Got an alignment done... good news to me
 

So my Camber was super out of whack, and I could almost see the damage it caused on the inside of my front tires with every long drive. I got it into an alignment shop that seems to have a really good following.

My truck according to them didn't need any new parts apparently and it drives quite smooth now aside from the previous tire wear. I think the tires are also a bit out of round because they are old with dry rotting some cracks etc. They assured me it would be good enough to put tires on it now.

However... they did say that the cams on the front of the control arms have a tendency to get seized up really bad on these trucks and they explained to me a bit of how it works down there. It makes sense to me as dealing with all kinds of leaf spring bolts etc. in the past I'm no stranger to a bolt being stuck in a sleeve. They told me it would take god, a torch or possibly even dynamite to get those bolts to move lol. I do believe this much. They were barely able to get it within spec and said those bolts were not moving.

So what am I facing? Control arm bushings and new bolts? I've never personally worked on toyota IFS so I don't have hands on experience in adjusting any of it or taking it apart etc.

I am going to spend the next year or so getting this truck to a point where mechanically it's flawless. One thing at a time, including especially getting this 3vz running at it's very best. This is one of the things on the list lol.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

No reason to replace the bushings if they're good, but I doubt they are. Cut/grind the head of the bolt off and punch it out. Replace with new OEM hardware.

That is also good news to me. That is an operation my grinder, my hammer, my steel punch and I are capable of doing together. I did wonder if it had anything to do with the bushings assuming all was seized up etc. but if it can be done like that I'm down. I don't have the clunk that people speak of when control arm bushings are beat to death so I had to wonder.

Thanks BM

Just inspect the bushings while you're in there. If you have to replace them, might as well do it while it's all apart. The other thing to look at is the cam guides...if they're rusted, you'll need to grind them off and weld new ones on.

If by cam guides you mean the two vertical thick metal chunks on either side of the cams then I'm good. This truck is pretty rust free aside from a long key/rock/bush/something mark on the passenger side of the body. I have service records dating back to late late 1993 when the truck was first bought. It grew up in New Mexico and spent a few short short months in Washington until it made it's way here to Colorado, and the girl that owned it drove it for about 6 months. According to the paperwork it's had a good life, I guess she just didn't want to do the alignment, tune up, or buy tires :oops: