Body/Frame Mount Bushings DIY

Ok, so I have been searching for the source of the clunk/rattle that my Tacoma makes when it hits bumps or when I shake the truck by hand in the garage.

I replaced the steering rack bushings with Energy Suspension polyurethane ones. It was a satisfying and pretty easy job. It also made no difference.

Next I was going to do the "weld the steering column" fix, but since I had the body/frame Energy Suspension bushings sitting on the workbench and had convinced myself that the clunk was there anyway, I did that job. It also also made no difference. But the factory bushings were shot and I got to spend quality time with the truck so it was not exactly a waste of time.

For those keeping score, it took me three weeks to do this job. But that's because I went at the project only when I felt like it. There are other vehicles in my fleet. Obviously I didn't take a full three weeks. That would be embarrassingly slow.

Actual work time turned out to be about 1 hour worth of wrenching, 2 hours worth of parts runs, and 4 hours worth of Dremel work. Also 3 hours worth of "Doctor, I got some metal in my eye when I was working on my truck. And it hurts and makes me look like I have pink eye." Doctor: "Why didn't you wear eye protection?" Me: "I did, but you know, Dremel..."

So wear eye protection. I finally realized I would be impervious if I wore the full face shield that came with the lathe a friend gave me that I have never used, so I did.

Anyway, what follows is a DIY. My first ever.

Tools:

Floor jack
Blocks of wood
PB Blaster
Automatic Transmission Fluid (for when you realize it is time to stop fooling around with PB and bring out the big guns)
14mm sockets and wrenches
17mm sockets and wrenches
Prying tools
Philips head screwdriver
Whacking tools
Dremel
New bushings

Here are some of the new bushings lined up like eager soldiers, ready to do their duty.



And here is the super-safe, OSHA-approved method for raising the cab.



1. Soak everything with the magic ATF. I know people have their favorites, but if you have not tried ATF (I use it straight, others mix with acetone) you really ought to give it a try. It is cheap and it is fantastic. How can you say no to that?

If you live in New England, you know what I am talking about with the importance of soaking all the nuts and bolts. If you live in sunny dry wherever, congratulate your ancestors for settling in a comfortable part of the country where nobody spreads liquid corrosion on the roads half the year.

2. There are bolts for six bushings (and another two bolts at the front bumper) that need to be loosened.

3. The non-bushing bolts at the front bumper you will otherwise forget about until your bumper bends into a strange shape are just inside the aft corner of the front bumpers. Be gentle with these so you don't snap them. On my truck one side came off great, the other snapped. Fortunately the stud is its own separate piece and is easy enough to replace. Almost as if Toyota planned on having the nut seize. But I digress...

Here are two shots with very little context, of the right front bumper bolt I am referring to. (FYI the "surface rust" you see inside the chrome bumper is only about 1.5 years old since that is when I put in the new bumper. Ugh.)



4. When you jack up the cab to replace the bushings, watch out that you don't jack it up too high. There doesn't seem to be a problem with brake lines and things like that, but you will need to release the rubber fender skirts in the front wheel wells so you don't tear them.

Oh, if you don't wear gloves when you work on your truck you are missing out on one of the big thrills. Black gloves make me feel like a DEA cop or an evil doctor. Neither is a job I would want, but it is fun to pretend when I am rolling around under the Tacoma.



5. The first bushings to tackle are the ones generally called the radiator support bushings. Driver side on my truck came right out and was about a 2 minute job. Passenger side required the removal of the grill so I could get in there and cut off the bolt head. This was because the sleeve had rusted itself to the bolt and wouldn't let the bolt drop out. Cut the head off and pull it out through the top.

These two shots show the new bolt and washer and bushing on the passenger side. Photo taken through the grill opening.




Here is what the old ones looked like. Yuck.




6. Next go at the front of the cab bushings. The bolts drop down through the floor.. So take off the plastic threshold trim (four screws each...clean and paint them while you've got them out) and then the kick panel (that one just pulls straight back to remove).




The bolt heads for the back of cab bushings are hidden in the little floor-cubbies under the carpet and the jumper cables and the cookie crumbs. In each of the four you also need to pop off the black rubber cap. If I need to tell you how to do that, you are probably in over your head. Try not to lose the caps.




7. SPOILER ALERT: It turns out that the hard part is not undoing the nut/bolt through the center of the bushing. It is undoing the two bolts that hold the bushing plate to the frame. You will put your socket on the nut and it won't budge. So you will bring out the breaker bar and the nut will round over. You will get the electric impact wrench and it will round even rounder. You will go get the Easy-Out rounded nut extractor from your toolbox and the nut will round rounder still. So you will Dremel it off (wear eye protection - see above).

When you go to the dealer to get replacement bolts and nuts, the dealer will tell you the nuts are tack welded to the frame. That's why your super strength was useless.

So if you are lucky you will be able to loosen the bolts from above with your 14mm socket. Go ahead and stick your little paw up there between the frame and the heavy cab jacked up on blocks of 2x4 and toothpicks. I dare you.

I put a block of wood between the frame and the body so if the jack slipped I wouldn't end up with a bionic hand like Steve Austin or Luke Skywalker. (Just saw the new Star Wars last night, bionic hands are on my mind.)

