04 Camry changing lower control arms, lift engine?

After an inspection, the dealer informs me that my front lower control arm bushings are coming loose. They want 5 hours labour and $200 each to replace both control arms as the bushings are not removable. I checked the shop manual, of course the outside engine mounts bolt over the front attachment point of the arms, it mentions removing the engine and transaxle to facilitate the job! I guess realistically loosening off the engine mounts and gently jacking the engine up a bit would work, has anyone ever done this job?

Reply to
Big Al
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In 1999 the dealer told me the lower control arms had to be replaced because the bushings are coming loose. I got rid of it in 2007 and the bushings were still in place. Don't believe the dealer without verifying there is a problem. With the reliability of cars today many shops have developed a creative license to pad their bottom line at the consumers expense. Learn to crawl under the car and inspect things for yourself or just pay the money and make your dealer happy.....

Reply to
Woody

I agree, I do plan to check out the lower control arms for unusual play asap, the car tracks well, I usually do all my work except exhaust. I am doing this research ahead of time to have the right info should they really be loose. I have already found oem replacements for $140 each. It seems only this range of model years (Gen 5) Camry has this unusual configuration, the engine mounts bolted over the same mounting bracket as the control arm.So I would like to know if there is a shortcut before proceeding to lift the engine. The control arms themselves have a hinge type joint at one end and a ball socket joint on the other, I have never seen this before. But he last set of lower arm bushings I replaced was on a 77 Caprice...

Reply to
Big Al

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