mt_goat

What's wrong with this picture?




Hint, it should look like this:



This happened after going too fast over a very rough trail (Chinamans gultch) It bent the lower control arm (LCA) bracket backwards and bent the LCA where it holds the bushings in place. After removing the LCA, I decided the LCA was too bent to reuse. I happen to have a spare LCA from the last time I swapped out the bushings.

Removing the bushings from the LCA seems to always get the question, how?

I've done this before but didn't take pics, so this time I took some pics for show and tell. I use this huge vice and a big cheater pipe over the handle for a poorman's press. The plumbing fitting allows the bushing to pop out.







After turning the vice handle to the point it feels like the vise is going to break in half and spraying the bushings down good with PB Blaster and then turning a little more the bushing pops out with a loud bang!

I take the time after removing the bushings to wire wheel the LCA and paint it.

Here's the new bushings going in. Note now I'm using another plumbing fitting that is just big enough to allow the bushing to seat on the other side:



Fully seated in place:



I still needed the big cheater pipe going in, but not nearly as much force as poping them out:



Ready to go on:



To straighten the bent Superlift bracket I put an old LCA bushing with a bolt thought it in place and a highlift jack to push between my Budbuilt crossmember and the bracket.

abecedarian

you got the kickers in there and it still bent or am I missing something?

mt_goat

Yeah the kickers did keep the whole bracket from bending backwards, but it bend just the very end of the bracket. The kickers don't support the last 4 inches or so. It was just the drivers side.

mt_goat

Here's a better pic of the kicker placement:



It basicly moved the drivers wheel backwards slightly to give me a negative caster angle. I also trashed the upper ball joint and the UCA bushings too.

thook

Nice write up, Dale. I was lucky yesterday. When we pried the lower contral arms out, it hit the cement, and all the bushings just fell out!

Of course, I was also replacing the entire control arms.

Incidentally, where'd you get your bushings? I called all around and none of the parts stores had any except for the upper control arms. Even Toyota only had the front the bushings. Something about the rear ones not being a replacable part???? Maybe the fellow was just clueless?

abecedarian

wow... my kickers are way different:




feel sorry for the alignment guy

mt_goat

Here's a pic of the trashed upper ball joint, I cut the rubber boot away to get a look at it:



On the LCA bushings and ball joint, I ordered them from Bob Bridge Toyota (https://www.1sttoyotaparts.com/partscat.html) They shipped them right out.

mt_goat

Oh Abe sweet kickers, who makes those? Those would have helped a lot, I think.

thook

Dayum!! Somebody was limpin' home! I jumped a culvert launching me into the air (not on purpose) bending my frame and a-arms and my ball joints still looked way better than that. In fact, they were still good other than ripped boots.

abecedarian

I'm not sure actually. They came with the lift kit I bought used from a guy doing a SAS. He told me the kit was superlift, but over the last year I've looked at things and can't figure it out.

mt_goat

Yeah actually I didn't even know until I got home, I did notice it pulled slightly to one side. I drove it 700 miles home that way. Then when I got home I noticed the tire on that side was cupped on the outside edge, so I started looking at the bushings closely and saw that one was popped out of place.

thook

You mean it didn't pop and moan or anything? Hmmm....interesting. Bearings okay?

Kirk....if you ever happend to have the time, I'd like to get some better examples w/measurements and such of your kickers. Being that the front end of my wif'es 4rnr got all fubar'd, I think some kickers...whether fab'd or purchased...would help strengthen it better. Maybe they'd even give me a better idea of how far out her front end is and how it needs to be fixed. The caster is way off side to side comparitively. The driver's side is maxed forward and the pass maxed backwards. And, it still pulls to the left...which is the shorter wheelbase now. It's kinda funny to look at. But, it rides much better now than it did.

Sorry for piggy backing, Dale. You can kick me if ya like, I guess. Or buy me a beer! Hey..that's a better idea! Thanks!

abecedarian

My apologies to for the piggyback....
check your pm's Matthew.

mt_goat

Hey no problem guys. I wasn't going anywhere else with this thread. Fill it in with kicker info or anything related.

abecedarian

you wouldn't happen to have any idea who'd make a lift like that?
Since your's is superlift, and mine has the kicker mounts as part of the lower member, any ideas?
looks to tough to be an old rancho kit.

the coating looks to be original, so silver/gray powder coat. Does that help?

mt_goat

As far as I know, everything else is ok.

Yeah Abe, I think Rancho used red colors. The color reminds me of Pro Comp stuff but it seems too good to be Pro Comp. I wonder if its a Black Diamond...they were bought out by Superlift and since the guy said it was made by Superlift that might explain it.

Nick325is

Those kickers look just like the ones on my procomp stage 2 lift.


-Nick

thook

Ehem....fill in!!!

Hey Kirk.......where's those pics, ma'in?

abecedarian

I knew I forgot something....

thook

Lol....it's fine. Don't worry about it. Since I'm not in any hurry, just whenever you can. I was just razzin' ya. Plus, I had take advantage of piggyback priveleges!!