Quick summary: if you have a lift kit on your car, you probably have adjustable rear upper control arms. I recommend taking them off and checking for play or thread wear. I found this out the hard way on Sunday. Things I will carry in the tool box from now on: hack saw blade, duct tape (I know, I know) and wire.
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I bought a heavily modified 97 FZJ80 a year ago. The car has a 6" lift so the upper control arms on the rear axle are adjustable.
While driving up a rough mountain road on Sunday, I hit a bump and both upper control arms failed simultaneously.
The threads on the lower part of the control arm had slowly worn away over time, presumably due to 20 years of off road action. With the threads finally gone, the fact that I was going up a steep hill and hit a bump allowed the lower part of the control arms to pop out of the female part of the control arms. (for reference, Slee's website has a DIY part for sale in the suspension section that is similar to what I have. Here is the link: Slee - Toyota 80 Land Cruiser Series Suspension DIY Pieces ).
With my control arms gone, my rear axle rotated back longitudinally 75 degrees, disconnecting my drive shaft so my differential was pointed up and my drive shaft was dragging on the ground.
Thank god this did not happen at speed on a highway.
I called my neighbor who was borrowing my 1990 Hilux while I was in San Jose. He drove down the mountain to help.
I wired up the drive shaft to the strapping that supports the gas tank so the drive shaft would not propeller under the car. (I 'll be damned if there wasn't some heavy wire in the ditch right next to where I broke down). I gunned it in low (now just with two wheel drive) while the Hilux yanked me with a chain. It took us a few tries (and a few milimeters of BFG rubber) but we got the axle rotated back and the springs mounted on the axle again.
We removed the drive shaft and reassembled it. We removed the control arms and put them back together. This was when I figured out the threads had gone, and this is where duct tape would have come in handy. It might have worked like teflon tape on pipe threads. I used my winch to keep the rear axle from rotating back again. I drove back down the hill and left the car a few miles away at a friend's house on the beach.
I looked in the FAQ to see if control arm disassembly and inspection is part of baselining.
I could not find anything so I wanted to post this as a warning to anyone who has an old rig with a lift.
The upper control arm I have is just like the Slee part. Notice how it has only one nut. I think you need two nuts: one for each side. With two nuts you can reduce vibration on both sides thus reducing thread wear.
I got the control arms rebuilt in a machine shop, drove an hour to my supply town and had the alignment checked. Everything seems fine. If anyone has any ideas on anything I should check, please let me know. (U-joints seem fine, drive shaft does not seem bent)
===============================================================
I bought a heavily modified 97 FZJ80 a year ago. The car has a 6" lift so the upper control arms on the rear axle are adjustable.
While driving up a rough mountain road on Sunday, I hit a bump and both upper control arms failed simultaneously.
The threads on the lower part of the control arm had slowly worn away over time, presumably due to 20 years of off road action. With the threads finally gone, the fact that I was going up a steep hill and hit a bump allowed the lower part of the control arms to pop out of the female part of the control arms. (for reference, Slee's website has a DIY part for sale in the suspension section that is similar to what I have. Here is the link: Slee - Toyota 80 Land Cruiser Series Suspension DIY Pieces ).
With my control arms gone, my rear axle rotated back longitudinally 75 degrees, disconnecting my drive shaft so my differential was pointed up and my drive shaft was dragging on the ground.
Thank god this did not happen at speed on a highway.
I called my neighbor who was borrowing my 1990 Hilux while I was in San Jose. He drove down the mountain to help.
I wired up the drive shaft to the strapping that supports the gas tank so the drive shaft would not propeller under the car. (I 'll be damned if there wasn't some heavy wire in the ditch right next to where I broke down). I gunned it in low (now just with two wheel drive) while the Hilux yanked me with a chain. It took us a few tries (and a few milimeters of BFG rubber) but we got the axle rotated back and the springs mounted on the axle again.
We removed the drive shaft and reassembled it. We removed the control arms and put them back together. This was when I figured out the threads had gone, and this is where duct tape would have come in handy. It might have worked like teflon tape on pipe threads. I used my winch to keep the rear axle from rotating back again. I drove back down the hill and left the car a few miles away at a friend's house on the beach.
I looked in the FAQ to see if control arm disassembly and inspection is part of baselining.
I could not find anything so I wanted to post this as a warning to anyone who has an old rig with a lift.
The upper control arm I have is just like the Slee part. Notice how it has only one nut. I think you need two nuts: one for each side. With two nuts you can reduce vibration on both sides thus reducing thread wear.
I got the control arms rebuilt in a machine shop, drove an hour to my supply town and had the alignment checked. Everything seems fine. If anyone has any ideas on anything I should check, please let me know. (U-joints seem fine, drive shaft does not seem bent)
