**PLEASE READ THIS COMMENT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND UPDATES ON THIS REPAIR** ** Somebody on the Toyota forum asked a great question. He wanted to know how much the vice needed to open up to press the bushings in. So, I took some measurements and here they are: Control Arm Sleeve that the bushing presses into - 1.75" Balljoint Receiving Cup - 2.5" Big Channel Locks - .5" Total Length - 4.75" So, I'd recommend using a vice that can at least open 5 inches. Now, if you use a longer balljoint receiving cup or a thicker pair of channel locks, you'd have to have an opening longer than 5 inches. But, if you had a shorter balljoint cup, you could get away with less of an opening. ** In retrospect, I think it would have been better to use the balljoint sleeve to do the pressing against the bushing sleeve for a more even application of pressure and have the channel locks on the backside to provide the gap needed for the bushing to press all the way in. The channel lock jaws would have to be at least .5" thick because the bushing pushes out that far to the inside of the control arm. ** 12/31/16 - I helped do this repair for someone else and found we did not have to remove the steering rack boot to get the driver side cam adjuster and bolt out. You can pull the rack back far enough to get the bolt and cam adjuster out no problem as long as you disconnect the power steering line bracket on the inside of the driver side frame rail. Disconnecting that bracket will allow you enough play in the lines to pull the rack backwards far enough so you can sneak the rear cam bolt and adjuster out. ** With this repair on 12/31/16, we did run into the problem of having both cam adjusters on the passenger side locked into the bushing sleeve due to corrosion (rust). We pounded and pounded and could not get them to budge. So, the only choice we had was to cut them out. We had to cut the cam adjuster on each side of the bushing to get the control arm out of the frame member. It's best to use a reciprocating saw with a good metal blade to make the cuts. I used a small Milwaukee M12 cordless saw to do the cuts. It's not a super powerful saw, but it got the job done. So, knowing the fact that these cam adjusters can commonly be rusted and impossible to remove without cutting, you might want to order a couple cam adjusters and have them on hand to you don't get stuck in the middle of the repair. **04/03/18 - We now have a Part 2 for this job that shows how to use a press to get the bushings out and back in and also how to cut any frozen cam adjusters out with a reciprocating saw. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html **Before doing the final tightening to spec of suspension components, you should have the weight of the vehicle on it's wheels so the component is sitting in it's normal point of articulation. You can snug up fasteners for suspension components but wait until the weight of the vehicle is on the tires before tightening them to the final torque spec. This is best practice so the bushings don't bind and the component will travel more freely within it's range of movement. We learned this after we shot the video and we wanted to let people know the correct way to tighten suspension components.
I own a 2000 toyo trd first gen and it had worn bushings on the steering gear and I was able to do the job by myself from watching YT tutorials and being lucky to find a factory manual for a 2003 wich is basically the same vehicle.Cheers
No problem and thank you for the reply, I think I will have to take it to a shop because I do not have a big enough vise and also do not have someone to help me.I really enjoyed your video very informative.Thank you
I don't know Rob, the amount of money a shop will charge for this job is worth the expense of buying yourself a new vice. You don't really need somebody to help you. You can do this all on your own. I think you'll be shocked how much a shop will charge for this job.
The fact that you are on the ground with jack stands and everything you do is how the home mechanic will have to do speaks volumes... This really is the best Toyota mechanic channel around...thank you
Hey Joe, thanks for the very nice compliment of our channel. We really appreciate it! By the way, we have a Part 2 for this video. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=1dWvfhA-sP6-rNz5 Happy Wrenching!
5 years later I am so thankful you've made this video. I've come to you for a few things, steering rack and this were the biggest life savers. I love that you explain it in such a way, that my brother who could barely change his oil can watch this and get the job done perfectly. I was scratching my head about how to get the old bushings out easily. This channel rocks and should get more exposure that you do
Great to hear our videos are helping you out and we appreciate your nice compliment of our channel. I do sometimes wonder why we don't attract more people to our channel, but we'll just keep plugging along doing what we do. Take care and Happy Wrenching!
Thanks John for the nice compliment. What you said is exactly what we are after. We want to inspire people to take up the challenge of auto mechanics. We can do that by giving them detailed videos to inspire confidence in their ability to tackle a job. We gear our videos to the absolute beginner so everyone can be successful using our videos as a tutorial. For the more experienced mechanics, they won't need that level of instruction but they can always fast forward and find a particular section they need clarification on and then go on their merry way. We really appreciate it John. Thanks!
Sir, I wanna say this: This is one of the most comprehensive, thorough, and eloquent videos I have seen so far. Very well-done! A great prep work, thorough and methodic application, and attention to detail. A True Academician! Thank you!
Well Hey, we really appreciate the nice compliment. Sean and I try our best to produce very detailed and easy to follow videos. We appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Wrenching!
Here is another helpful tip for this job. Instead of taking out only 1 of the power steering line guide bracket bolts (12mm), take out all 3. They are all 12mm bolts with easy access. Taking out all 3 of the powering steering line guide bracket bolts gives you even more movement in the steering rack. I didn't even need to take off the boot covering the power steering rail. I found that if I tilted the rack so the passenger side was low the angle created enough space to get the bolt and cam in and out with minimal fuss. Thanks for all your work on these videos! Your repair videos are some of the best on youtube and are extremely valuable to the do-it-yourselfers.
Hey Tim, thanks for the comment. After shooting this video, I've performed this job several more times. What I found is you can pull the rack back just far enough with that one power steering bracket line disconnected on the driver side frame rail to get the cam adjuster bolt to clear the steering rack. When we filmed this job, I just didn't think we could pull the rack back far enough for the bolt to clear but lo and behold we could. I put this update in the video description on 12/31/16. But, I can see by taking out all the power steering line bracket bolts you could move the steering rack back further with a lot less effort. Sean and I appreciate the nice compliment. That's great to hear you think our videos are some of the best out there. Happy Wrenching Tim!
Thank you so much for making these videos. I have a '98 4runner and a 2000 tundra totalling over 600,000 miles between them and thanks to you I've been able to keep them running safely without any trips to the shop. If I lived near you, I'd definitely take you out for a beer.
Hey Scott, great to hear you're doing all your own wrenching with some help from our videos. We appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Wrenching!
You have no idea how much I appreciate this video. I was doing suspension work and I stopped because I wasn't ready for the headaches of removing the bushings from the control arm. After seeing your video I started the project again and I couldn't believe how easy it was to remove the bushings.Thanks again for a great video.
You're welcome Sledge. We're glad our video helped you out and gave you the confidence to complete the job. Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your success with us.
Just did this to my sons 99. We busted a puller trying to get the ball joint off. Couldn’t find a pulled to do it so we just took off the 4 bolts under the ball joint. Removed and pressed the bushings in with the ball joint attached to the LCA. Oh, and the old bushings DID explode out on us and one flew. After the first one, we caught them all in a bucket. 👍 Thanks again Timmy for the awesome vids!
I just wanted to thank you for this detailed video on this job. Because of your help I did this job myself (and while at it replaced lower ball joint, sway bushings, endlinks, and tie rods) and saved myself well over a grand in labor costs. Thank you!
You're welcome. Thanks for commenting and sharing you success story with us. We love hearing how people have saved themselves a ton of money using our videos. Happy Wrenching!
This video saved me a lot of frustration and headache. After a lower ball joint broke 4 bolts and we nearly had a horrible accident then trying to repair the damage in order to get the car back on the road ... I tried to get the lower control arm off only to find the cam adjuster seized.Thank you for explaining this so well. I cut the old one and ordered a new one.
Good video! Really helpful to see your method for removing and replacing lower control arm bushings with basic tools. Also really helpful that you post all the part #'s, torque specs and links! The very end of the video with the outtakes is hilarious!
Glad you like the video. Sean stringing together all my uhs and ums had me crying laughing. I guess I have to work on my speech skills so he doesn't have to do so much editing.
Hi, my name is Oslei and I'm in São Paulo - Brazil. This video helped me a lot, because I have a 4Runner 1997 (white same as the video) and need to effect the exchanges of the bushes. Congratulations on the production and I think it will help a lot of people like me. I would like to have all the tools that you have but here in Brazil they are very expensive ($$$$$) but I believe that with the ones I have I will be able to make the exchanges without problems (mainly with this step by step video) I wish you success and congratulations on the quality of the material available to all Toyoteiros in the world.
Hey Oslei, I think you're the first person who's commented on our channel from Brazil. Yeah, the right tools can make all the difference but I absolutely understand what you're saying about how expensive tools can be. So even if you use Amazon, the prices are still high for you? Good luck with the repair and don't hesitate to ask me any questions if you run into any problems. Sometimes the cams can get rusted in the sleeve of the bushing and then you have to cut them out. I hope in your case all the cam adjusters come out easy. I give some helpful tips in the video description so be sure to read it before you get started on this repair.
Love those clean California runners. I'm going to bathe my Ohio runner in PB Blaster for a week and hope for the best! Thanks for another fantastic tutorial Timmy!
Another outstanding video! Just started doing this and used the bottle jack with a heat gun and some PB blaster. By slowly adding pressure with the bottle jack and heat, the old bushes came out with no problems. Doing the steering bushings at the same time so getting the rack out of way hasn't been an issue...Thanks guys!
Haven't done this job yet, but have watched your videos on lower ball joints and outer tie rods, they were IMMENSELY helpful. Considering my lower ball joint broke in my work car park and I had little mechanical experience. Your videos helped me fix it myself, right then and there in the car park. You've inspired me to do much bigger jobs on my truck myself and I'm a lot more confident due to videos like this. Keep these up! Absolutely life saving!!
Really awesome to hear our videos are helping you out and they are inspiring you to tackle jobs you otherwise wouldn't have done. Thanks for the comment. We appreciate it!
Thank you so much for all your detailed videos, I’ve practically restored a 97 with your help. Just pressed out all my uca and lca bushings today, and my god it was the toughest job so far. My 10t press and various press accessories barely got me through. The arms are surprisingly easy to damage if press sleeves aren’t carefully positioned
That trick with the channel locks at 27:58 is slick. Glad this video is available. My 4th gen will probably need LCA bushings soon. Thanks for all your videos Tim!
I used this bottle jack technique the other day, and it worked perfectly. Thank you for this video, as well as many others that I’ve referenced. I did have one bushing explode out and shoot across my garage, hitting a box and tire. That was fun haha.
About to do the same to my 99 Prado. If I do work on my mate's cars or bikes, I always tell them that my works only guaranteed until the vehicle is moved! 😉
Thanks Timmy! Did mine today. Pretty work intensive . Started by using the OEM Toyota vehicle bottle jack but it didn't have enough tonnage. First one popped out hard. Second one took a lot of air hammer persuasion. Third and 4th I got a bottle jack from autozone and it was enough. Things flew off like a cannon. My vehicle would hard left under braking. I had replaced everything and still had the issue. Although my bushings didn't look/feel worn, the issue is now gone. I marked the cams pretty good but will be getting an alignment Tuesday to see if I can get better caster numbers/driving. Used whitelines. My inner sleeve slid in with no pressing. Rented some C clamp bearing puller kit thing at autozone and pressing them in was super easy. Full day job. See u on nov 3.
Hey Francois, good job getting the job done. Great to hear it fixed your issue when braking. Diagnosing a problem like that can be difficult, and like you said, being able to tell if the LCA bushings are for sure bad isn't easy either. Sounds like you would have benefitted from more heat on the arms before trying to drive them out with the bottle jack. I've used this technique 3-4 times now and I've never had a bushing fly out. I load up the bushing a little and then heat it up really good. I give a few cranks with the bottle jack and usually see movement right away. If there's still not movement, I'll give it a little more pressure. If there's still no movement, I'll apply more heat and/or check to see if the bottle jack is pushing directly square on the bushing. You want the piston of the bottle jack pushing directly inline with the bushing and not at a slight angle. If it's not driving with force straight out, this will affect how well it will work. Some people have managed to destroy their LCAs by using too much force with the bottle jack and spread out the arms to where they won't fit in the frame mounts anymore. Because of that, we decided to make Part 2 of this video showing how you can do the bushing removal with a hydraulic press. The Nov 3rd party is going to be fun. See you then.
