WTF people.. I just spent 4 hours with a sawsall cutting off the bolts to my lower control arms... I had to buy new ones ($40) But get this... They want you to reuse the moulded in sleeves that are inside the bushing!! "just scrape and burn off all that old rubber.. All so they save a chunk of pipe!! Oh, and don't look to Toyota.. they don't sell it!! (unless you spend $75 for a new bushing... x4) Now the upper bushings, Sure they have the sleeve.. and I bet the bolts would come out of them! But the lower ones that get all the rust?? Nawh... Oh, did I mention I have spent $25 in sawsall blades cutting off one side??


I will not set the truck on fire and buy a Jeep.. I will not set the truck on fire and buy a Jeep.. I will not set the truck on fire and buy a Jeep.. I will not set the truck on fire and buy a Jeep.. I will not set the truck on fire and buy a Jeep.. I will not set the truck on fire and buy a Jeep.. I will not set the truck on fire and buy a Jeep..

 

That settles it - I'm switching to leaf springs!! (and SAS)

 

Think posotive, because the way I see it.
It's probably the most trouble your Toyota will ever give you in 200,00+ miles. And, well, with a Jeep your more than likely not going to get it past 20,000 miles before something goes wrong.

So go home look in the mirror and say to yourself...I am smart...I am beautiful...and darn it people like me!!

(Sorry couldn't remember exactly how Stuart did it.)

 

That won't help, you still got the same bushings and sleeves in the ends of your leaf springs. I had to use a 60,000 pound press to get a bolt out of a rusted bushing from a set of springs this weekend.

 

Lets see... I am having trouble with head work for the third time in a year... It only went 120k before burning a valve so bad #5 had no compression... Nawh.. This is easy...

On a bright note.. I was just outside with a brain storm.. I used a propane torch to burn the old bushing out... I now have a good preped control arm (heck.. The inner shell is in pretty good condition, and the new poly bushing fits in nice.. Now I have to figure out how to get the 3/4" cut off bolt out of a 1" sleve (or hope I can find some pipe that would work at the steel shop... It has to be a good 1/8--> 1/4" thick pipe!

 

OH.......well don't I feel like a......sounds like you need a 3.4 or a Supra engine.

 

Orbit eyes have the same problems?

 

Hey I gotta tell ya Adam.. Grab a torch next time.. I just used a little propane job, dug a little hole in the ground, set the torch in it point to the bushing "housing" and let her rip in the same spot for about 10 minutes.. Used a screwdriver and poped it right out... Now I may need to heat the sleeve with a oxy-torch somewhere to expand it enough to get the bolt out.. (kinda like heating on/off a ring gear from a flywheel..

 

Sure, the torch would be great if you don't need to re-use the bushings. but if you are a cheap a** like me, and want to re-use the bushings, you have to find some way to get the bolts out. The bushings were OK in my springs, just the sleeves were rusted onto the bolts. Nothing a few new bolts and some grease cant fix!

 

Don't feel bad... I had to sawsall $40 worth of bolts with what looks like $40 worth of blades!! I have sucked up 10 blades on one side already...

A) they wear out quick on the hardened bolt
B) you have to use the short blades so they pop-out very easy and bang the control ame bending the blade like an "S" and then they only can be beat flat so many times untill they break..

 

If you can find a suitable replacement for the sleeve that the bolt is stuck in, have the shop cut up a bunch of them. I am sure you could sell them to people doing what you are doing. I believe the Daystar brand bushings require you to re-use the sleeve as well. You could even make up sets with the bolt included. I have some free time-if anyone could get EXACT specs I would spend an afternoon calling around to pipe and fab shops.

Good luck and keep us updated.

Reldnew

 

You just need some plain old sleeves? Those would be ridiculously easy to make with a lathe, which I just so happen to have unlimited access to . Just need the exact dimensions and whether you want them out of stainless or not.

 

Hey Adam-

I had the same problem with my chevy spring pack that I got from a junk yard. I found if I doused it with PB Blaster and let it sit overnight it would come right out using a wrench and turning it.

 

Dude!!! You are the best!!! I have really good measurments of the sleeve... If this is something you can do I would be very greatfull!!

OK, I will give them here and please e-mail or just reply if you have any questions...

The outside bolt diameter is 16mm (my cailper is just a hair under 16mm Like 15.9)

The inside of the bushing is 21mm on the dot.

Not the sleeve is 63mm long But, there is a "collar" on each end that is made to go thru the washers on the end.. (I could live without them if they are hard to make..)

The "collars" are 3mm long and about 1mm thick.. so the diameter would be13mm at this point (see photo)

Stainless would be ultra cool, but steel would be fine..

I was thinking myself that this is the point I was at, to have them made in a lathe, but the local shop is too busy to do this untill next month!

Please e-mail me and I will give you my phone # so you can call if you want..

Here is a video of the sleeve (I hope)

My first video

 

PS.. someone tell me if that video works and what it comes up in.. It came up in real player for me..

Also, I brought the sleeves to a buddys shop.. we heater them to about the same temp as the surface of the sun and all I was able to do was to mushroom the bottom of the sleeve.. we could not press that damn bolt out!!

Funny thing is all they had to do is to make the bushing a couple mm thicker and use their sleeves I mean the upper bushings have sleeves, but the sleeve is a standard thickness.. I do not think they need a freaking 1/4" thick sleeve, do you??

Oh, yea.. BTW Toyota does not sell the bushing sleeves.. you have to buy the $75 bushing.. then you need 4 of them. :cry:

 

The video worked me on my Mac but it did not have sound. It came up in quicktime.

I think PB Blaster may work for you, like I was telling Adam, if you have the time to let it sit overnight. Before I used PB Blaster I couldn't even turn the bolt after I let it soak I used a wrench to work it out while applying a lever under the head of the bolt.

 

Good vid. Mine came up in Windows Media Player

 

Trust me.. if a super heating will not move it is never moving. I had soaked it for a long time before I tried to unbolt it and an impact gun would not budge it..