toyota4x4907

My '95 4Runner has been wandering terribly while driving for a year or so. I figured the steering parts were bad. I finally got tired of it, parked it in the garage and started taking the front end apart. Upon disconnecting the TRE, I happened upon massive play in the lower control arm at the mounts. I just got the new bushings in today ( $285 for all 4). Tonight I started taking the rest of it apart. I turned to loosen the first (rear cam bolt), turned it to tighten on accident, now there is no play.. Should I just go ahead and replace them anyways? Or could I tighten them to where there is no play, and finish replacing everything else I was diving into ( Ball-joints, TREs, brakes)? Visually, the bushings seem fine. They dont look rotted. They rotate smoothly, as with the cam bolts.

JonnyBoy

If they're not rotted and the bolts were loose, it sounds like that was your problem. Are the metal sleeves in the bushings still centered? That can indicate that the rubber has collapsed, even if it doesn't look rotted.

If it were me, I wouldn't replace the bushings with the ones you got, anyway. Polyurethane bushings for both sides upper and lower arms are $51 from Summit, maybe cheaper elsewhere.