*Procedure of pressing the bushings out with just 2/3 jaw pullers courtesy of Dale Conner & Bill Merton from MR2 forum

Front Removal

1) Here’s a picture of what all is replaced in the TRD bushing set: strut top (green), control arm (purple), & strut arm (red). So, you need to remove the strut assembly & the two arms. The steering knuckle will be close to being removed, as it will still be attached to the tie rod end. If you don’t believe you need to replace the tie rod end bushing (which you need to purchase the entire end, not just bushing if you do), you can skip that step.

2) I would suggest loosening the strut bar nut first. If you have a deep well 22mm socket, you can use a ratchet. Else, a 22mm wrench will work.

3) Loosen lugnuts. Raise and support the front of the vehicle. Remove wheels.

4) Just for sake of simplicity for this page, I’m going to point you to other pages where I go over the strut assembly and steering knuckle removal. If you do not want to replace the strut top, or have the Fensport bushing set (which does not include a new strut top) then you do not need to remove the strut assembly.

• Strut Assembly Removal
• Steering Knuckle Removal

5) Measure the length of ‘A’ below, so that caster can be put back to the correct spot.

6) Remove the strut arm from the control arm, by removing the two 17mm nuts.

5) Remove the bolt that you loosened in step 1. You should then be able to remove the strut bar. Here’s some pics of it.

And disassembled. The 2 bushings (green arrows) are to be replaced by TRD ones. And the collar (red arrow) needs to be replaced with a new one from the dealer.

6) If you aren’t replacing the ball joints, skip this step.

I’d suggest removing the ball joint from the control arm at this point. Unless you have a vice handy. I placed a jack under the control arm to raise it up and then use a 2 or 3 jaw puller to pop it out. Beware, the ball joint will literally POP up once it is loose. So keep away from inside the fenderwell while you tighten the puller. (The below picture was taken before I actually got the ball joint off. That’s what the strut arm is there, and the jack isn’t.)

 

7) Remove the 17mm bolt holding the control arm to the frame of the car.

Here’s a pic of the control arm out of the car (ball joint is still in place):

If you’ve noticed, there’s only one bushing per side that needs pressed out in the front, the one in the end of the control arm. Here’s some pics of how I went about doing it. The “pusher” part of the puller I used was big enough that it didn’t fit inside the bushing, so I was able to just use it, instead of using a stack of washers. It would probably be easier to put the control arm in a vice, but since I didn’t have one at the time, I tried it without. It was surprisingly easy, just have the cheater bar handy. Here’s some pics of the different steps as I was pushing it out with a 2 jaw puller.

Front Control Arm Bushing Install

1) Here’s a pic of the new TRD bushing beside the control arm. Notice the tapered end, you will need to press that end in first.

2) Lube up the bushing with some grease. I just used some white lithium grease, since that’s all I had around. Silicone grease would probably work better.

3) Carefully position the 2 parts in a table vise and start squeezing the bushing in. Make sure everything is going in straight. It may help to have an extra pair of hands to help hold and turn the vise handle.

4) After a while, you will not be able to push the bushing in any further without damaging your vise. Trust me on this…my brand new vise now has a slightly bent handle.

5) Quickly reposition the control arm in the vise, and place your 2 jaw puller over the bushing. Use a few fender washers to disperse the force so that the entire bushing is pushed in instead of just the middle piece. Don’t just use one or 2 washers either, use at least 3 or 4. The bushing laughs at using just 2 washers, as they will just bend and be destroyed like crazy. Use some tape or super glue to hold the washers in place while you position the puller. An assistant is nice here as well.

6) Eventually after applying much force onto the bushing (you may need to use a cheater bar to turn the puller), You can see the other end popping out and locking the bushing into place.

7) Remove the puller once you are certain the bushing is all the way in. And clean up the excess grease.

Install the control arm back onto the car. Do not tighten al the way to spec yet.

Front Stut Bar Bushing Install

This should be fairly straightforward.

1) Here’s the pieces how they go back onto the strut bar:

2) Place one of the nuts to the original position. Remember the measurement you took back in step 1? Then place one of the retainers, a new collar, and a bushing. Notice the smaller end of the bushing is toward the end of the strut bar.

3) Then place the strut bar back on the car. Add the other bushing, retainer, lock washer and the other nut. Start tightening the nut down. Insert the 2 bolts at the end of the strut bar to the control arm, once the nut pulls the bushings tight enough.

4) Here’s the strut bar and control arm in place with their new bushings.