I just did this on my 04 Tacoma prerunner, and I would recommend disconnecting the steering shaft from the top of the steering rack, this way you have more than enough room and don’t have to remove the boot from the steering rack. Also I did this with bushings from Energy Suspension which made me reuse the old metal sleeves, which added 12 hours to the job, would recommend the Whiteline ones.
You actually can get enough movement out of the steering rack without removing the steering shaft from the steering rack. Take a look at the comment I pinned and look at the note dated 12/31/16. And Yes, Energy Suspension bushings are a huge mistake for this application.
Thanks for the tutorial. I'm in Australia and have a toyota minivan. There's not much out there in regards to service manuals but this definitely helps. Thanks again Timmy
Hi Timmy what generation 4 runner are you working on in the video. I replaced my 4 runner bushings with the white line ones but they look different from yours and didn’t need to be pressed in
Thanks for showing the work in a very detail ways. I don’t have a 4Runner or Tacoma, but I have a Sequoia. It is @ 200,000 miles so I believe it is time to replace those bushing.
Just got done doing this repair over the weekend. Thanks Tim for all the good information in this video it helped out a lot. I do want to say that I think the Amazon links are not correct in clicking on them it takes you to parts that do not seem correct. The part numbers are correct but the Amazon links seem to be taking you to incorrect parts one was listed as a windshield washer bolt. Luckily I was able to pick up all the correct parts from a local Toyota dealer. I did this work on a 03 Tacoma I don’t believe it’s too much different if it all done on the 4 Runners. Un lucky for me I did have to cut out two of the cam sleeves the other two came out OK I followed Tim’s lead and bought the Diablo carbide blade they seem to cut through them fairly easily. After being able to get out my lower control arms I unfortunately found out that my bushings were so bad that despite following the instructions in the video placing it in a vice using a bottle jack and applying enough heat to where we almost caught the garage on fire they still would not come out not wanting to risk damaging the control arms I looked into what a local shop around me would charge me to press them out not having access to a press myself. Long story short the amount of money that local shops around me wanted to charge would be more than if I just went and bought new lower control arms myself. This was a bummer because I had purchased the white line bushings like they use in this video I ended up not being able to use them and just buying new lower control arms but like I said it was cheaper way out than having a shop press out the old bushings or me risk damaging the Toyota lower control arms. All in all I still believe that the bottle jack message would work I just feel my bushings were so shot that this method was not working.
Yeah, I checked the links and they are a bit funky. I'll see if I can generate some better ones. Thanks for the heads up on that. Sorry to hear the repair didn't work for you and you had to resort to buying new control arms. But, you got the job done and that's what counts. Happy Wrenching!
First off thanks for the videos. I replaced the bushings over the weekend on a 3rd gen. The worst part of the whole project was getting the washers to fit between the outer side of the bushings. You mentioned it was hard around 31:50. How hard was it!? I had to hammer and wedge the washer to get it in and caused a bit of damage to the poly bushing. My theory is the frame has been squeezed together by the Cam bolts from the factory LCA install.
Yeah, we didn't have as much of a struggle as you did. Our install required no pounding or bushing damage. Glad our video helped you out and we appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Wrenching!
Yes, it would be the same. Your sway bar end links attach differently to the LCA but that's pretty much it. The 3rd Gen 4runner and 1st Gen Tacomas pretty much have identical front ends.
Great Video Timmy! At the end, when the camber was suddenly way off toward positive, I'm thinking this would only be immediately upon setting the truck back down on its own tires. It would normalize after a bit of driving. When the suspension fully extends/ articulates, the lower end of the hubs/wheels tuck in (probably due to the difference in length of the upper and lower control arms, and maybe their default angles to the ground which might not be the same.) When the suspension fully articulates, the wheels don't just drop down and stay parallel with each other, they tend to move in a bit of an arc and the lower end of the wheels tuck in. So I imagine, at point of first contact with the ground as you lower the truck, the wheels will have their bottoms tucked in since the suspension will still be quite articulated. The tires will grip and resist being dragged across the ground. As the weight of the truck rests back on the suspension, the suspension system will want to push the bottom of the tires back out, but friction will keep the bottom of the tires in pretty much the same place they first touched the ground. If one would drive the truck back and forth a bit and weave the steering a bit, the tension in the suspension would soon push the bottom of the wheels back out and eliminate the sudden positive camber.
You need to do a video on clutch replacement on a 3.4 manual. Lol. Jk. I’m also having a weird issue of very notchy shifting. It does not grind at all. Clutch actually feels ok. Just got this 4x4 on the cheap. Definitely wasn’t well taking care of
Thanks for all the great videos and tutorials for the 3rd gen! BTW - I just removed bushing from my LCA. I purchased a 20ton press, the bearing separator, and bushing removal sleeves from harbor freight. TIP, I sprayed a generous amount of Blaster around the lips of the old bearings and allowed them to soak in overnight. When I put this in the press, to my surprise it only took approx 4 pumps on the press and the bushing popped right out no issues! I too bought new cam bolts and setup for mine.
How well did the press work for the removal and installation of the bushings? I have a HF 20 ton and am hoping the control arms will fit into the press far enough so I don't have to resort to this bottle jack rigging. Even though it does seem to get the job done.
Good luck our Hawaiian Brother! You should watch Part 2 as well for a second technique to get the bushings out and to also learn how to cut out the cam adjusters if you unfortunately find one of more of them frozen into the bushing sleeve. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
luke 90series Thanks Luke. We’re steadily gaining subscribers but I think we’d have to expand our realm of models we work on to attract a larger audience. We’re having fun doing it and we know we’re helping people out so that’s what’s important to us.
Yet another well-executed, informative 3rd Gen T4R DIY service tutorial by you two fellow Bay Area 3rd Gen 4Runner guys! Thanks for it! Let me know if you want to do a tutorial on installing some new SPC/LC adjustable front UCA's on a 3rd Gen, as I need to install some on mine ASAP as one of my bushings is completely disintegrated. Been running the 3" lift for a few years now and figure its time to splurge on some aftermarket UCA's to finally bring the alignment back into spec, and obviously make it safe to drive again! Unfortunately I live in SF and I don't really have the space to do it......
We just did a lift on a 2000 Tacoma on Thursday and it included installing SPC UCA's. Are you on toyota-4runner.org? We're having a Mod/Meet-up Day at my place on May 13th. We could probably help you out that day. Here's the link to the thread: www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/209965-official-bay-area-mod-meet-greet-thread-23.html#post2663726
Managed to do this job today with the bottlejack method. Fortunately I got a spare set of LCAs that lived most of their life in SoCal so with a little bit of heat and a 12 ton bottlejack they popped out without too much force. I did find out that using a balljoint press and the 4wd press kit you can easily press in new whiteline bushings and probably OEM bushings as well without the use of a vice as a pressing tool.
Good job getting the job done Aaron. Thanks for sharing that a balljoint press with the 4wd sleeves worked to get the Whiteline bushings installed. Press work is one of those things that you can usually fine multiple ways to accomplish.
@@TimmyTheToolman Absolutely. Just wanted to make a note of it so if anyone else is tackling this moderately difficult job knows the multiple ways to accomplish it.
Thanks Dean. Hope you find a good shop. What I've learned from frequenting Toyota forums and from my own personal experience, shop mechanics screw up repairs with a fair amount of frequency. Maybe a Yelp search will lead you to an honest and competent shop. Good luck!
I'm currently rebuilding the engine on my 97 4Runner. Fortunately, this gives me under hood access and time while I wait on the machine shop. Going to order sway bar, steering, LCA (Whiteline) and UCA ES poly bushings. Your video say's good time to replace lower ball joints. Does anyone know if upper ball joints are prone to failure as well? Not a fun project but these are not disposable vehicles like so many other crappy cars on the road today.
The upper balljoints are not known to fail. I'd only replace them if there's detectable play in the joint or the boot is torn and you've been driving it with a torn boot for a long time allowing road contaminants to get into the joint and cause wear. If it's just a torn boot, you can purchase a reboot kit that comes with the boot, grease, and the wire to secure the boot to the balljoint.
I've done this exact bottle jack method. It works you just need to be patient. Watch this video several times and don't be in a rush. Spray everything down a few days before if you live in a rust belt state. I will say, there is a right and wrong way to place the bushings in according to the FSM. I don't know if it's in the video. Probably is, Timmy is super thorough. I think that my 2 year old OEM bushings are going bad from 1 of them, front driver's side , not being correctly orientated when installing. It seems to be twisted and the rubber is showing stress cracks. Is this binding? Don't forget to throw the new bushings in the freezer until you install! Helps quite a bit.
We actually don't talk about the correct orientation of the OEM bushings because we used Whiteline poly bushings in the video. You are correct there is a specific orientation for them.
@@TimmyTheToolman woops. That's right. Im guessing that's why mine look twisted after only 2 years and now have to redo it. I just bought loaded arms this time. Do you think that twist I'm seeing is from the orientation issue?
@@rptrick79 I'm not sure if the twist you're seeing is from that. Did you tighten the arms with the weight of the vehicle on the tires or with the wheels suspended. If the arms were tightened with the wheels off the ground, once the vehicle is settled on the wheels, the bushings will be in a constant bind and not be in neutral when sitting static. I'm guessing you got an alignment afterwards and the tech would have had to loosen the bolts to make the adjustments to the cams and that would have taken the tension off the bushings.
@@TimmyTheToolman iirc we did tighten/torque on the ground and yes to alignment a couple days later. Now I really don't know why there's a twist in the bushing. Pretty curious at this point. Anyone else have this "twist"when looking at the bushings from underneath the truck ?
I did the lower control arm with the toyota bottle jack between the lower control arm but used under the jack bottom a piece of square stock steel and used it as a sleeve over the end of the control arm that the bottom of the jack would be and then put it in a vice so no force is on the arm,And the control arm was under the square stock in the same vice.I seen people on youtube do that and the control arm bends.Good work on the back left side lower control arm bolt,I just loosened the bolts on the rack in the middle (Took one out and only kept one in the middle to swivel the rack)and took out the bolts on the ends and the rack swivels on the center loosened bolt,It pulled down enough for me,Did not need to removed the boot,Cheers.Joe P.E.
Swapped my arms this weekend. It was a nightmare, two out of the 4 cam bolts were frozen. One had to be cut out with grinder and sawzall. And even with rack unhooked, it was still very difficult getting bolt and cam removed on driver side. Bravo on making it look easy.
For the driver side cam bolt, did you release the power steering line bracket on the inside of the driver side frame rail? When you release that bracket, you can easily pull the rack back far enough to remove the bolt and cam adjuster. I mention this in a comment I pinned.
@@TimmyTheToolman dang. I missed that! I didn't do that. You guys in California have nice clean vehicles. Colorado winters are tough on bolts after 20 years, haha.
Thank you so much for these videos. Everyone has helped me do these projects just as you described down to the size socket needed and torque specs to go back together.
Kenneth Fike thanks for the comment Ken! We hope you stop by the comments section again for ny questions or just to share your success with these videos! Sicmods!!!
Hello Timmy, Any comments on those whiteline bushings? I've read some comments in regards to sticking to OEM bushings, for the 4 runner, I personally have a 95 series prado, but the lower control arms are the same. I can't seem to find any listings for OEM LCA's bushings
I've been running Whiteline bushings on my 98 for around 50k miles, and they are fine. There were many 4wheeling trips over that time, so some hard miles.
The uh/um blooper reel starting at 49:30 was epic!!! Great video Tim and Sean, probably should've done this while I was doing my tie rods/ball joints/steering rack-sway bar bushings. Oh well, next time!
I just did this job on my 98 4runner. I had to cut out 2 of my cam sleeves because they were rusted into the LCA bushings. We're going to be coming out with a Part 2 to show the cutting of the cam sleeves and also show a different option for the bushing replacement by using a hydraulic press as opposed to the bottle jack technique.
