Front Lower Control Arm Bushes - Worst Job so Far

[fridayman]

This has been the most trying job that I have tackled on my truck so far. I've been putting it off for a few weeks, but the knocking is getting quite bad when I brake, so I decided today was the day. I only wanted the do the left front lower bushes today. I started at 10 this morning and by 4pm I was bleeding, aching, swearing, and crying a little bit. Actually I'm quite knackered now, so here is the short version in case anyone else is thinking of doing this themselves:

Front up on axle stands with wheels off ground
Left front wheel off
Steering rack bolts all undone and pull steering rack back as far as it will go on the left side
Undo 4 bolts holding lower ball joint on
Undo drop link
Undo lower shock bolt - lower control arm should be able to swing down now
Then the grief started...
The rear camber adjuster and control arm bolt came out east enough - very tight but deforming the steering rack boot allowed me to squeeze the bolt out.
However the front camber adjuster had corroded onto the bush. Twisting the adjuster one way with a spanner and pushing the control arm the other way didn't do much. Hitting it with the bfh didn't do much. A few other things didn't work either. Then I realised the flat bit of the adjuster can come off the tube part - so I made a type of screw compressor with some 12mm threaded bar and some steel tubing. Success! Control arm finally off.
I tried to make a similar (but bigger) gadget to push the old bushes out - I bent and stripped a few things, but the bushes didn't even move. So out when all else fails, get the blow torch. This didn't really work either. Next I sawed the ends off both bushes. Then more fire. A lot more fire. Finally I could pull the centre shaft out of the bushes. Then more fire (the rubber sort of crumbles away). At this point I hadn't realised I was wasting time trying to get all the rubber out. Taking a break I got the new poly bushes out and realised that the metal I was trying to clean was actually the outer part of the old bush - that has to be pressed out... I've read that it is possible to get these out without a press, but I am just going to take the arm somewhere tomorrow to get the old ones pressed out and the new ones pressed in.

 

[Chris]

Brother. We feel your pain! I had heard that this was a swine of a job. I thine Black Widow tackled this first and he actually has a qualification in something. If I remember correctly he graded the job as 'a bugger'.


Chris

 

[J66P]

I was hoping this was going to make me feel better with mine to do but............it hasnt, i thought all the bad jobs were done with when I changed brands

 

[AndyCook]

sounds like a massive hassle job - one I have always thought I WILL leave for a garage to do...

 

[fridayman]

Here is what I would do if I had to do this again... First I would make sure I didn't need the truck for a day or two. Then I would see if the steering rack bushes, tie rod inners or outers, and drop links needed doing, as this is a good time to do them too. Then I would try and loosen off the the camber adjusters and start soaking them in WD40 daily for about a week before I started. Note! if they turn freely it does not mean they are going to come out easily too - one of mine had "welded" itself to the bush inner sleeve. And lastly, I would not bother trying to get the bushes out of the control arms myself - I would simply take the control arms to a local garage and ask them to burn/press them out for me - this time I ended up paying £60 to have all four old bushes removed and the new bushes pressed in.

 

[fridayman]

I was hoping this was going to make me feel better with mine to do but............it hasnt, i thought all the bad jobs were done with when I changed brands

It did solve the clunk that I described and you said you had too!

 

[Ecoman]

I must admit I was sat here with a smug look on my face thinking I'm glad I haven't got IFS on my truck it sounds like a nightmare.......



















then I remembered my hilux does

 

[KZJ90]

Fridayman, did you installed stock new bushes or Milner´s polyurethane ones?

I should do the same in the near future too, parts are waiting...

 

[fridayman]

Fridayman, did you installed stock new bushes or Milner´s polyurethane ones?

I should do the same in the near future too, parts are waiting...

I went for Superpro poly bushes all round. I've used Milners poly bushes on my steering rack before, which I have now replaced with Superpro - the Superpro bushes are MUCH easier to fit (by hand) than the Milners bushes which needed to be forced in with a home made screw compressor.

 

[KZJ90]

I've used Milners poly bushes on my steering rack before, which I have now replaced with Superpro

Why you changed them again? Where did you bought Superpro bushes for the steering rack?

 

[fridayman]

I've used Milners poly bushes on my steering rack before, which I have now replaced with Superpro

Why you changed them again? Where did you bought Superpro bushes for the steering rack?

The Milners ones started squeaking. I took the rack off and re-lubed them (with proper silicone based grease), and a month later they started squeaking again... so I changed them for Superpro and so far so good. I got them from Roughtrax for £25.

