. Note the 2 little rubber tabs on the rear bushing not present on the front, also in pic #5.





Use a quality splitter.


Press set up, the pressing force must come down through the bushing above (not shown) to reach reach the one pictured with a long rod or series of adapters, what ever you got.
If there is significant "loss" of metal on the control arm tubes due to rust and/or wear (rock scrapes), it might be wise to consider replacing the arms. Damaged tubes have been known to split with major consequences.

 

Hey guys,

Just doing some reading now, and I've seen posts like this that claim that I can adjust my caster by changing my UCAs (http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/40470-ucas-alignment.html).

I have a 3' lift and 33s, should I go the route of changing the LCAs so I can adjust the bushings, or should I change UCAs and the caster would be fixed?

Thanks

 

*mindblown*

that's a fucking tall lift man! I'm pretty sure no Tacoma can be aligned with 36" of lift




Changing your Upper control arms will not in any way solve a lower control arm seized bushing issue. Even if getting new UCA's would allow you to get proper alignment as soon as you hit a bump your alignment would go out. The reason for this is your lower control arm cams are seized from what you told us previously....as you flex the LCA it moves everything.

Fix the known problems first.

and yes new aftermarket upper control arms will allow more caster.

 

Ha ! 3"

Gotcha - Thanks!