Out of curiosity do you think I would still need to take of the steering rack if I was replace inner and outer tie rods. LCA and lbj. I should have more than enough clearance with the tie rods out to remove and replace the LCA
You have to disconnect the steering rack and pull it back far enough so you can remove the rear bolts that attach the LCA to the frame. That's the reason for it. Even with the inner and outer tie rods disconnected, the shaft of the steering rack would still impede with the bolt coming out. But, if you took the inner and outer tie rods out and then cranked the steering wheel all the way one way, you might be able to sneak one bolt out and then crank the steering wheel all the way the other way and sneak the other bolt out. That might work.
I just did this job on my 4 runner. I found that the thing to do is to cut the bushing flange off and thin press the bushing guts out this way you don't put excessive force on the Controle arm. pressing the guts out. Then use a sharp punch to peal the bushing steel sleve in and then press the sleve out.
Sure, whatever works. You got it done and that's all that counts. We also show another way in Part 2 using a press. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
Tim. Thank you for the awesome videos. I just recently did this same repair on my 01 4x4. I used the Whiteline bushings. One things that I thought about after the fact was if I needed to grease the outside face of the poly bushing. The part where it meets the washer. I didn’t notice that you did this in your video, so I am hoping that it isn’t necessary. I did buy the cam adjusters that have grease fittings, so Hopefully that will be sufficient. Thanks
Hey John, it's actually good to lubricate the outside face of the bushing that the washer meets up with. I can't even remember if we did lubricate it or not in this video but I've now done this job 4 times and I know I've lubricated the bushings faces on those other repairs. If you haven't gotten the vehicle aligned yet, it might be good to go back in and lubricate them. If you've gotten an alignment already, I wouldn't bother then. There is a chance you'll get some squeaking but hopefully not.
Timmy The Toolman I have already gotten it aligned, but I may go ahead and tear it back down and grease them. I would hate for them to tear up from not doing so.
I don't think they would tear up but there's a chance they would make noise over time. When the bolts are tightened down, the washer gets sandwiched between the frame member and the bushing. I think the metal sleeve inside the poly bushing is what's doing most of the pivoting. If that was greased, I think you're good to go. It's just with some flexing I think the bushings could end up squeaking against the washers and sometimes even though you've lubricated everything really well, it happens eventually. It happened with my sway bar bushings. They started making noise and once I took the bar off and greased everything really well again, the noise went away. It's probably the main downside to using polyurethane bushings. You said you bought cam adjusters with grease fittings. Do you have a link you could share?
My control arm bushings look like there is rubber visible on one side and none on the other? i can move the control arm a bit with a pry bar back and forth, im debating whether to do the entire arms or just the bushings... who know if my cams are seized as well, 98 4 runner in Montana climate its whole life.
Your arms are probably ok but the bushings sound like they are shot. I think it's a safe assumption that your cam adjusters will be rusted inside the bushing sleeve. Make sure you have a reciprocating saw on hand and some good steel blades. Part 2 of this video will help you out: th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
Very helpful video! Thanks, guys. I'll be doing this work soon. Actually, I'm doing pretty much everything in the front end of my 2000 4Runner 4x4: replacing all the bushings and ball joints (UCAs and LCAs), tie rods, steering rack bushings. It’s at 210K miles, and it’s not holding an alignment, so it’s time. Those look like Durobumps bump stops installed on the LCAs in this video...or at least they look just like them. I have those, and the instructions say they should *only* be installed on the rear arm of the LCA. It appears in the video these are installed on the front. Just wanted to point that out. Perhaps let the vehicle owner know. Thanks again for the videos. Keep up the great work!
Raleigh Moody we wish you luck in all the work you’re about to embark on! If you take your time, and have the right tools handy you will be fine. The filming of this video was a couple years before Durobumps existed, but you’re right, he has super bumps in the front and Durobumps instructs to install them on the rear of the lower control arm.
Hi, Timmy Thank you so much for your sharing which it really let me learn more about my 1999 Hilux Surf RZN185(similar as 4runner gen3). I'm from Hong Kong and I think the total qty for this model in Hong Kong is not over 50s. So the parts are quite difficult to to find. Sometimes bought from Japan (but it is the crazy price.....) sometimes bought from Ebay. Anyway, thank you again for everything and your great effort. ^.^ Wilson
You're welcome. I think you're the first person I know of from Hong Kong that has commented on one of our videos. One of the cool things about starting a TH-cam channel is the people you reach across the World. Happy Wrenching my Hong Kong Brother!
Will this stiffin loose suspension? One of my Control arms have been replaced and that side is a lot stiffer that the other side(it bottoms out often since it’s lowered)
It shouldn't make the ride rougher but it would eliminate a loose feeling or clunking if the bushings were really worn out. If the control arm is bottoming out onto the frame, maybe the bump stop on the new control arm is a bit stiffer than the older one on the other side. So you have a lowered 4runner?
@@TimmyTheToolman Tacoma sorry, it’s the pre runner model lifted from factory. New shocks and coils but one side is softer, it rode like thay before I changed them out too
Tim, your videos are great! I have a stock 2wd 98 4 runner and im considering replacing my upper and lower control arm bushings with Energy suspension polyurethane bushings. I'd sure like your feed back please. Thanks! Rich
I'm not sure about the uppers, but Whiteline bushings are way better for the lowers. Energy Suspension aren't a complete bushing and sleeve combo like the Whiteline bushings are. If you can't find something similar to Whiteline for the uppers, I'd go with OEM Toyota bushings.
4th generation 4runner has the ball joints as an integral part of the assembly so if the bushings are compromised you can be certain the ball joints move like a joy stick. Such is the case with mine after 246k miles. My only cost effective option is to go with MOOG L.C.A.’s at $180.00 per L.C.A. inclusive of bushings and ball joint. I was a bit confused about the adjustments but I see now it’s more of an oblong Front/back adjustment and not the up/down of control arm. At least I think that’s what it is. I may just let my local shop install the parts, although I don’t like it when customers ask me to install appliance parts because let’s face it, parts mark up is how businesses make $$$. You wouldn’t bring a steak to a restaurant and ask the chef to cook it. This is one case my mechanic will make an exception. Thanks for the video.
Hey Mike, the distance between the upper control arm is too tight to fit a jack between. If you like turning wrenches and doing your own repairs, I highly suggest getting a Harbor Freight 20 ton press. If you catch it on sale, you can get them for a really affordable price. I use my press all the time. It's money well-spent.
Hey Jordan, after doing this job several times, we learned you can actually move the steering rack back far enough and not have to remove the boot and try to carefully sneak the bolt past the shaft. If you disconnect the power steering line bracket on the inside of the driver side frame rail, that will give you enough room to pull the steering rack back further and you can get the back cam bolts out no problem.
I only need to replace the rear most front lca bolt. Because it's bent from previous owner hitting a curb. I'm also replacing the stabilizer bar because it's also bent. It appears that is the extent of the damage. An alignment shop confirmed my diagnosis. My question is do I need to take all the same steps up to when you pulled that bolt out at approx. 15:00. Also what else should I take care of.. truck has 160k and was well taken care of.
Yes, you need to almost do everything we show. What I learned is you don't have to remove the steering rack boot. If you disconnect the power steering line bracket on the inside of the driver side frame rail, you can pull the rack back far enough to get the bolt and cam adjuster out. There's a shit load of things you could probably do - Steering rack bushings, sway bar bushings, lower ball joints, trans cooler, and the list goes on.
@@TimmyTheToolman thank you for the speedy reply. I got the truck for $2250 with 166k just because of this fix. I plan on keeping it for awhile so want to make sure everything is up to date.
@@craiglarsonjr.6586 Hey Craig, become a member of T4R.org if you haven't already. That forum is a wealth of knowledge. Other than what I already suggested to you, a radiator replacement is usually a good idea. There have been incidences of the trans cooler failing inside the radiator and that ends up ruining the auto transmission because the coolant mixes with the ATF and that contaminated mixture makes it's way back to the transmission. Auto trans don't do well with water so it destroys the transmission. You could install the radiator and the trans cooler at the same time. We have a video for it. Make sure to replace all your fluids, grease the u-joints on both driveshafts, check your brakes, etc. We have a 30,000 mile service video that could help you out with that. Look through our videos and you'll get ideas of other things you can do. Have fun with it. If you have any questions along the way, just ask.
My personal notes from doing this job with the bottle jack method is that being super careful isn't the right description. If you aren't pressing the bushing out using almost zero effort, you're bending the arms. My arms were clean and absolutely rust free. I used my 12-ton jack to apply just a little but of pressure while I applied heat to the arm around the bushing. Once it was nice and hot I just barely cranked on the arm and the bushings pressed right out. It was such little force, absolutely nothing was strained or forced whatsoever. The arms still managed to spread on me probably 1-2mm. Like maybe the width of a washer or two. This made re-install a real pain in the ass. I managed to get it done, but it was a lot of hammering and lubing and prying. My theory is that the heat here may actually be hurting as much as it's helping -- I'm wondering if the metal is getting hot enough to slightly deform with the little bit of pressure put on it with the jack. It certainly aids the bushing in sliding out... but I dont know how you find that sweet spot. If I did this job again, I'd source the bearing splitter and do the press method (or just buy some cleaned up and reinforced arms from one of the sellers who sell them with the eimkeith bits already installed).
Your experience is interesting. I've done the bottle jack method a couple times and both came out with minimal force with the right application of heat and the arms went in without issue. I think there is a chance you did use too much heat. Metal can flex and bounce back into shape which is what happens with this method. But, use too much force, and you actually bend them. Your result isn't that common, at least I haven't heard that many people on forums and Toyota Facebook pages saying they bent their LCAs with the bottle jack technique.
@@TimmyTheToolman Yeah my language is a bit broad I suppose -- I just found it super shocking that mine bent at all. I was in my workshop thinking "OK, Timmy says not to force this so any moderate resistance and I'm finding a bearing splitter!" and they just slid on out. But then they were just BARELY spread apart. Super weird.
Just wondering....my 98 4runner hasnt had any steerng/suspension bushings ever replaced. Ive started experincing significant sway at highway speeds. Just wondering what other bushings I should replace and what order I should replace them in. Thanks for the great info!
Steering rack bushings. Front and rear sway bar bushings. Upper and lower rear control arm bushings. Maybe the front upper control arm bushings as well. We have videos for all these bushing replacements. If you have questions, just ask.
The amount of heat necessary isn't going to change the strength of the steel. But, that's just my opinion. I have no science to back it up. I can say I've been running the Durobump bushings for quite some time and my front differential brackets haven't cracked. So there's that.
How do these Whitelines do compared to OEM? I'm about to do that job I've got a small shake that a new steering rack and 2 alignments haven't fixed. Nervous to put on 3rd party parts but what is the consensus on these bushings?
Had this same question. I bought the Whiteline kit and was getting around to putting them in when I read somewhere else a guy saying he can feel every pebble on the road now after the change. My truck is my daily driver, I get on the dirt maybe once every four months. You think OEM is more comfortable ride?
@@weyls2536 I’ve done some more research since I posed this question and I think Whiteline is superior for a few reasons. Talking to some mechanics and watching a lot of videos it seems the oem bushings are not made for lifted trucks and because they are rubber.. they are under tremendous stress and rip more easily under the pressure from a lift. Polyurethane is superior because it’s a tougher material and when moving up and down it doesn’t wear as badly. You can still run OEM bushings but you should expect you will need to change them much more frequently.
when torquing the control arm bolts with the vehicle on the ground how do you get enough clearance for the torque wrench? I thought the steering rack had to be removed and the boot pulled back for access.
The only way you could try to accurately torque those rear LCA bolts is with a crows foot wrench but take a look at it this way. When you go to get an alignment, the alignment tech isn't going to torque them to spec. They get on there with a big wrench and tighten away and that's it. They don't break out torque wrenches when doing an alignment as far as I know because I've watched them. Maybe some technicians look up torque values for your particular make and model rig, but I'm pretty sure most techs get onto the head of the bolt and tighten away using their best judgement. The main thing is you don't want the LCAs able to slide out of position once the alignment is dialed in.
