leveling spacers and LCA bushings

Just put in 2" leveling spacers. I took the top control arm loose instead of loosening the LCA bushings. I had to push down on the LCA a good 3" or more to get the strut into the bottom mount> Felt alot of resistance from the bushings. Wondering if I should have Loosened the LCA bushing bolts to relieve tension. Wanted to keep the bottom Cams in the same position, now I wondering if I'm gonna tear up the rubber. Anyone else done the same and not destroyed the bushings?

 

Your bushings will be fine. In the future if you decide to loosen the LCA cam bolts, just mark it with a paint marker and put it back to where it was. No matter what, it's highly recommended to get an alignment after any front suspension work.

 

Leaving the bolts alone and flexing the LCA bushings with a 5-ft pry bar is how it's done for the millions of cars undergoing shock/strut replacement in most repair shops, so your bushings should be OK for now.

Since you're lifting 2" though, marking and loosening the cam bolts like catbrown357 instructed would have been the better method. You'd need to get an alignment afterwards anyway due to the lift.

 

I have done a ton of these, and honestly its easier to unbolt the lower ball joint and leave the upper A-arm and spindle alone. I then loosen the lower bolts on the lower A-arm and swing it down out of the way. Otherwise its a real bear to try to push down on the lower A-arm. The Tundra has a large hole in the A-arm that you can get a 36" pry bar in for leverage, the 4R has a small hole and its hard to get a pry bar in the lower A-arm for leverage. Its easiest to loosen the lower bolts and allow the lower to drop and then re-bolt the lower ball joint back together using RED loctite, preferably 262 or 263.

With a 2" lift up front you are going to need a front end alignment anyway, the lower half of the tire needs to be pushed outward anyway which i normally do my own front end alignment to get them close to perfect before taking them to an alignment shop so you gotta loosen the lower A-arm to adjust it anyway.

 

Thanks for the replies, it will go to the alignment shop. Lesson learned, will drop the LCA next time. I put in the spacers to warm up the wifey to stepping up while I save up for the suspension lift.