gookies

After replacing my LCAs, inner + outer tie rods, and struts, I went to get an alignment done. Unfortunately, they said my rear toe adjustment bolt was frozen, so they didn't align the rear. The measurements are below, has anyone ran into this problem before and will my current measurements be problematic?

Left Rear: Camber is 0.1, Toe is 0.56

Right Rear: Camber is -0.1, Toe is 0.04

salimshah

Apply penetrant like PB Blaster. Remember all the nuts related to alignment are non-moveable. Due to cross member in the way, you can't get an impact wrench on two bolts. Only bolts should be spun. Once the bolts are free, then fro adjustment the nuts are rotated.

Salim

gookies

Yeah, I don't think PB blaster will work in this situation, might end up having to cut it off.

fastnoypi

pb blaster and a breaker bar, use it only on the forward facing nuts of the adjuster cams. Not the side with the measurement scale which you can see while facing the exhaust. Once the nuts are off you can tap the cams through with a screwdriver and clean them up with a wire brush or sandpaper and lubricate. replace and reinstall.

*Note the adjustment marks on the cams prior to removal.

gookies

Salim said earlier the nuts aren't moveable and to only spin the bolts?

salimshah

I assume '?' means you are still not sure. Since I worked on it recently, I am pretty sure that the bolts (which run through) are the ones that need to be loosened and tightened. You can confirm that the the nuts are welded to the adjustment cams.

Salim

gookies

I'll double check later this week and I'll try the 50/50 mix of ATF/Acetone that I've read works really well as a penetrating solution to see if that gets the bolt out.

fastnoypi

i can't speak to what Salim means, but the nuts on front side of the cam adjustment bolts are welded on. The rear side bolts are removable. The person who does your alignment will put their wrench on the front side nuts to turn the cam to their specified angle and line it up with the hatch mark. The torque spec is enough that the cam adjuster will not spin freely but hold a setting if no rust.

The attached picture will show the side where the nut is welded, you want to use a breaker bar, pb blaster, long handled wrench... on the opposite side IIRC 17mm

salimshah

Perfect picture ... you can see some one using torque on the nuts and damaged the corner/faces as the nut-welded to cam will not budge. Once the bolt side is loosened the tech should be able to twist the nut with a wrench to any marking and not before.

Here the steps.

Undo the bolts .... loosen enough.
Twist the nut to get the right settings.
Re-torque the bolt.
** Do not apply torque to the nut .. it is ok to hold its position with a wrench.

Salim
Salin

fastnoypi

i take no credit for the picture. Its from one of Lexmex's posts that was illustrating the adjustments

gookies

Thank you Salim and fastnoypi for the information. I took a look today and they are pretty rusted out. I'll order some new adjustment bolts and hopefully tackle it this weekend.

Edit: I'm trying to find the adjustment bolts, but I'm kind of confused with the diagram. It has two different images pointing to that location, one has a nut welded to the that adjustment plate, and the other picture denotes just a nut and plate separately? Are the part numbers I need #48409 and #48452R? The part #48409 also shows two different pictures of bolts, one is the whole bolt with the plate and the other seems like an adjustment sleeve of some sort that the bolt goes through. (Are these the 3 parts I need? http://www.autopiter.ru/DetalPhoto/P903/mls574.jpg)

http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_assembly=772420&ukey_make=1082&ukey_model=15676&modelYear=2003&ukey_category=21754&ukey_driveLine=8064&ukey_trimLevel=19113

fastnoypi

As i recall removing and cleaning up my rear adjustment cams, the parts came apart like the insert diagram in your link. 3 parts ...bolt(90119-12126), 48409 and 48452R

The part number description for 48409 implies to me the entire cam adjustment sub assembly as a whole. Best to call the Lexus parts counter to verify.

salimshah

3 pieces form the system,

Nut-cam,
Tube-cam
bolt.

The two cams link with each other... once the bolt is loosened it removes the squeeze, and the tech turns the nut which spins the nut-cam and the tube-cam together and the rod is pushed in/out of the frame as the tube spins to the right position [cam action].

Order only the part(s) that you need. If the rust is on the inside of the tube-cam then replace that, else just the bolt.
Salim

gookies

Update: Tried removing it with a long breaker bar + penetrating fluid, but it was not going. If I turned it more, it was probably going to shear the bolt. Good news is that I rotated my tires and went back for an alignment check, it's way better than my initial readings and will be fine until I can just cut that nut off and replace it with new hardware.