Wow, you are incredibly well organized and thorough. I have a 2004 Toyota Highlander, 6 cylinder, with 171,000 miles and failed inspection due to needing lower control arm bushing replacement on both sides. They told me they have to take the engine out to do this. 14 hours of work. Does that make sense to you? Thanks
Hey John, no, it doesn't make any sense to have to pull the engine to remove control arms. Are you sure they're not talking about something else that requires the removal of the engine? If you want, how me some pictures of your lower control arms so I can make sense of why they are saying the removal of the engine is necessary. Here's my email address: mtbtim@sbcglobal.net
You're very welcome Max. We have a Part 2 video too, that shows a different technique to remove the bushings and also covers how to cut out the arms if you unfortunately find one of more of the cam adjusters is frozen inside the bushing sleeve. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
@@TimmyTheToolman I've done ball joints injectors lower control arms bushings shocks in the back fuel filter have clean the throttle body ball joints thanks to your videos I love my 97 limited edition with 300,000 k have owned it for about 18 years
I’m sure it could, but fighting all those components proves to be a recipe for swear words. It doesn’t take that much extra work to pop the tie rod with a puller.
Great question Bill. I think it's because the nut that the cam adjuster bolt threads into would stick out far enough on the back side to contact the steering rack boot. This would ultimately tear the boot.
Quick question. If you were to do a upper bj, lower bj, inner and outer tire rods, uca bushing, lca bushing and sway and steering rack bushings. In what order would you do them?
1st, Remove Sway Bar 2nd, Loosen the lock nut for outer tie rod and Loosen the inner tie rod connection to the Steering Rack (You could replace these components now or do them near the end - Step 13) 3rd, Break free Inner tie rod from the LBJ 4th, Unbolt steering rack and pull it back so you can remove rear LCA bolts and cam adjusters 5th, Break free LBJ from LCA 6th, Remove Brake Caliper, Disconnect ABS sensor and wire, Disconnect CV Axle Nut, Break free UBJ from UCA and remove Steering Knuckle. 6th, Put Steering knuckle in a vice and swap out the UBJ. If you didn't already remove the LBJ from the knuckle, do that too. 7th, Remove LCA 8th, Remove UCA 9th, Do the bushing replacements on both control arms 10th, Get the control arms back on 11th, Get the steering knuckle reconnected with a new LBJ 12th, Replace the steering rack bushings and bolt the steering rack back to the cross member 13th, replace the inner and outer tie rods and get the outer tie rod connected to the LBJ. 14th, put the sway bar back on with new bushing 15th, Go get an alignment This is the order that makes sense to me. Hope all this work goes smooth for you. Happy Wrenching!
@@TimmyTheToolman thank you so much. So I took off tire rid and started pulling off boot and power steering fluid started flowing. Guess I know why my power steering has been shitty. really wish this wasn't the case. Sounds like I'm going to need a new rack
@@619steelo Not necessarily. I noticed the same thing on my 2000 4runner when I loosened the boot. Sure, the seals are leaking but that's not necessarily why the steering would be shitty. My steering is still really good on my 2000. I just keep an eye on the fluid level in my power steering reservoir. What are your steering symptoms. There's plenty of possible causes of bad steering characteristics. I did forget to mention that OEM inner tie rods are very expensive. If you bought OEM inner tie rods, you could have bought a whole new steering rack for about another $200 because an OEM rack comes with new inner tie rods. From what I remember, a new steering rack bought online is around $530 and new inner tie rods are around $300. If you already bought the inner tie rods and you're going to replace the rack, maybe return the inner tie rods and then purchase the new rack. But, before dropping coin on a new rack, I'd really investigate more where the problem could be originating from. You don't want to drop a bunch of coin and do a ton of work just to find out your steering problems still exists.
@@619steelo That symptom could just be a clogged power steering reservoir screen. When the screen is clogged, it starves the steering rack of fluid. Before getting into all this work, that would be the first thing I would check. I'm suspecting you're going to find a reservoir filter screen that is mostly blocked. Check out this video: th-cam.com/video/5k61KXRK8bM/w-d-xo.html To move the fluid through the system, we have heard that you do not need to run the engine to power the pump. If you get the front tires off the ground and turn the wheels lock to lock, you can effectively move the fluid. Turn the wheels back and forth a couple times, top off the reservoir, and keep repeating until the fluid looks like it's coming out clean into your catch basin.
Whiching your video is something anyone can do. I already know how to do. But your video is good to watch and to see how another person redo the same thing I've already know or done. Ever wonder if these friends or others ever paid you to work on the SUV. One thing is you actually take the time to go over every little step and it take a lot of time from doing and getting parts off and on
Glad you like the video. The people we help usually treat us to lunch and beers. We don't charge people if it means we get a new video out of it to share on our channel. There have been local people who have hit me up for common jobs like the rear axle seals and I have done it for them at a price much much less than a shop would charge. Giving the viewer extra detail is what makes us different than many other automotive TH-cam channels. The downside to offering this extra detail is our videos are longer than most. Some people don't like long videos but it's my opinion if somebody wants to know how to do something, they'll sit through the video if it means they will be successful with the job. And, people can always skip around through the video if they just need to see one part that they are stuck on. When people complain about the video length, I just tell them nobody is forcing them to watch the whole thing. Skip through it and watch the parts you need help with. It's pretty simple.
They've been holding up well so far but I don't think anyone has run them as long as OEM so it's hard to say what their longevity will be. The price point compared to OEM made it seem worth the chance that they'll hold up for a long time. Like they say, time will tell. Glad you like our video.
@@TimmyTheToolman Thanks Timmy. I'm getting ready to do the front end bushings, drive shaft boots, etc on my 2000. I'm sure your videos will save me a ton of time as they have in the past.
The washers are part of the Whiteline bushings kit. You install them on either side of the bushings between the bushing and the frame mounts for the control arm.
Hey Timmy, do you know the relationship those eccentric cam bolts have to alignment.. as you say, FF, FR etc.. does one affect camber and the other castor?
Hey Mike, when an alignment tech is aligning your front end, they are using the cam adjusters to adjust both camber and caster. I asked a friend of mine who use to do alignments and he explained it to me but it was still hard to visualize and understand how adjusting the cam adjusters would also adjust the caster. I wish I could explain it to you so it would be easy to understand, but since I struggle with understanding it myself, I'm not going to be much good to you. But, with the way our rigs are made, the main alignment adjustments are camber and toe. It doesn't seem you can change the caster too much but they are able to change it somewhat with the adjustment of the cam adjusters.
Adjusting the lower control arm's two pivot points equally in or out will change the camber. Adjusting the lower control arm's two pivot points unequally will change the caster.
Hey Timmy, I ordered Moog LCAs and Cam bolts to replace my OE to save on cost. Any thoughts on going with Moog, or any non-OE for these placements? Hope I made the right decision. I did replace the LBJs with OE though.
I'm not a big fan of aftermarket suspension components unless it's part of a quality lift kit or other manufacturer that produces components that exceed the quality of OEM. Moog is ok and you'll probably be fine but they are not built to the same quality as OEM. I'm guessing you bought arms because yours were rusted out? Usually, you just replace the bushings and keep your OEM arms.
@@TimmyTheToolman Arms look fine but they are 24 yr old. I figure it would be easier to replace the entire thing. I just don’t have the extra tools/equipment to do the bushings.
If Whiteline makes poly bushings for your Tundra, that would be a good aftermarket option. I would stay away from Energy Suspension. You could never go wrong with OEM but they are more money.
@@mikekmalick Whiteline is the company that I'm most familiar with since I've used a lot of their bushings for 3rd Gen 4runner applications. You might want to ask your question on a Tundra Facebook group or forum to see what some people who also own Tundras recommend.
Greetings from Chicago Timmy! My sleeves are seized on all four sections, but I managed to remove all four bolts within the sleeves. Im about to cut them and replace with new oem lower control arms and oem cam bolts. Question is... Can I replace the two rear bolts (closest to rack) in the opposite direction to avoid loosening my steering rack? The bolts to the rack may be a nightmare to take out. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you
You know, I can't see any reason why you couldn't put the long cam sleeve from the inside out so you wouldn't need to move the steering rack back since you're cutting the old cam sleeves out.
**PLEASE READ THIS COMMENT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND UPDATES ON THIS REPAIR**
** Somebody on the Toyota forum asked a great question. He wanted to know how much the vice needed to open up to press the bushings in. So, I took some measurements and here they are:
Control Arm Sleeve that the bushing presses into - 1.75"
Balljoint Receiving Cup - 2.5"
Big Channel Locks - .5"
Total Length - 4.75"
So, I'd recommend using a vice that can at least open 5 inches. Now, if you use a longer balljoint receiving cup or a thicker pair of channel locks, you'd have to have an opening longer than 5 inches. But, if you had a shorter balljoint cup, you could get away with less of an opening.
** In retrospect, I think it would have been better to use the balljoint sleeve to do the pressing against the bushing sleeve for a more even application of pressure and have the channel locks on the backside to provide the gap needed for the bushing to press all the way in. The channel lock jaws would have to be at least .5" thick because the bushing pushes out that far to the inside of the control arm.
** 12/31/16 - I helped do this repair for someone else and found we did not have to remove the steering rack boot to get the driver side cam adjuster and bolt out. You can pull the rack back far enough to get the bolt and cam adjuster out no problem as long as you disconnect the power steering line bracket on the inside of the driver side frame rail. Disconnecting that bracket will allow you enough play in the lines to pull the rack backwards far enough so you can sneak the rear cam bolt and adjuster out.
** With this repair on 12/31/16, we did run into the problem of having both cam adjusters on the passenger side locked into the bushing sleeve due to corrosion (rust). We pounded and pounded and could not get them to budge. So, the only choice we had was to cut them out. We had to cut the cam adjuster on each side of the bushing to get the control arm out of the frame member. It's best to use a reciprocating saw with a good metal blade to make the cuts. I used a small Milwaukee M12 cordless saw to do the cuts. It's not a super powerful saw, but it got the job done. So, knowing the fact that these cam adjusters can commonly be rusted and impossible to remove without cutting, you might want to order a couple cam adjusters and have them on hand to you don't get stuck in the middle of the repair.
**04/03/18 - We now have a Part 2 for this job that shows how to use a press to get the bushings out and back in and also how to cut any frozen cam adjusters out with a reciprocating saw. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
**Before doing the final tightening to spec of suspension components, you should have the weight of the vehicle on it's wheels so the component is sitting in it's normal point of articulation. You can snug up fasteners for suspension components but wait until the weight of the vehicle is on the tires before tightening them to the final torque spec. This is best practice so the bushings don't bind and the component will travel more freely within it's range of movement. We learned this after we shot the video and we wanted to let people know the correct way to tighten suspension components.
Excellent tutorial! very clear presentation and videotaping.A job well done!How long did it take per side?Cheers
I own a 2000 toyo trd first gen and it had worn bushings on the steering gear and I was able to do the job by myself from watching YT tutorials and being lucky to find a factory manual for a 2003 wich is basically the same vehicle.Cheers
Hey Rob, sorry for the late reply. I'd say around 2 hours per side. If you have to cut out any cam sleeves, it will add quite a bit more time.
No problem and thank you for the reply, I think I will have to take it to a shop because I do not have a big enough vise and also do not have someone to help me.I really enjoyed your video very informative.Thank you
I don't know Rob, the amount of money a shop will charge for this job is worth the expense of buying yourself a new vice. You don't really need somebody to help you. You can do this all on your own. I think you'll be shocked how much a shop will charge for this job.
The fact that you are on the ground with jack stands and everything you do is how the home mechanic will have to do speaks volumes... This really is the best Toyota mechanic channel around...thank you
Hey Joe, thanks for the very nice compliment of our channel. We really appreciate it! By the way, we have a Part 2 for this video. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=1dWvfhA-sP6-rNz5 Happy Wrenching!
5 years later I am so thankful you've made this video. I've come to you for a few things, steering rack and this were the biggest life savers. I love that you explain it in such a way, that my brother who could barely change his oil can watch this and get the job done perfectly. I was scratching my head about how to get the old bushings out easily. This channel rocks and should get more exposure that you do
Great to hear our videos are helping you out and we appreciate your nice compliment of our channel. I do sometimes wonder why we don't attract more people to our channel, but we'll just keep plugging along doing what we do. Take care and Happy Wrenching!
