Rear Control Arms Removal and Replacement

[nissanh]

Control Arm	Part Number	Quantity	Price US$ December 2019 (at Partsouq.com + ship $135)
Lateral (pan hard bar)	48740-60080	1	122.96
Upper Right (Air box side)	48710-60070	1	84.30
Upper Left	48710-60080	1	84.30
Lower (Both Sides are Identical)	48720-60040	2	108.57 (each)

2000 Land Cruiser
235 K miles

Tools needed, 12 mm, 19 mm and 24 mm wrenches and box sockets, pliers (to remove ABS sensor clip)


1) Choke all 4 wheel on front and back to prevent movements. Any movement will require additional time to realign the mounting holes of control arm and frame
2) Leave the truck at a level ground (no need to raise the truck at all)
3) remove spare wheel/tire
4) Remove ABS sensor wire clips from upper control arms and remove the brackets (12 mm) holding abs wire at the axle end of the upper control arm
5) I started removing/installing one control at a time to maintain the alignment of mounting holes.
6) At one end of the lower arm is marked with a white paint and that end must go towards the back (to rear axle)
7) Remove the NUT (24 mm) and NOT the bolt (see image: The bolt has 6 small notches to grab the mounting bracket and will not turn when its tight) ALWAYS loose/tight the 24 mm NUT
8) I applied anti seize on all bolts/threads
9) Tighten the 24 mm bolt to 111 lb-ft (MAKE SURE vehicle weight is on wheels when doing this: I didn't raise the cruiser for the entire operation)
10) Glad to report ONLY the upper control arms were shot: Both bottom and lateral arm bushings are still in very good health.
I bought all parts from partsouq.com and shipping was $135 to West TX and it ONLY took 5 days to arrive at my door after placing the order. I used paypal. That was my 3rd purchase and all purchases were positive

 

[nissanh]

Continued.2
Upper passenger side bolt had to be removed after pulling the spring bit down (1st and 2nd image)
3rd image passenger side upper
4th image Lower arm: Note the white paint ring- goes towards the rear

 

[nissanh]

Continued..3
Lateral arm
3rd image: All removed arms
4th image: Upper arm shot! Probably made the sound at sharp turns on low speeds
5th image: Lower not too bad (I guess)

 

[nissanh]

I wanted to do the front suspension but after the rear repair, I do not see a significant improvement except occasional sound I hear when turning a sharp left is gone, so I feel the front is still good.

I found a Toyota website showed only the front control arm bushings, dust boot and metal ring are the only parts that needs to be replaced. Does this mean the ball joint is good for million miles? I am yet to check any free pay in the ball joint. I only want OEM ball joint and toyota only sells the whole control arm.

 

[Pucker5]

@cruiseroutfit has the 555’s for your project.

 

[DuckLN]

Thanks!

I am hoping for ride improvement with my 2000 when i do this

 

[Dannyboy lx470]

What have you noticed with the new ones in the rear better ride etc ?.

 

[eliesh]

Control Arm	Part Number	Quantity	Price US$ December 2019 (at Partsouq.com + ship $135)
Lateral (pan hard bar)	48740-60080	1	122.96
Upper Right (Air box side)	48710-60070	1	84.30
Upper Left	48710-60080	1	84.30
Lower (Both Sides are Identical)	48720-60040	2	108.57 (each)

2000 Land Cruiser
235 K miles

Tools needed, 12 mm, 19 mm and 24 mm wrenches and box sockets, pliers (to remove ABS sensor clip)


1) Choke all 4 wheel on front and back to prevent movements. Any movement will require additional time to realign the mounting holes of control arm and frame
2) Leave the truck at a level ground (no need to raise the truck at all)
3) remove spare wheel/tire
4) Remove ABS sensor wire clips from upper control arms and remove the brackets (12 mm) holding abs wire at the axle end of the upper control arm
5) I started removing/installing one control at a time to maintain the alignment of mounting holes.
6) At one end of the lower arm is marked with a white paint and that end must go towards the back (to rear axle)
7) Remove the NUT (24 mm) and NOT the bolt (see image: The bolt has 6 small notches to grab the mounting bracket and will not turn when its tight) ALWAYS loose/tight the 24 mm NUT
8) I applied anti seize on all bolts/threads
9) Tighten the 24 mm bolt to 111 lb-ft (MAKE SURE vehicle weight is on wheels when doing this: I didn't raise the cruiser for the entire operation)
10) Glad to report ONLY the upper control arms were shot: Both bottom and lateral arm bushings are still in very good health.
I bought all parts from partsouq.com and shipping was $135 to West TX and it ONLY took 5 days to arrive at my door after placing the order. I used paypal. That was my 3rd purchase and all purchases were positive