FYI the spoiler is not that Darth Vader is Luke's father or that Anakin grows up to be Vader. It is that THE NUTS ARE WELDED TO THE FRAME.

Why did Toyota weld the nuts that are so easy to reach and instead leave the bolts free? Is it because the bolts are hard to get to but the nuts would be so easy IF THEY WEREN'T WELDED? That would be perverse. Is it to take a short, simple job and make it into a long noisy messy job? That would also be perverse.

8. Anyway, I cut all the nuts off and replaced the bolts and nuts with shiny new ones. Make sure you get Grade 8 so your cab doesn't slip off the frame when you hit the brakes hard because you saw a State Trooper with a radar gun hiding in the median. That would be embarrassing.





By the way, the rusty goo on the long bolts is actually anti-seize paste. That stuff is like crack to me. I am totally addicted to it and smear it on everything. <mmm, anti-seize paste...>

The surface rust on everything else is called "patina" and my family will charge extra for it when they sell this truck after I am gone.

9. Put it all back together like you took it apart but this time use parts that are nice and new. Be prepared to experience absolutely no difference in ride, but you will feel a warmth in your heart from completing a satisfying job.





Here's the carnage:







So there you have it. This is not a job you should be afraid of. It is easy and the only challenging part is not blinding yourself as you cut off the eight nuts so you can then risk dismembering yourself to replace the bushings.

Those old bushings were so shot (rubber had torn free from the center steel bushing thingie) that I figured it was definitely what was making the clunk. It was not so the search continues.

Stay tuned.

-Jonathan

 

Very nice write up. This is on my list of rubber parts to change out. Hows the truck feel now after the new bushings?

 

The new bushings do not make any noticeable difference at all. This observation is surprising considering the fact that the originals were all pretty well shot and that the new ones are firm polyurethane. But that is the truth.

Nevertheless I'm glad I replaced them. I know my truck that much better.

 

Very informative, very entertaining.

 

What year and model is your truck?

I don't hold much for the poly-bushings. They are too hard for me. If I were changing bushings I would get the stock ones from Toyota, or at least get rubber bushings.

Thanks for your write-up and your candor. I hope you find your rattle/clunk. I'll bet that when you do it will be a 5-minute, $5 fix!

 

The truck is a 2003 extended cab TRD with the 3.4 liter V6. And I have to confess I am baffled by the prerunner/s-runner/etc. designation and have no idea which applies to my vehicle.

 

This is a great post so I am bumping it with a question for @MoreMonkey if he is still around.

Did you have to disconnect any wires/lines/hoses/steering stuff in order to raise the body? I got about 1.25" of separation, enough to do the front mounts, and then chickened out.

I think you'd need more like 3 or 4 inches of separation in order to change out the four rear mounts. But then I wondered about the steering hoses and PRNDL shift knob.

 

Alphabravo, I didn't need to disconnect any wires or hoses. To be honest, I kind of ignored the issue until it was too late. Fortunately the only casualties were the rubber splash skirts inside the wheel wells. And I just got around to replacing the torn ones last weekend when I cut replacements out of shower pan liner from Lowe's. My truck is a manual transmission so I don't know if an automatic will pose problems while lifting.

 

Bump. Anyone with an auto have any issues jacking body up?

 

I have a 99 v6 auto that I just removed a 3 inch body lift on. When jacking the body up you need to watch the brake lines, steering where it connects to the steering rack, and the linkage for the auto shifter. I believe that's pretty much it.

 

Wondering if OP @MoreMonkey is around? How high were you able to jack it up?

 

It’s been a while but I seem to remember about 5 inches between the frame and cab.

 

hi, thanks. so you unbolted one side at a time?

 

I think I unbolted everything first and then jacked it up.

 

My estimate about how high I got the cab is based on the fact that I was able to fit a 2x4 between cab and frame as a safety measure to protect myself if the jack slipped.

 

That was actually my next question, whether you stuck a 2x4 under there.

 

Excellent write up. I will be removing my bed this summer to do some body work on the back wall of the cab and this info helps a lot.

But I gotta say: Your truck underbody is in good shape. I strongly suggest Fluid Film treatment so it stays that way.

 

I hit the frame with Fluid Film last fall and am pretty pleased with how it weathered the winter. Should have done it years ago. Anyone who is in a salty state and is on the fence should use some kind of coating. It wasn’t a particularly difficult, expensive, time consuming, or messy task.

 

MoreMonkey, did you ever find that clunk? I'm currently hunting down a clunk in my 96 and was about to do this job...I have checked and gone through almost the whole truck trying to find it. One time its front right, then rear left then both sides up front, only happens during change in momentum (starting from a stop or that last little lurch at a stop) or a big turn. Anything you have found or tried would be greatly appreciated. Im running out of hair to pull out!

Excellent right up by the way!

 

dancouv3r, I did find the clunk. It was sway bar end links. Cheap and easy. Much much much much much easier than the frame bushings. I thought I had previously checked the end links but I guess just wiggling them wasn't enough. Trust me when I tell you it is easier to either replace them or remove them (so see if the clunk stops) than it is to do the bushings. By a w i d e margin.