Ridiculously well documented. Someone who’s never really done anything to their car could do this. Amazing
Thanks John for the nice compliment. What you said is exactly what we are after. We want to inspire people to take up the challenge of auto mechanics. We can do that by giving them detailed videos to inspire confidence in their ability to tackle a job. We gear our videos to the absolute beginner so everyone can be successful using our videos as a tutorial. For the more experienced mechanics, they won't need that level of instruction but they can always fast forward and find a particular section they need clarification on and then go on their merry way. We really appreciate it John. Thanks!
This channel is a must see for 3rd gen owner truly awesome
Thanks! Sean and I really appreciate your comment.
Sir, I wanna say this:
This is one of the most comprehensive, thorough, and eloquent videos I have seen so far. Very well-done! A great prep work, thorough and methodic application, and attention to detail.
A True Academician!
Thank you!
Well Hey, we really appreciate the nice compliment. Sean and I try our best to produce very detailed and easy to follow videos. We appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Wrenching!
Alot of videos make jobs like this look easy. This video really details all the issues one might run into while attempting a job like this. Well done.
Thanks! Part 2 shows another issue that can make the job take a lot longer. Check it out: th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=RlZ0kFo3EaouMSI4
Here is another helpful tip for this job. Instead of taking out only 1 of the power steering line guide bracket bolts (12mm), take out all 3. They are all 12mm bolts with easy access. Taking out all 3 of the powering steering line guide bracket bolts gives you even more movement in the steering rack. I didn't even need to take off the boot covering the power steering rail. I found that if I tilted the rack so the passenger side was low the angle created enough space to get the bolt and cam in and out with minimal fuss. Thanks for all your work on these videos! Your repair videos are some of the best on youtube and are extremely valuable to the do-it-yourselfers.
Hey Tim, thanks for the comment. After shooting this video, I've performed this job several more times. What I found is you can pull the rack back just far enough with that one power steering bracket line disconnected on the driver side frame rail to get the cam adjuster bolt to clear the steering rack. When we filmed this job, I just didn't think we could pull the rack back far enough for the bolt to clear but lo and behold we could. I put this update in the video description on 12/31/16. But, I can see by taking out all the power steering line bracket bolts you could move the steering rack back further with a lot less effort.
Sean and I appreciate the nice compliment. That's great to hear you think our videos are some of the best out there. Happy Wrenching Tim!
Thank you so much for making these videos. I have a '98 4runner and a 2000 tundra totalling over 600,000 miles between them and thanks to you I've been able to keep them running safely without any trips to the shop. If I lived near you, I'd definitely take you out for a beer.
Hey Scott, great to hear you're doing all your own wrenching with some help from our videos. We appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Wrenching!
You have no idea how much I appreciate this video. I was doing suspension work and I stopped because I wasn't ready for the headaches of removing the bushings from the control arm. After seeing your video I started the project again and I couldn't believe how easy it was to remove the bushings.Thanks again for a great video.
You're welcome Sledge. We're glad our video helped you out and gave you the confidence to complete the job. Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your success with us.
Just did this to my sons 99. We busted a puller trying to get the ball joint off. Couldn’t find a pulled to do it so we just took off the 4 bolts under the ball joint. Removed and pressed the bushings in with the ball joint attached to the LCA. Oh, and the old bushings DID explode out on us and one flew. After the first one, we caught them all in a bucket. 👍 Thanks again Timmy for the awesome vids!
Sounds like you met some challenges but you got it done and that's great to hear. You used the bucket catching idea. Awesome! You're very welcome!
I just wanted to thank you for this detailed video on this job. Because of your help I did this job myself (and while at it replaced lower ball joint, sway bushings, endlinks, and tie rods) and saved myself well over a grand in labor costs. Thank you!
You're welcome. Thanks for commenting and sharing you success story with us. We love hearing how people have saved themselves a ton of money using our videos. Happy Wrenching!
This video saved me a lot of frustration and headache. After a lower ball joint broke 4 bolts and we nearly had a horrible accident then trying to repair the damage in order to get the car back on the road ... I tried to get the lower control arm off only to find the cam adjuster seized.Thank you for explaining this so well. I cut the old one and ordered a new one.
Hey Robert, glad our video helped you out. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Good video! Really helpful to see your method for removing and replacing lower control arm bushings with basic tools. Also really helpful that you post all the part #'s, torque specs and links! The very end of the video with the outtakes is hilarious!
Glad you like the video. Sean stringing together all my uhs and ums had me crying laughing. I guess I have to work on my speech skills so he doesn't have to do so much editing.
Hi, my name is Oslei and I'm in São Paulo - Brazil. This video helped me a lot, because I have a 4Runner 1997 (white same as the video) and need to effect the exchanges of the bushes. Congratulations on the production and I think it will help a lot of people like me. I would like to have all the tools that you have but here in Brazil they are very expensive ($$$$$) but I believe that with the ones I have I will be able to make the exchanges without problems (mainly with this step by step video)
I wish you success and congratulations on the quality of the material available to all Toyoteiros in the world.
Hey Oslei, I think you're the first person who's commented on our channel from Brazil. Yeah, the right tools can make all the difference but I absolutely understand what you're saying about how expensive tools can be. So even if you use Amazon, the prices are still high for you?
Good luck with the repair and don't hesitate to ask me any questions if you run into any problems. Sometimes the cams can get rusted in the sleeve of the bushing and then you have to cut them out. I hope in your case all the cam adjusters come out easy. I give some helpful tips in the video description so be sure to read it before you get started on this repair.
Love those clean California runners. I'm going to bathe my Ohio runner in PB Blaster for a week and hope for the best! Thanks for another fantastic tutorial Timmy!
We feel for you Justin. Good luck with the job.
Another outstanding video! Just started doing this and used the bottle jack with a heat gun and some PB blaster. By slowly adding pressure with the bottle jack and heat, the old bushes came out with no problems. Doing the steering bushings at the same time so getting the rack out of way hasn't been an issue...Thanks guys!
Thanks! Glad you like the video. Great job doing the work yourself. You're very welcome and Happy Wrenching!
Haven't done this job yet, but have watched your videos on lower ball joints and outer tie rods, they were IMMENSELY helpful. Considering my lower ball joint broke in my work car park and I had little mechanical experience. Your videos helped me fix it myself, right then and there in the car park. You've inspired me to do much bigger jobs on my truck myself and I'm a lot more confident due to videos like this. Keep these up! Absolutely life saving!!
Really awesome to hear our videos are helping you out and they are inspiring you to tackle jobs you otherwise wouldn't have done. Thanks for the comment. We appreciate it!
@@TimmyTheToolman just did it by myself over the weekend! Worked a treat and the truck works heaps better. Thank you again mate 🤘 Love these Vids
@@Melos-Media Good to hear. Great job getting it done. Happy Wrenching!
Thank you so much for all your detailed videos, I’ve practically restored a 97 with your help.
Just pressed out all my uca and lca bushings today, and my god it was the toughest job so far. My 10t press and various press accessories barely got me through. The arms are surprisingly easy to damage if press sleeves aren’t carefully positioned
You're very welcome. Great job doing all your own work.
That trick with the channel locks at 27:58 is slick. Glad this video is available. My 4th gen will probably need LCA bushings soon. Thanks for all your videos Tim!
Thanks Bob. You're welcome. Good luck with the job when you get around to doing it. Maybe one day we'll do some work on a 4th Gen.
Thanks for the video -- The lack of rust and corrosion is hilarious!
Yeah, we are pretty darn spoiled in the California Bay Area. Vehicles last a very long time out here.
Bah, come to northern wisconsin. This is where real rust begins, and no I'm not trying to brag, it's absolutely horseshit to work on any vehicle.
Haha, my bushing sleeves were pretty corroded but the cams/bolts came out like butter. Had to clean off some rush but was easy.
I used this bottle jack technique the other day, and it worked perfectly. Thank you for this video, as well as many others that I’ve referenced. I did have one bushing explode out and shoot across my garage, hitting a box and tire. That was fun haha.
Glad it worked out for you. Good job getting it done!
About to do the same to my 99 Prado. If I do work on my mate's cars or bikes, I always tell them that my works only guaranteed until the vehicle is moved! 😉
That seems fair.
Thanks Timmy!
Did mine today. Pretty work intensive .
Started by using the OEM Toyota vehicle bottle jack but it didn't have enough tonnage.
First one popped out hard. Second one took a lot of air hammer persuasion. Third and 4th I got a bottle jack from autozone and it was enough.
Things flew off like a cannon.
My vehicle would hard left under braking. I had replaced everything and still had the issue. Although my bushings didn't look/feel worn, the issue is now gone. I marked the cams pretty good but will be getting an alignment Tuesday to see if I can get better caster numbers/driving.
Used whitelines. My inner sleeve slid in with no pressing. Rented some C clamp bearing puller kit thing at autozone and pressing them in was super easy. Full day job.
See u on nov 3.
Hey Francois, good job getting the job done. Great to hear it fixed your issue when braking. Diagnosing a problem like that can be difficult, and like you said, being able to tell if the LCA bushings are for sure bad isn't easy either.
Sounds like you would have benefitted from more heat on the arms before trying to drive them out with the bottle jack. I've used this technique 3-4 times now and I've never had a bushing fly out. I load up the bushing a little and then heat it up really good. I give a few cranks with the bottle jack and usually see movement right away. If there's still not movement, I'll give it a little more pressure. If there's still no movement, I'll apply more heat and/or check to see if the bottle jack is pushing directly square on the bushing. You want the piston of the bottle jack pushing directly inline with the bushing and not at a slight angle. If it's not driving with force straight out, this will affect how well it will work.
Some people have managed to destroy their LCAs by using too much force with the bottle jack and spread out the arms to where they won't fit in the frame mounts anymore. Because of that, we decided to make Part 2 of this video showing how you can do the bushing removal with a hydraulic press. The Nov 3rd party is going to be fun. See you then.
I just did this on my 04 Tacoma prerunner, and I would recommend disconnecting the steering shaft from the top of the steering rack, this way you have more than enough room and don’t have to remove the boot from the steering rack. Also I did this with bushings from Energy Suspension which made me reuse the old metal sleeves, which added 12 hours to the job, would recommend the Whiteline ones.
You actually can get enough movement out of the steering rack without removing the steering shaft from the steering rack. Take a look at the comment I pinned and look at the note dated 12/31/16.
And Yes, Energy Suspension bushings are a huge mistake for this application.
I think Siberian Bushing is the only one now that makes a 1-piece poly bushing for these. I just installed them on my Tundra.
Thanks!
You're very welcome. We appreciate the Super Thanks!
Thanks for the tutorial. I'm in Australia and have a toyota minivan. There's not much out there in regards to service manuals but this definitely helps. Thanks again Timmy
You're welcome Geoffrey. Glad our video helped you out.
I was able to change mine by myself yesterday thanks to your video 🙌🏽. Only took me around 6 1/2 hours 😂
That’s awesome! Thanks for coming back to the video and leaving a comment!
Hi Timmy what generation 4 runner are you working on in the video. I replaced my 4 runner bushings with the white line ones but they look different from yours and didn’t need to be pressed in
Thanks for showing the work in a very detail ways. I don’t have a 4Runner or Tacoma, but I have a Sequoia. It is @ 200,000 miles so I believe it is time to replace those bushing.
You're welcome. Hope the job goes smooth for you. Happy Wrenching!
Just got done doing this repair over the weekend. Thanks Tim for all the good information in this video it helped out a lot. I do want to say that I think the Amazon links are not correct in clicking on them it takes you to parts that do not seem correct. The part numbers are correct but the Amazon links seem to be taking you to incorrect parts one was listed as a windshield washer bolt. Luckily I was able to pick up all the correct parts from a local Toyota dealer. I did this work on a 03 Tacoma I don’t believe it’s too much different if it all done on the 4 Runners. Un lucky for me I did have to cut out two of the cam sleeves the other two came out OK I followed Tim’s lead and bought the Diablo carbide blade they seem to cut through them fairly easily. After being able to get out my lower control arms I unfortunately found out that my bushings were so bad that despite following the instructions in the video placing it in a vice using a bottle jack and applying enough heat to where we almost caught the garage on fire they still would not come out not wanting to risk damaging the control arms I looked into what a local shop around me would charge me to press them out not having access to a press myself. Long story short the amount of money that local shops around me wanted to charge would be more than if I just went and bought new lower control arms myself. This was a bummer because I had purchased the white line bushings like they use in this video I ended up not being able to use them and just buying new lower control arms but like I said it was cheaper way out than having a shop press out the old bushings or me risk damaging the Toyota lower control arms. All in all I still believe that the bottle jack message would work I just feel my bushings were so shot that this method was not working.