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I removed one of my lower (rear driver) control arms while the rear diff was on jack stands and the rear tires off. The mounting holes are now off by about .5 inches (the control arm holes come up short). what would be the best way to re-align?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I did mine with tires on and when the axle rolled a little like you're describing, I just ratchet strapped it forward a bit.

 

[eliesh]

I did mine with tires on and when the axle rolled a little like you're describing, I just ratchet strapped it forward a bit.

Thank you. Thinking thats the way to go.

 

[eliesh]

just to close the loop. put 6 ton jack stands under the rear frame rails and lowered the passenger side of the rear diff (tires off) onto a 3 ton jack stand. took a good amount of ratcheting but everything lined up. the passenger side lined up at the same time which was a nice surprise.

 

[Mike NXP]

Looking at my rear control arms and I see some very small cracks in the bushings. I don't want to just throw parts at it..it looks like the only way to know for sure is to remove and inspect ? Should some slight cracking in the rubber be enough to warrant inspection?

I'm going on 230k miles and they are original. I have quite a bit of weight back there. The truck rides decent but it has a lot of sway. The recent install of extended links from trail tailor was a nice addition that seems to have helped a bit.

 

[nissanh]

Slight cracking might hide a larger crack. This can be inspected only with removal. It may also be a simple minor crack.

I noticed a slight improvement in ride quality after doing front and rear control arms in the LC, but not a significant improvement as observed on my 3rd gen 4runner with oem front and rear control arms.

 

[Mike NXP]

Slight cracking might hide a larger crack. This can be inspected only with removal. It may also be a simple minor crack.

I noticed a slight improvement in ride quality after doing front and rear control arms in the LC, but not a significant improvement as observed on my 3rd gen 4runner with oem front and rear control arms.

Thanks for that ...yeah I suppose I'll keep it in the to-do list but it'd still lower down.

Maybe I'll drop a lower arm and inspect , it seems like the lower is easier to get at...I wish I had a better area to wrench in, a gravel driveway is not ideal .

 

[Broski]

Looking at my rear control arms and I see some very small cracks in the bushings. I don't want to just throw parts at it..it looks like the only way to know for sure is to remove and inspect ? Should some slight cracking in the rubber be enough to warrant inspection?

I'm going on 230k miles and they are original. I have quite a bit of weight back there. The truck rides decent but it has a lot of sway. The recent install of extended links from trail tailor was a nice addition that seems to have helped a bit.

If you see cracking then they should be replaced JMHO

 

[Mike NXP]

If you see cracking then they should be replaced JMHO

My piggy bank is cracking too =[ you're probably right in just in denial for a bit longer .

 

[nissanh]

Rear arms are extremely easy to remove and replace, dont even have to lift the vehicle.

 

[txtuffluck]

Does anyone have OE part numbers for the rear upper and lower control arm bushings?

 

[Mike NXP]

Does anyone have OE part numbers for the rear upper and lower control arm bushings?

Enter your VIN and find the rear suspension parts page

PartSouq Auto Parts Around the World

We present to your attention our wide range of quality auto parts for many brands of cars. Our genuine parts catalogs and search by part number will help you!

partsouq.com

OE bushings don't exist in the US but cruiser outfitters claims they can order em

 

[txtuffluck]

Enter your VIN and find the rear suspension parts page

PartSouq Auto Parts Around the World

We present to your attention our wide range of quality auto parts for many brands of cars. Our genuine parts catalogs and search by part number will help you!

partsouq.com

OE bushings don't exist in the US but cruiser outfitters claims they can order em

Yeah, I can't find the bushing #'s on partsouq. I'm about to place an order for a bunch of parts, from an OCONUS vendor, and these are the last couple of part numbers that I'm looking for. I can grab an entire arm from the OCONUS vendor for the cost of two of their bushings. If I wasn't already ordering a bunch of parts and paying the freight/taxes, I would just order from them. Rear lower arms are $74USDea and uppers are $57ea