 

[KZJ90]

I got mine bushes replaced too. It was as difficult job as fridayman warned. Quite similar story with the camber adjust bolts, one came out with hands!, second with 15 min hammering with 5 kg hammer, 3rd with little less hammering and 4th... no way to get it out, 5 kg hammer is not heavy enough, tried to pull it out - not tools big enough, 5 mm steel plate bended. So, I had to cut through it with an angle grinder, tried first with a reciprocating saw but the stuff was too hard, just burned brand new Bosch blade.

After that, I went my friends working place where is 100t press. But... the bushes are pressed outside to inside to the arms, so how to get them pressed inside out? We ended up to weld temporary 5 cm thick steel plate with the right size hole to the arm (to prevent A-arm to going askew) and then we managed to press the old bushes out with the right size pin.

Drew a pic of it:

 

[lekiboy]

And lastly, I would not bother trying to get the bushes out of the control arms myself - I would simply take the control arms to a local garage and ask them to burn/press them out for me - this time I ended up paying £60 to have all four old bushes removed and the new bushes pressed in.

sorry - i just saw this - congratulations!
that's whay i did too 8 months I think ago...i let the local shop do it for me. no more clunks anywhere?

 

[fridayman]

Mostly clunk free now Except for a noise now coming from the back after the body lift...

 

[Bounder]

I tackled my LCA bushes today, it was a bit of a long job but not that difficult, just time consuming.
Remove all the bolts and studs that hold the steering rack in place, this allows enough space to pull the bolts and cams free.
Use a 4.5" grinder with a very thin cutting disc (1mm) to cut the flange off the internal part of the bush.
Then use a blowtorch to heat the arm enough that the rubber melts/burns and the internal bush will fall out.
With a hacksaw cut two slots 1cm apart in the outer casing of the bush that is left in the arm, use a small chisel to lift the strip out and the bush will just fall away.
Clean the arm mounting surfaces and press in the new bush (I used Superpro poly bushes.)
Refit with a bit of jiggering and enjoy the new steering. Mine feels as light as a feather now.
I am planning on driving the truck for a bit and after a week or so getting a wheel alignment once everything has settled down.
The cam bolts should only be tightened with weight on the front wheels or the bushes can be distorted and fail prematurely.

 

[Jules]

You Nailed it

I tackled my LCA bushes today, it was a bit of a long job but not that difficult, just time consuming.
Remove all the bolts and studs that hold the steering rack in place, this allows enough space to pull the bolts and cams free.
Use a 4.5" grinder with a very thin cutting disc (1mm) to cut the flange off the internal part of the bush.
Then use a blowtorch to heat the arm enough that the rubber melts/burns and the internal bush will fall out.
With a hacksaw cut two slots 1cm apart in the outer casing of the bush that is left in the arm, use a small chisel to lift the strip out and the bush will just fall away.
Clean the arm mounting surfaces and press in the new bush (I used Superpro poly bushes.)
Refit with a bit of jiggering and enjoy the new steering. Mine feels as light as a feather now.
I am planning on driving the truck for a bit and after a week or so getting a wheel alignment once everything has settled down.
The cam bolts should only be tightened with weight on the front wheels or the bushes can be distorted and fail prematurely.

Did exactly the same job last year, pretty much what you did, but it was a steep learning curve. At first I tried making up a puller/extractor with a length of all thread, but it was just too tight for that, even with the gentle application of a "hot spanner". I did a wheel alignment and got it checked, was within half mm, so will do my own in future. Word of warning about checking bolts after driving for awhile, make sure you do it, I replaced both lower ball joints recently, didn't check them, (even correctly torqued them) the left one came loose, lost two bolts, one sheared off, leaving only one. Fortunately I was travelling very slowly when I realised I had lost steering. Was just enough of sheared bolts protruding to allow extraction with a set of pliers. This oversight could have been tragic, I was very lucky.... Checking bolts is something I normally do, but we were experiencing bad weather at the time here on the West Coast of Tasmania, it got put off, then forgotten.....

 

[Beau]

I'm getting a clunk when cornering right hard, could this be the same arm?

 

[goodoldboy]

booked it in to the garage for this one - €26 an hour here

 

[Gary Stockton]

busy doing this now - and I'm crying The front lower right cam sleeve is well and truly welded to the inside of the bush - the cams are now broken off and I'm just getting the angry-grinder out

 

[Rob Cowell]

busy doing this now - and I'm crying The front lower right cam sleeve is well and truly welded to the inside of the bush - the cams are now broken off and I'm just getting the angry-grinder out

From experience. It's much easier to not grind away bits of the guides the cams sit on if you just cut through the bolts with a reciprocating saw. Once the arms are off its easy enough (although still a bit time consuming) to burn and cut out the bushes. Or even easier and not that much more expensive, buy new arms from Milners for less than the bushes cost from Mr T and get new ball joints into the bargain.