Yeah, I checked the links and they are a bit funky. I'll see if I can generate some better ones. Thanks for the heads up on that. Sorry to hear the repair didn't work for you and you had to resort to buying new control arms. But, you got the job done and that's what counts. Happy Wrenching!
First off thanks for the videos. I replaced the bushings over the weekend on a 3rd gen. The worst part of the whole project was getting the washers to fit between the outer side of the bushings. You mentioned it was hard around 31:50. How hard was it!? I had to hammer and wedge the washer to get it in and caused a bit of damage to the poly bushing. My theory is the frame has been squeezed together by the Cam bolts from the factory LCA install.
Yeah, we didn't have as much of a struggle as you did. Our install required no pounding or bushing damage. Glad our video helped you out and we appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Wrenching!
Great video. Should the process be the same for a 2001 Tacoma 4x4?
Yes, it would be the same. Your sway bar end links attach differently to the LCA but that's pretty much it. The 3rd Gen 4runner and 1st Gen Tacomas pretty much have identical front ends.
Great Video Timmy!
At the end, when the camber was suddenly way off toward positive, I'm thinking this would only be immediately upon setting the truck back down on its own tires. It would normalize after a bit of driving.
When the suspension fully extends/ articulates, the lower end of the hubs/wheels tuck in (probably due to the difference in length of the upper and lower control arms, and maybe their default angles to the ground which might not be the same.)
When the suspension fully articulates, the wheels don't just drop down and stay parallel with each other, they tend to move in a bit of an arc and the lower end of the wheels tuck in. So I imagine, at point of first contact with the ground as you lower the truck, the wheels will have their bottoms tucked in since the suspension will still be quite articulated. The tires will grip and resist being dragged across the ground.
As the weight of the truck rests back on the suspension, the suspension system will want to push the bottom of the tires back out, but friction will keep the bottom of the tires in pretty much the same place they first touched the ground.
If one would drive the truck back and forth a bit and weave the steering a bit, the tension in the suspension would soon push the bottom of the wheels back out and eliminate the sudden positive camber.
Thanks and you're may be right.
These videos are just outstanding!
Thanks for the compliment. We appreciate it!
You need to do a video on clutch replacement on a 3.4 manual. Lol. Jk. I’m also having a weird issue of very notchy shifting. It does not grind at all. Clutch actually feels ok. Just got this 4x4 on the cheap. Definitely wasn’t well taking care of
Thanks for all the great videos and tutorials for the 3rd gen! BTW - I just removed bushing from my LCA. I purchased a 20ton press, the bearing separator, and bushing removal sleeves from harbor freight. TIP, I sprayed a generous amount of Blaster around the lips of the old bearings and allowed them to soak in overnight. When I put this in the press, to my surprise it only took approx 4 pumps on the press and the bushing popped right out no issues! I too bought new cam bolts and setup for mine.
You're very welcome. Glad the job went smooth for you. Happy Wrenching!
How well did the press work for the removal and installation of the bushings? I have a HF 20 ton and am hoping the control arms will fit into the press far enough so I don't have to resort to this bottle jack rigging. Even though it does seem to get the job done.
@@bigsmallblock9480 The press works great. Check out Part 2: th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
Bradah Timmy. Mahalo for sharing
Is 5/23 and ready to tackle this project on my taco 98
Good luck our Hawaiian Brother! You should watch Part 2 as well for a second technique to get the bushings out and to also learn how to cut out the cam adjusters if you unfortunately find one of more of them frozen into the bushing sleeve. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
Should have a million views cheers from oz
luke 90series Thanks Luke. We’re steadily gaining subscribers but I think we’d have to expand our realm of models we work on to attract a larger audience. We’re having fun doing it and we know we’re helping people out so that’s what’s important to us.
Yet another well-executed, informative 3rd Gen T4R DIY service tutorial by you two fellow Bay Area 3rd Gen 4Runner guys! Thanks for it!
Let me know if you want to do a tutorial on installing some new SPC/LC adjustable front UCA's on a 3rd Gen, as I need to install some on mine ASAP as one of my bushings is completely disintegrated. Been running the 3" lift for a few years now and figure its time to splurge on some aftermarket UCA's to finally bring the alignment back into spec, and obviously make it safe to drive again!
Unfortunately I live in SF and I don't really have the space to do it......
We just did a lift on a 2000 Tacoma on Thursday and it included installing SPC UCA's. Are you on toyota-4runner.org? We're having a Mod/Meet-up Day at my place on May 13th. We could probably help you out that day.
Here's the link to the thread:
www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/209965-official-bay-area-mod-meet-greet-thread-23.html#post2663726
would it be possible to put the adjuster and bolt in opposite to clear the steering rack easier?
I suppose. I've never tried it.
your channel has been a lifesaver
Good to hear our videos are helping you out. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Happy Wrenching!
Managed to do this job today with the bottlejack method. Fortunately I got a spare set of LCAs that lived most of their life in SoCal so with a little bit of heat and a 12 ton bottlejack they popped out without too much force. I did find out that using a balljoint press and the 4wd press kit you can easily press in new whiteline bushings and probably OEM bushings as well without the use of a vice as a pressing tool.
Good job getting the job done Aaron. Thanks for sharing that a balljoint press with the 4wd sleeves worked to get the Whiteline bushings installed. Press work is one of those things that you can usually fine multiple ways to accomplish.
@@TimmyTheToolman Absolutely. Just wanted to make a note of it so if anyone else is tackling this moderately difficult job knows the multiple ways to accomplish it.
@@Phelps1111 Yeah, the more the ways the better. Some dudes come up with some pretty ingenious ways to get the job done.
Very organized and thoughtful introduction. Excellent video. Thank you!
Thanks for the compliment Jamie. We're glad you like the video and you're very welcome. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Happy Wrenching!
You're a good man sir! Was going to change out the lower control arms on my daughter's 07 FJ .....think I'll let a local shop do it!!!
Thanks Dean. Hope you find a good shop. What I've learned from frequenting Toyota forums and from my own personal experience, shop mechanics screw up repairs with a fair amount of frequency. Maybe a Yelp search will lead you to an honest and competent shop. Good luck!
I'm currently rebuilding the engine on my 97 4Runner. Fortunately, this gives me under hood access and time while I wait on the machine shop. Going to order sway bar, steering, LCA (Whiteline) and UCA ES poly bushings. Your video say's good time to replace lower ball joints. Does anyone know if upper ball joints are prone to failure as well? Not a fun project but these are not disposable vehicles like so many other crappy cars on the road today.
The upper balljoints are not known to fail. I'd only replace them if there's detectable play in the joint or the boot is torn and you've been driving it with a torn boot for a long time allowing road contaminants to get into the joint and cause wear. If it's just a torn boot, you can purchase a reboot kit that comes with the boot, grease, and the wire to secure the boot to the balljoint.
I've done this exact bottle jack method. It works you just need to be patient. Watch this video several times and don't be in a rush. Spray everything down a few days before if you live in a rust belt state.
I will say, there is a right and wrong way to place the bushings in according to the FSM. I don't know if it's in the video. Probably is, Timmy is super thorough.
I think that my 2 year old OEM bushings are going bad from 1 of them, front driver's side , not being correctly orientated when installing. It seems to be twisted and the rubber is showing stress cracks. Is this binding?
Don't forget to throw the new bushings in the freezer until you install! Helps quite a bit.
We actually don't talk about the correct orientation of the OEM bushings because we used Whiteline poly bushings in the video. You are correct there is a specific orientation for them.
@@TimmyTheToolman woops. That's right. Im guessing that's why mine look twisted after only 2 years and now have to redo it. I just bought loaded arms this time.
Do you think that twist I'm seeing is from the orientation issue?
@@rptrick79 I'm not sure if the twist you're seeing is from that. Did you tighten the arms with the weight of the vehicle on the tires or with the wheels suspended. If the arms were tightened with the wheels off the ground, once the vehicle is settled on the wheels, the bushings will be in a constant bind and not be in neutral when sitting static.
I'm guessing you got an alignment afterwards and the tech would have had to loosen the bolts to make the adjustments to the cams and that would have taken the tension off the bushings.
@@TimmyTheToolman iirc we did tighten/torque on the ground and yes to alignment a couple days later. Now I really don't know why there's a twist in the bushing. Pretty curious at this point. Anyone else have this "twist"when looking at the bushings from underneath the truck ?
I did the lower control arm with the toyota bottle jack between the lower control arm but used under the jack bottom a piece of square stock steel and used it as a sleeve over the end of the control arm that the bottom of the jack would be and then put it in a vice so no force is on the arm,And the control arm was under the square stock in the same vice.I seen people on youtube do that and the control arm bends.Good work on the back left side lower control arm bolt,I just loosened the bolts on the rack in the middle (Took one out and only kept one in the middle to swivel the rack)and took out the bolts on the ends and the rack swivels on the center loosened bolt,It pulled down enough for me,Did not need to removed the boot,Cheers.Joe P.E.
Good job getting it done Joe. There's more the one way to skin a cat. Thanks for sharing your techniques.
Swapped my arms this weekend. It was a nightmare, two out of the 4 cam bolts were frozen. One had to be cut out with grinder and sawzall. And even with rack unhooked, it was still very difficult getting bolt and cam removed on driver side. Bravo on making it look easy.
For the driver side cam bolt, did you release the power steering line bracket on the inside of the driver side frame rail? When you release that bracket, you can easily pull the rack back far enough to remove the bolt and cam adjuster. I mention this in a comment I pinned.
@@TimmyTheToolman dang. I missed that! I didn't do that. You guys in California have nice clean vehicles. Colorado winters are tough on bolts after 20 years, haha.
Very detailed and thorough. Nice job.
Thanks Ed. Glad you like it.
Man I wish I had you around to just help me work on mine to make a cool video! Awesome..
Well, you could move to the overpriced California Bay Area. Glad you like the video.
Super helpful! Thank you for sharing your video on "how to". Appreciate what you do.
Glad you found our video helpful and you're very welcome. Happy Wrenching!
Geez! Great video! Camera angles and explanations were superb!
Hey Scotty, glad you like our video. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Happy Wrenching!
Thank you so much for these videos. Everyone has helped me do these projects just as you described down to the size socket needed and torque specs to go back together.
Kenneth Fike thanks for the comment Ken! We hope you stop by the comments section again for ny questions or just to share your success with these videos! Sicmods!!!
Hello Timmy, Any comments on those whiteline bushings?
I've read some comments in regards to sticking to OEM bushings, for the 4 runner, I personally have a 95 series prado, but the lower control arms are the same.
I can't seem to find any listings for OEM LCA's bushings
I've been running Whiteline bushings on my 98 for around 50k miles, and they are fine. There were many 4wheeling trips over that time, so some hard miles.
5@@TimmyTheToolman Timmy I'm about to order the Whiteline bushings
is it $95 per bushing or is that the price for the bushing set?
@@NoLimitsFunGarage It's the whole set.
The uh/um blooper reel starting at 49:30 was epic!!! Great video Tim and Sean, probably should've done this while I was doing my tie rods/ball joints/steering rack-sway bar bushings. Oh well, next time!
I just did this job on my 98 4runner. I had to cut out 2 of my cam sleeves because they were rusted into the LCA bushings. We're going to be coming out with a Part 2 to show the cutting of the cam sleeves and also show a different option for the bushing replacement by using a hydraulic press as opposed to the bottle jack technique.
Sweet. Thank you. When is the next meetup for the bay area T4R forum crew? (if you are planning on having another one)
Out of curiosity do you think I would still need to take of the steering rack if I was replace inner and outer tie rods. LCA and lbj. I should have more than enough clearance with the tie rods out to remove and replace the LCA
You have to disconnect the steering rack and pull it back far enough so you can remove the rear bolts that attach the LCA to the frame. That's the reason for it. Even with the inner and outer tie rods disconnected, the shaft of the steering rack would still impede with the bolt coming out. But, if you took the inner and outer tie rods out and then cranked the steering wheel all the way one way, you might be able to sneak one bolt out and then crank the steering wheel all the way the other way and sneak the other bolt out. That might work.
