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After discovering the front tyres had started to wear on the outside and then doing a full suspenion check, I found that the lower control arm bushes were completly stuffed at 170,000kms - which is probably not too bad considering some of the work I've put it through.
Even though the ball joints weren't worn I wanted to change them while the whole control arm was out. I couldnt source the ball joint anywhere except in a complete new control arm from Toyota at a cost of almost $900 each arm - which I think was uneccessary considering the arm wasn't distorted or damaged in any way - so I wrote that idea off pretty quickly.
To get to the guts of the story, in the lower control arm bushes the camber/castor adjusting cams go through the centre of the bushes. Two of the four were almost impossible to move let alone get out. To remove the camber pins out of the bushes I had to cut the old bushes in half carefully with a grinder, to uncover the camber pins.
It's interesting because I've had numerous wheel aligments done and asked them to check the camber and castor and one guy has actaully said that he has adjusted the camber/castor, and now I know he was full of you-know-what, because those pins have never been moved in the recent history of the vehicle!
So having cut the pins out, when I installed the bushes, I carefully put a small amount of anti-sieze lube when I put the camber pins back into the bushes. At least I know now the camber/castor can be adjusted easily if need be.
Cheers - Lecture over! :wink:
Topic changed to one that makes more sense and will show in searches. <MOD>
Even though the ball joints weren't worn I wanted to change them while the whole control arm was out. I couldnt source the ball joint anywhere except in a complete new control arm from Toyota at a cost of almost $900 each arm - which I think was uneccessary considering the arm wasn't distorted or damaged in any way - so I wrote that idea off pretty quickly.
To get to the guts of the story, in the lower control arm bushes the camber/castor adjusting cams go through the centre of the bushes. Two of the four were almost impossible to move let alone get out. To remove the camber pins out of the bushes I had to cut the old bushes in half carefully with a grinder, to uncover the camber pins.
It's interesting because I've had numerous wheel aligments done and asked them to check the camber and castor and one guy has actaully said that he has adjusted the camber/castor, and now I know he was full of you-know-what, because those pins have never been moved in the recent history of the vehicle!
So having cut the pins out, when I installed the bushes, I carefully put a small amount of anti-sieze lube when I put the camber pins back into the bushes. At least I know now the camber/castor can be adjusted easily if need be.
Cheers - Lecture over! :wink:
Topic changed to one that makes more sense and will show in searches. <MOD>
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