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Hi all,
At 290k miles I am looking at replacing my control arm bushings because i can't hold an alignment worth a !@#, and am curious if anyone has advice on what to replace as i go.
So far i am looking at replacing the:
Upper control arm bushings
Lower control arm bushings
Upper ball joints
Lower ball joints
Idler arm bushings
Cv half shaft assemblies
Body mount bushings
Is there anything else people would recommend replacing while i'm there?
I'm ordering Moog and energy suspension parts this week and would like to have one order.
Background: The cv boots are torn to shreds, they are likely original. I got a deal on some Cardone Select CV's so i figured i could swap them while i'm in there. I'd like to inspect the OEM Toyotas and see if they are salvageable and replace the boots if i can. The tierod ends look to be in OK condition, with the car up in the air yanking on the wheels i just see the idler arm move up and down so i figure that a decent start. I'd like to not dump money where i don't have to and reading threads around here people tend to try and hang on to toyota OEM as much as they can.... But if people seem to think its a good idea ill bite the bullet and swap em with Moogs. The bushings throughout the truck look pretty fried.
Did same 'do it myselfer' few years ago on 90 4x4 T4r. w/ 220k miles. Lifted front end and found the idler arms were shot but by the time I removed components to replace idler arms decided best to deal with refreshing the entire front suspension. U'r list is similar/same as the components I replaced but my list included inner tie rods, rotors, and shocks. It was the best upgrade I could have done even today just as tight as day I drove it off the show room floor.
I'll be doing the same this winter, but with Blazeland long travel lower arms and a drop bracket kit. Moog and Proforged would probably be the best for ball joints and Tie Rod ends. If you factor your time, it may be more cost effective to buy the complete upper Moog arms with Ball joints and bushings instead of installing new parts on existing arms.
The Lower control arm bushings are expensive from Moog, its cheaper to buy the complete front control arm bushing kit from Energy suspension than a pair (you need 4) lower bushings from Moog. Be aware that you'll need to use the shells and sleeves from the existing bushings with the polyurethane.
I may step up to the TC Cadillac Idler Arm, but I'll be using the AZ FA5040 for a while.
Thanks for the responses,
Cool I’ll look at getting the list, just have to watch out as apparently 89 is a half year for bushings and ball joints. Any advice how to tell which is the right ball joint?
I did shocks recently so I’m going to leave those alone.
I figure tierod ends aren’t the worst to get after the fact. I’ll leave those alone too.
Got everything apart, from what I can tell the early lbj vs the late is a difference in height. The late looks like the boss around the ball is raised. It looks like I have the shorter early lbj... Which probably means I have the wrong energy suspension bushings.
On a similar note it seems like the joint at the end of my idler arm is bad as there is play there. From reading around here they say the later model units are tougher... just want to make sure before I order that I can use a 1993 idler arm on my 1989 runner. Proforged lists two different part numbers for that.
Upon further inspection the LBJ feels ok compared to the upper one which is pretty far gone.
And i for sure have the shorter earlier ball joints. It looks like hell but feels pretty tight, I can still move it with one hand though, and if i remember correct it should probably be tighter than that.
10-17-2018, 06:20 PM