I just did this job on my 4 runner. I found that the thing to do is to cut the bushing flange off and thin press the bushing guts out this way you don't put excessive force on the Controle arm. pressing the guts out. Then use a sharp punch to peal the bushing steel sleve in and then press the sleve out.
Sure, whatever works. You got it done and that's all that counts. We also show another way in Part 2 using a press. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
Very nice videos that you make. They are very helpful thank you for sharing them with us stay well.
Thanks Juan. Great to hear you're finding our videos helpful. You're very welcome and Happy Wrenching!
Tim. Thank you for the awesome videos. I just recently did this same repair on my 01 4x4. I used the Whiteline bushings. One things that I thought about after the fact was if I needed to grease the outside face of the poly bushing. The part where it meets the washer. I didn’t notice that you did this in your video, so I am hoping that it isn’t necessary. I did buy the cam adjusters that have grease fittings, so Hopefully that will be sufficient. Thanks
Hey John, it's actually good to lubricate the outside face of the bushing that the washer meets up with. I can't even remember if we did lubricate it or not in this video but I've now done this job 4 times and I know I've lubricated the bushings faces on those other repairs. If you haven't gotten the vehicle aligned yet, it might be good to go back in and lubricate them. If you've gotten an alignment already, I wouldn't bother then. There is a chance you'll get some squeaking but hopefully not.
Timmy The Toolman I have already gotten it aligned, but I may go ahead and tear it back down and grease them. I would hate for them to tear up from not doing so.
Timmy The Toolman I appreciate the response!
I don't think they would tear up but there's a chance they would make noise over time. When the bolts are tightened down, the washer gets sandwiched between the frame member and the bushing. I think the metal sleeve inside the poly bushing is what's doing most of the pivoting. If that was greased, I think you're good to go. It's just with some flexing I think the bushings could end up squeaking against the washers and sometimes even though you've lubricated everything really well, it happens eventually. It happened with my sway bar bushings. They started making noise and once I took the bar off and greased everything really well again, the noise went away. It's probably the main downside to using polyurethane bushings.
You said you bought cam adjusters with grease fittings. Do you have a link you could share?
Timmy The Toolman I actually decided to take go ahead and take it back apart and grease them. Thanks!
My control arm bushings look like there is rubber visible on one side and none on the other? i can move the control arm a bit with a pry bar back and forth, im debating whether to do the entire arms or just the bushings... who know if my cams are seized as well, 98 4 runner in Montana climate its whole life.
Your arms are probably ok but the bushings sound like they are shot. I think it's a safe assumption that your cam adjusters will be rusted inside the bushing sleeve. Make sure you have a reciprocating saw on hand and some good steel blades. Part 2 of this video will help you out: th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
Very helpful video! Thanks, guys. I'll be doing this work soon. Actually, I'm doing pretty much everything in the front end of my 2000 4Runner 4x4: replacing all the bushings and ball joints (UCAs and LCAs), tie rods, steering rack bushings. It’s at 210K miles, and it’s not holding an alignment, so it’s time.
Those look like Durobumps bump stops installed on the LCAs in this video...or at least they look just like them. I have those, and the instructions say they should *only* be installed on the rear arm of the LCA. It appears in the video these are installed on the front. Just wanted to point that out. Perhaps let the vehicle owner know.
Thanks again for the videos. Keep up the great work!
Raleigh Moody we wish you luck in all the work you’re about to embark on! If you take your time, and have the right tools handy you will be fine.
The filming of this video was a couple years before Durobumps existed, but you’re right, he has super bumps in the front and Durobumps instructs to install them on the rear of the lower control arm.
Hi, Timmy
Thank you so much for your sharing which it really let me learn more about my 1999 Hilux Surf RZN185(similar as 4runner gen3). I'm from Hong Kong and I think the total qty for this model in Hong Kong is not over 50s. So the parts are quite difficult to to find. Sometimes bought from Japan (but it is the crazy price.....) sometimes bought from Ebay.
Anyway, thank you again for everything and your great effort. ^.^
Wilson
You're welcome. I think you're the first person I know of from Hong Kong that has commented on one of our videos. One of the cool things about starting a TH-cam channel is the people you reach across the World. Happy Wrenching my Hong Kong Brother!
Will this stiffin loose suspension? One of my Control arms have been replaced and that side is a lot stiffer that the other side(it bottoms out often since it’s lowered)
It shouldn't make the ride rougher but it would eliminate a loose feeling or clunking if the bushings were really worn out. If the control arm is bottoming out onto the frame, maybe the bump stop on the new control arm is a bit stiffer than the older one on the other side.
So you have a lowered 4runner?
@@TimmyTheToolman Tacoma sorry, it’s the pre runner model lifted from factory. New shocks and coils but one side is softer, it rode like thay before I changed them out too
@@TimmyTheToolman I have installed new lower bump stops too
Tim, your videos are great! I have a stock 2wd 98 4 runner and im considering replacing my upper and lower control arm bushings with Energy suspension polyurethane bushings. I'd sure like your feed back please. Thanks! Rich
I'm not sure about the uppers, but Whiteline bushings are way better for the lowers. Energy Suspension aren't a complete bushing and sleeve combo like the Whiteline bushings are. If you can't find something similar to Whiteline for the uppers, I'd go with OEM Toyota bushings.
Any ideas for getting the bushing out without having a receiving cup like you used?
Can you give a time stamp to help me answer your question?
This video is great cheers guys
Thanks Dave. We're glad you like it.
Subbed for the bloopers
Welcome to the circus.
4th generation 4runner has the ball joints as an integral part of the assembly so if the bushings are compromised you can be certain the ball joints move like a joy stick. Such is the case with mine after 246k miles.
My only cost effective option is to go with MOOG L.C.A.’s at $180.00 per L.C.A. inclusive of bushings and ball joint.
I was a bit confused about the adjustments but I see now it’s more of an oblong Front/back adjustment and not the up/down of control arm. At least I think that’s what it is.
I may just let my local shop install the parts, although I don’t like it when customers ask me to install appliance parts because let’s face it, parts mark up is how businesses make $$$.
You wouldn’t bring a steak to a restaurant and ask the chef to cook it.
This is one case my mechanic will make an exception.
Thanks for the video.
Link for the plate, toe adjust on amazon says will not fit 03 tacoma are these part numbers the same for 1st gen Tacomas?
They are the same. Toyota probably has a different part number for this same part for a 1st Gen Tacoma.
Timmy! Can I use the torch and jack method for the uppers? U didn’t in your video but I don’t have a press. Thanks!
Hey Mike, the distance between the upper control arm is too tight to fit a jack between. If you like turning wrenches and doing your own repairs, I highly suggest getting a Harbor Freight 20 ton press. If you catch it on sale, you can get them for a really affordable price. I use my press all the time. It's money well-spent.
Is it safe to assume you can also get the passenger side control arm bolt out the same way ? Wiggling it past the steering rack
Hey Jordan, after doing this job several times, we learned you can actually move the steering rack back far enough and not have to remove the boot and try to carefully sneak the bolt past the shaft. If you disconnect the power steering line bracket on the inside of the driver side frame rail, that will give you enough room to pull the steering rack back further and you can get the back cam bolts out no problem.
I only need to replace the rear most front lca bolt. Because it's bent from previous owner hitting a curb. I'm also replacing the stabilizer bar because it's also bent. It appears that is the extent of the damage. An alignment shop confirmed my diagnosis. My question is do I need to take all the same steps up to when you pulled that bolt out at approx. 15:00. Also what else should I take care of.. truck has 160k and was well taken care of.
Yes, you need to almost do everything we show. What I learned is you don't have to remove the steering rack boot. If you disconnect the power steering line bracket on the inside of the driver side frame rail, you can pull the rack back far enough to get the bolt and cam adjuster out. There's a shit load of things you could probably do - Steering rack bushings, sway bar bushings, lower ball joints, trans cooler, and the list goes on.
@@TimmyTheToolman thank you for the speedy reply. I got the truck for $2250 with 166k just because of this fix. I plan on keeping it for awhile so want to make sure everything is up to date.
@@craiglarsonjr.6586 Hey Craig, become a member of T4R.org if you haven't already. That forum is a wealth of knowledge. Other than what I already suggested to you, a radiator replacement is usually a good idea. There have been incidences of the trans cooler failing inside the radiator and that ends up ruining the auto transmission because the coolant mixes with the ATF and that contaminated mixture makes it's way back to the transmission. Auto trans don't do well with water so it destroys the transmission. You could install the radiator and the trans cooler at the same time. We have a video for it. Make sure to replace all your fluids, grease the u-joints on both driveshafts, check your brakes, etc. We have a 30,000 mile service video that could help you out with that. Look through our videos and you'll get ideas of other things you can do. Have fun with it. If you have any questions along the way, just ask.
My personal notes from doing this job with the bottle jack method is that being super careful isn't the right description. If you aren't pressing the bushing out using almost zero effort, you're bending the arms. My arms were clean and absolutely rust free.
I used my 12-ton jack to apply just a little but of pressure while I applied heat to the arm around the bushing. Once it was nice and hot I just barely cranked on the arm and the bushings pressed right out. It was such little force, absolutely nothing was strained or forced whatsoever.
The arms still managed to spread on me probably 1-2mm. Like maybe the width of a washer or two. This made re-install a real pain in the ass. I managed to get it done, but it was a lot of hammering and lubing and prying. My theory is that the heat here may actually be hurting as much as it's helping -- I'm wondering if the metal is getting hot enough to slightly deform with the little bit of pressure put on it with the jack. It certainly aids the bushing in sliding out... but I dont know how you find that sweet spot.
If I did this job again, I'd source the bearing splitter and do the press method (or just buy some cleaned up and reinforced arms from one of the sellers who sell them with the eimkeith bits already installed).
Your experience is interesting. I've done the bottle jack method a couple times and both came out with minimal force with the right application of heat and the arms went in without issue. I think there is a chance you did use too much heat. Metal can flex and bounce back into shape which is what happens with this method. But, use too much force, and you actually bend them. Your result isn't that common, at least I haven't heard that many people on forums and Toyota Facebook pages saying they bent their LCAs with the bottle jack technique.
@@TimmyTheToolman Yeah my language is a bit broad I suppose -- I just found it super shocking that mine bent at all. I was in my workshop thinking "OK, Timmy says not to force this so any moderate resistance and I'm finding a bearing splitter!" and they just slid on out. But then they were just BARELY spread apart. Super weird.
new sub you have helped me so much with my 3rd gen
@williammaes Thanks for subscribing, Will! Welcome to our channel.
@@TimmyTheToolman hey what's the worst failure of a bad control arm bushing? Mine is very squeaky.
+1 to using a bucket, mine turned into a projectile!! Wish I had it on video. It definitely would have hit the neighbors car
Smart man James. You avoided an interesting conversation with your neighbor. Good job getting it done!
Just wondering....my 98 4runner hasnt had any steerng/suspension bushings ever replaced. Ive started experincing significant sway at highway speeds. Just wondering what other bushings I should replace and what order I should replace them in. Thanks for the great info!
Steering rack bushings. Front and rear sway bar bushings. Upper and lower rear control arm bushings. Maybe the front upper control arm bushings as well. We have videos for all these bushing replacements. If you have questions, just ask.
I considered using the burn method to remove the bushing, but would the heat change the temper in any way?
The amount of heat necessary isn't going to change the strength of the steel. But, that's just my opinion. I have no science to back it up. I can say I've been running the Durobump bushings for quite some time and my front differential brackets haven't cracked. So there's that.
How do these Whitelines do compared to OEM? I'm about to do that job I've got a small shake that a new steering rack and 2 alignments haven't fixed. Nervous to put on 3rd party parts but what is the consensus on these bushings?
They're great but you do feel more of the road with them because they are stiffer than rubber.
