Checking LCA Bushings.

[Simpleman]

How do you check to see if the LCA bushings are bad? Should the LCA slide Fwd and Aft on the bushings. Driver's side does but passenger side not so much.
I have very shifty/loose steering issues. Everything seems tight.

 

[Prospect62]

I was told mine needed to be replaced because the bolts that hold them in were frozen in the bushings and my KJ couldn't be aligned because of it. Still haven't replaced them yet...dreading that job. Meanwhile I suffer with gross misalignment and bad clunking from the LCA's.

 

[ShafferNY]

I don't believe there should be ANY movement forward or aft. The only movement should be rotational. By that I mean, the end of the A-arm should move up and down.

 

[tjkj2002]

I don't believe there should be ANY movement forward or aft. The only movement should be rotational. By that I mean, the end of the A-arm should move up and down.

They are allowed to move for/aft.Bad bushings are cracked,swelled(oil soaked),tearing,or all together missing.

 

[Simpleman]

I went ahead and replaced them anyway. Drives much better now. I will be doing the UCA, and rear bushings next. My only question is do you have to set the KJ at its normal ride hight before tightening the bushings so you don`t preload them?

 

[tjkj2002]

I went ahead and replaced them anyway. Drives much better now. I will be doing the UCA, and rear bushings next. My only question is do you have to set the KJ at its normal ride hight before tightening the bushings so you don`t preload them?

Yes you do.

 

[ShafferNY]

They are allowed to move for/aft.Bad bushings are cracked,swelled(oil soaked),tearing,or all together missing.

Aren't the metal sleeves in the LCA bushing simply pressed into the rubber? Therefore, they can move forward and aft, but not much, if at all. If they were severely worn then they would be more likely to have movement.

I know the strut-to-arm bushings on the LCA's are simply pressed together. The metal sleeve the bolt goes through is pressed into the rubber, and the rubber is pressed into the outer metal casing.

That's why I say there shouldn't be any movement. Are the arm-to-chassis bushings assembled differently?

 

[Mangate]

I was told mine needed to be replaced because the bolts that hold them in were frozen in the bushings and my KJ couldn't be aligned because of it. Still haven't replaced them yet...dreading that job. Meanwhile I suffer with gross misalignment and bad clunking from the LCA's.

I would have thought that the bolt and the inner metal tube of the bushing should have no movement relative to each other, so that the movement of the LCA up and down causes the rubber to twist. Otherwise if the bush turned on the bolt it would cause wear.

 

[ShafferNY]

I would have thought that the bolt and the inner metal tube of the bushing should have no movement relative to each other, so that the movement of the LCA up and down causes the rubber to twist. Otherwise if the bush turned on the bolt it would cause wear.

I believe this is the case.

When the nut on the cam bolt is tightened, the inner metal sleeve of the bushing gets pinched by the chassis and is held stationary. When the lower control arm moves up and down, the rubber bushing twists torsionally.

Over time the cam bolt develops rust on the outside of it, and the inner metal sleeve develops rust on the inside of it, and the two start to fuse together.