Neat trick I came up with for manipulating lower control arms

[unclebilly]

I replaced the front struts in my Tundra. I am a big believer in not taking anything apart you don’t need to when doing repairs. I watched YouTube videos where people removed the tie rod ends… dropped their lower control arms so they would need an alignment afterwards…

This is what I did. I removed the 2 bolts on the bottom of the hub that hold the lower ball joint in place, I unbolted the sway bar end, and unbolted the front strut. To lower the lower control arm, I used a chain come a long (a ratchet strap would have worked) connected to the bottom side of both lower control arms and basically winched the lower control arms together.

This was WAY better than prying the lower control arm down and screwing around with screw drivers to line up the bolts. I was totally in control and did this side by myself in under an hour.

[fastfredracing]

I like the cut of your jib sir . I have done similar with a come a long .
Ive done a few quick lifts on Toyota's ., where you install a 2-3 inch spacer on top of the strut.
They can be a real bugger getting them back in and all lined up .
I think I did a seqioua that was a complete bear, I have no idea how Id have gotten it back together without doing something like this .
I wish I had a picture of my " Im done asking " pry bar.

[unclebilly]

This has about a 1.75” spacer on the top from back when I lifted it 11 or 12 years ago.

The come a long made the job go super easy. I used a big pry bar in the other side…

[john70t]

I'm confused.
What is making the A-arm push up so much as to require a come-along? The arm-frame bushings?

Should they be fully lubricated or not?
Shouldn't they all be needle bearing? That extension is in constant motion.

[LWJ]

Hmmm. This could be very timely for me. Front end work is on my agenda for today. Thanks!

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by john70t

I'm confused.
What is making the A-arm push up so much as to require a come-along? The arm-frame bushings?

yes bushings.

Should they be fully lubricated or not?

Yep. They are lubricated.

Shouldn't they all be needle bearing? I don’t know of any lower control arms that use a needle bearing

That extension is in constant motion. So is the crankshaft and connecting rods in the engine. Also not needle bearings.

See above…

[A930Rocket]

Is the angle of the picture or is the bottom of the right shock bent?

[john70t]

I tend to overthink problems without all the data sometimes. Just want the result to be baha buttery. Not sure how that works exactly..
(and thx for sharing a neat trick.)

I'm just thinking if the inner A-arm bushing spindles are frozen inside(ie all movement is in the twisting bushing), it might tear the bushing and cause some kind of steering effect and eventually slop. Tires and parts are expensive. I really don't know though.

[sc_rufctr]

Great... And one of the many benefits of having a lift.

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

Is the angle of the picture or is the bottom of the right shock bent?

Absolutely yes - Bent but it's also pushed in.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Great... And one of the many benefits of having a lift.



Absolutely yes - Bent but it's also pushed in.

Actually broken…

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Actually broken…

...

Did you hit something hard or did it just break? Lots of rust which didn't help the situation.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Did you hit something hard or did it just break? Lots of rust which didn't help the situation.

450,000 hard kms.

I think it may have broke while hauling 16,000 lbs of hay on our gooseneck hay wagon but I’m not sure.