Had this same question. I bought the Whiteline kit and was getting around to putting them in when I read somewhere else a guy saying he can feel every pebble on the road now after the change. My truck is my daily driver, I get on the dirt maybe once every four months. You think OEM is more comfortable ride?
@@weyls2536 I’ve done some more research since I posed this question and I think Whiteline is superior for a few reasons. Talking to some mechanics and watching a lot of videos it seems the oem bushings are not made for lifted trucks and because they are rubber.. they are under tremendous stress and rip more easily under the pressure from a lift. Polyurethane is superior because it’s a tougher material and when moving up and down it doesn’t wear as badly. You can still run OEM bushings but you should expect you will need to change them much more frequently.
@@weyls2536 if you don’t run a lift.. there is a noticeable difference in what you feel on the road
Great video! Very funny at the end🤣
Glad you liked it Oscar.
Legit video. Thanks 🎉
Thanks and you're welcome Jeff. Check out Part 2 as well. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
when torquing the control arm bolts with the vehicle on the ground how do you get enough clearance for the torque wrench? I thought the steering rack had to be removed and the boot pulled back for access.
The only way you could try to accurately torque those rear LCA bolts is with a crows foot wrench but take a look at it this way. When you go to get an alignment, the alignment tech isn't going to torque them to spec. They get on there with a big wrench and tighten away and that's it. They don't break out torque wrenches when doing an alignment as far as I know because I've watched them. Maybe some technicians look up torque values for your particular make and model rig, but I'm pretty sure most techs get onto the head of the bolt and tighten away using their best judgement. The main thing is you don't want the LCAs able to slide out of position once the alignment is dialed in.
Wow, you are incredibly well organized and thorough. I have a 2004 Toyota Highlander, 6 cylinder, with 171,000 miles and failed inspection due to needing lower control arm bushing replacement on both sides. They told me they have to take the engine out to do this. 14 hours of work. Does that make sense to you? Thanks
Hey John, no, it doesn't make any sense to have to pull the engine to remove control arms. Are you sure they're not talking about something else that requires the removal of the engine? If you want, how me some pictures of your lower control arms so I can make sense of why they are saying the removal of the engine is necessary. Here's my email address: mtbtim@sbcglobal.net
merci beaucoup pour cette vidéo et conseil.
You're very welcome Max. We have a Part 2 video too, that shows a different technique to remove the bushings and also covers how to cut out the arms if you unfortunately find one of more of the cam adjusters is frozen inside the bushing sleeve. th-cam.com/video/6FzEHygizoI/w-d-xo.html
Great video give me the confidence to get done
That's great to hear Kevin. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
@@TimmyTheToolman I've done ball joints injectors lower control arms bushings shocks in the back fuel filter have clean the throttle body ball joints thanks to your videos I love my 97 limited edition with 300,000 k have owned it for about 18 years
@@kevindamaso4338 That's great to hear you've made good use of our videos. Sean and I love hearing this.
excellent video Timmy
Sicmods Warren!!
Could this job be done while leaving tie rod attached to spindle?
I’m sure it could, but fighting all those components proves to be a recipe for swear words. It doesn’t take that much extra work to pop the tie rod with a puller.
@@TimmyTheToolman my tie rod ends seem to be in good shape. Would you go ahead and replace them anyway during this job or leave them?
Question...Why can't you put the rear adjuster in from the front so you don't have all the issues trying to get past the Rack and pinion
Great question Bill. I think it's because the nut that the cam adjuster bolt threads into would stick out far enough on the back side to contact the steering rack boot. This would ultimately tear the boot.
Quick question. If you were to do a upper bj, lower bj, inner and outer tire rods, uca bushing, lca bushing and sway and steering rack bushings. In what order would you do them?
1st, Remove Sway Bar
2nd, Loosen the lock nut for outer tie rod and Loosen the inner tie rod connection to the Steering Rack (You could replace these components now or do them near the end - Step 13)
3rd, Break free Inner tie rod from the LBJ
4th, Unbolt steering rack and pull it back so you can remove rear LCA bolts and cam adjusters
5th, Break free LBJ from LCA
6th, Remove Brake Caliper, Disconnect ABS sensor and wire, Disconnect CV Axle Nut, Break free UBJ from UCA and remove Steering Knuckle.
6th, Put Steering knuckle in a vice and swap out the UBJ. If you didn't already remove the LBJ from the knuckle, do that too.
7th, Remove LCA
8th, Remove UCA
9th, Do the bushing replacements on both control arms
10th, Get the control arms back on
11th, Get the steering knuckle reconnected with a new LBJ
12th, Replace the steering rack bushings and bolt the steering rack back to the cross member
13th, replace the inner and outer tie rods and get the outer tie rod connected to the LBJ.
14th, put the sway bar back on with new bushing
15th, Go get an alignment
This is the order that makes sense to me. Hope all this work goes smooth for you. Happy Wrenching!
@@TimmyTheToolman thank you so much. So I took off tire rid and started pulling off boot and power steering fluid started flowing. Guess I know why my power steering has been shitty. really wish this wasn't the case. Sounds like I'm going to need a new rack
@@619steelo Not necessarily. I noticed the same thing on my 2000 4runner when I loosened the boot. Sure, the seals are leaking but that's not necessarily why the steering would be shitty. My steering is still really good on my 2000. I just keep an eye on the fluid level in my power steering reservoir.
What are your steering symptoms. There's plenty of possible causes of bad steering characteristics. I did forget to mention that OEM inner tie rods are very expensive. If you bought OEM inner tie rods, you could have bought a whole new steering rack for about another $200 because an OEM rack comes with new inner tie rods. From what I remember, a new steering rack bought online is around $530 and new inner tie rods are around $300. If you already bought the inner tie rods and you're going to replace the rack, maybe return the inner tie rods and then purchase the new rack. But, before dropping coin on a new rack, I'd really investigate more where the problem could be originating from. You don't want to drop a bunch of coin and do a ton of work just to find out your steering problems still exists.
@@TimmyTheToolman so my power steering is just really stiff. Sometimes stiffer then other times but is getting worse as time progresses
@@619steelo That symptom could just be a clogged power steering reservoir screen. When the screen is clogged, it starves the steering rack of fluid. Before getting into all this work, that would be the first thing I would check. I'm suspecting you're going to find a reservoir filter screen that is mostly blocked. Check out this video: th-cam.com/video/5k61KXRK8bM/w-d-xo.html To move the fluid through the system, we have heard that you do not need to run the engine to power the pump. If you get the front tires off the ground and turn the wheels lock to lock, you can effectively move the fluid. Turn the wheels back and forth a couple times, top off the reservoir, and keep repeating until the fluid looks like it's coming out clean into your catch basin.
Omg, I got an O'Reillys commercial during the "uhh" compilation. The "uhh"s turned into "ohs" and I was dying.
That is pretty funny. I guess the advertisements are a good thing.
anything specific about the washers you put on the inside? will a standard grade 8 washer work or is that a toyota part?
Those washers come with the Whiteline bushing kit. You don't need to source them independently. If you use OEM bushings, those don't require washers.
@@TimmyTheToolman Excellent! Thanks man. Great Video
@@tomwaits4205 You're welcome Erik.
Whiching your video is something anyone can do. I already know how to do. But your video is good to watch and to see how another person redo the same thing I've already know or done. Ever wonder if these friends or others ever paid you to work on the SUV. One thing is you actually take the time to go over every little step and it take a lot of time from doing and getting parts off and on
Glad you like the video. The people we help usually treat us to lunch and beers. We don't charge people if it means we get a new video out of it to share on our channel. There have been local people who have hit me up for common jobs like the rear axle seals and I have done it for them at a price much much less than a shop would charge.
Giving the viewer extra detail is what makes us different than many other automotive TH-cam channels. The downside to offering this extra detail is our videos are longer than most. Some people don't like long videos but it's my opinion if somebody wants to know how to do something, they'll sit through the video if it means they will be successful with the job. And, people can always skip around through the video if they just need to see one part that they are stuck on. When people complain about the video length, I just tell them nobody is forcing them to watch the whole thing. Skip through it and watch the parts you need help with. It's pretty simple.
Very good video. How have the Whiteline parts worked out, long term? Would you use them again, or would you go with OEM?
They've been holding up well so far but I don't think anyone has run them as long as OEM so it's hard to say what their longevity will be. The price point compared to OEM made it seem worth the chance that they'll hold up for a long time. Like they say, time will tell. Glad you like our video.
@@TimmyTheToolman Thanks Timmy. I'm getting ready to do the front end bushings, drive shaft boots, etc on my 2000. I'm sure your videos will save me a ton of time as they have in the past.
Good luck with the job. Let us know how it all goes for you.
At 31:34 you talk about a "washer we added in". Were these washers there originally?
The washers are part of the Whiteline bushings kit. You install them on either side of the bushings between the bushing and the frame mounts for the control arm.
Hey Timmy, do you know the relationship those eccentric cam bolts have to alignment.. as you say, FF, FR etc.. does one affect camber and the other castor?
Hey Mike, when an alignment tech is aligning your front end, they are using the cam adjusters to adjust both camber and caster. I asked a friend of mine who use to do alignments and he explained it to me but it was still hard to visualize and understand how adjusting the cam adjusters would also adjust the caster. I wish I could explain it to you so it would be easy to understand, but since I struggle with understanding it myself, I'm not going to be much good to you. But, with the way our rigs are made, the main alignment adjustments are camber and toe. It doesn't seem you can change the caster too much but they are able to change it somewhat with the adjustment of the cam adjusters.
Adjusting the lower control arm's two pivot points equally in or out will change the camber. Adjusting the lower control arm's two pivot points unequally will change the caster.
I love the "um" reel at the end...
Yeah, it's pretty damn funny. I've showed it to a bunch of guys at work and it always gets good laughs.
Hey Timmy, I ordered Moog LCAs and Cam bolts to replace my OE to save on cost. Any thoughts on going with Moog, or any non-OE for these placements? Hope I made the right decision.
I did replace the LBJs with OE though.
I'm not a big fan of aftermarket suspension components unless it's part of a quality lift kit or other manufacturer that produces components that exceed the quality of OEM. Moog is ok and you'll probably be fine but they are not built to the same quality as OEM. I'm guessing you bought arms because yours were rusted out? Usually, you just replace the bushings and keep your OEM arms.
@@TimmyTheToolman Arms look fine but they are 24 yr old. I figure it would be easier to replace the entire thing. I just don’t have the extra tools/equipment to do the bushings.
@@marcsmartinez01 Gotcha. I'd hang onto the arms just in case.
I am looking at doing this job to my 2001 Tundra. What control arm bushings would you recommend OEM or an after market brand?
If Whiteline makes poly bushings for your Tundra, that would be a good aftermarket option. I would stay away from Energy Suspension. You could never go wrong with OEM but they are more money.
@@TimmyTheToolman What about Moog?
@@mikekmalick Moog is ok. I've used their tie rods on my 1st Gen 4runner. I don't however know anything about the quality of their bushings.
@@TimmyTheToolman Do you have any other product recommendations? White line doesn't even have tundra listed on the search.
@@mikekmalick Whiteline is the company that I'm most familiar with since I've used a lot of their bushings for 3rd Gen 4runner applications. You might want to ask your question on a Tundra Facebook group or forum to see what some people who also own Tundras recommend.
can I reuse the old Cam bolts or do I need to purchase new ones?
If you didn’t have to cut anything out, then yeah you can reuse your CAMs and cam bolts.
- Sean
Great video. Very informative. Thanks a ton!
You're welcome Hotdog Buns.
Greetings from Chicago Timmy! My sleeves are seized on all four sections, but I managed to remove all four bolts within the sleeves. Im about to cut them and replace with new oem lower control arms and oem cam bolts. Question is... Can I replace the two rear bolts (closest to rack) in the opposite direction to avoid loosening my steering rack? The bolts to the rack may be a nightmare to take out. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you
You know, I can't see any reason why you couldn't put the long cam sleeve from the inside out so you wouldn't need to move the steering rack back since you're cutting the old cam sleeves out.
@@TimmyTheToolman Just what I wanted to hear. This will definitely save me some time. Thanks again for the feedback
@@cybrah You're welcome. Good luck with the rest of the job.