5) Reinstall the various other pieces you removed to get to the suspension arms.

6) Before attaching the wheel, jack up the corner of the car via the control arm. Raise it up until it gets into it’s normal position, as if the car was lowered onto the ground. Tighten the suspension arms’ nuts and bolts to spec. This is so the bushings aren’t twisted when the wheels are installed & the car is lowered to the ground.

Tools Needed:

• Various sockets, wrenches, & ratchet
• 2 or 3 jaw puller
• Jack & stands

1) Loosen wheel lugnuts. Raise and support front of car, and remove wheel.

2) There’s 2 different ways you could go about doing this. First, here’s probably the ‘proper’ way. I’ll let you decide which will be easier.

1-3) Remove the two 14mm bolts that hold the knuckle to the ball joint. Ignore the strut assembly, rotor, and caliper being off…

1-4) Remove the 2 nuts holding the strut arm to the control arm. The control arm should then fall down toward the ground. If not, you may need to loosen the bolt holding the arm to the chassis.

1-5) Remove the cotter pin & castle nut from the ball joint, and attach your 2 or 3 jaw puller. Beware, the ball joint will literally POP out of the control arm, so keep away from inside the fenderwell while you tighten it down.

Now here’s another way…i haven’t tried it this way so it may not work as well as I envision it to.

2-3) Remove the 2 nuts holding the strut arm to the control arm.

2-4) Remove the cotter pin and castle nut from the ball joint. Hit the top of the control arm near the hub with a mallet. Give it a good whack. That should loosen the ball joint from the control arm. This way you don’t have to bother with a 2 or 3 jaw puller. The control arm should fall to the ground once it is loose.

2-5) Remove the ball joint from the hub by removing the two 14mm bolts.

6) Here’s the new ball joint:

11) Bolt it onto the steering knuckle.

12) Now, place the steering knuckle onto the control arm and tighten down the castle nut. Insert new cotter pin.

13) The rest of the assembly is opposite the removal.

Tools Needed:

• Various sockets, wrenches, & ratchet
• 2 or 3 jaw puller (don’t get them from Harbor Freight! they stink!)
• Jack & stands

1) Loosen wheel lugnuts. Raise and support front of car, and remove wheel.

2) Remove caliper by the two 12mm bolts. Then remove the two 17mm bolts that attach the mounting brackets to the steering knuckle, indicated below. Remove the mounting bracket and brake pads from the rotor.

3) The rotor should then pull off.

4) Hang the caliper from the strut assembly, or if you removed the assembly like me, then hang it from the strut top bolt holes in the frame. This is so you don’t put any tension on the brake lines.

5) At this point, I would remove the tie rod end from the steering knuckle. If you have the strut assembly in place, the hub is solidly in place. (I probably should have done this before removing the strut assembly to make it alot easier…) Anyway, remove the cotter pin and 17mm bolt from the bottom of the tie rod end. Attach a 2 or 3 jaw puller to pop the tie rod out of the steering knuckle.

6) Scribe a mark in the strut bracket to indicate the current camber position. (Ignore the loose bolt and the brake line…)

7) Remove the steeering knuckle from the strut assembly, two 17mm nuts/bults. (Ignore the brake line.)

Remove the two 14mm bolts that hold the knuckle to the ball joint.

The steering knuckle should then fall in your lap and you are ready to take it to a machine shop to have them press out/in the wheel bearings. Or if you have the proper tools, you can do it yourself. I just took it to a shop, $25 for one hub.

9) Now would be a good time to change the ball joint and tie rod end if you haven’t in a long while.

10) The installation is opposite the removal.

*Procedure of pressing the bushings out with just 2/3 jaw pullers courtesy of Dale Conner & Bill Merton from MR2 forum

Rear Removal

1) Here’s a pic of what the rear TRD bushing set replaces: strut top (blue), control arm (purple), & strut arm (yellow & red). So you will need to remove the strut assembly and the 2 arms. The inner tie rod bushing is not included with the kit. The only way to order it from Toyota is to purchase the actual inner tie rod which runs about $50 from the dealer. The axle carrier does not need to be removed completely. It will still be attached to the drive shaft and the tie rod end.

2) Loosen lug nuts, raise & support the rear of vehicle with jack stands. Remove wheel. (Ignore that the caliper is removed below.)

3) If you have new TRD strut tops you need to remove the strut assemblies. If you have the set from Fensport, or don’t feel like removing the strut assemblies, goto step 4.

To save space on this page, goto my Rear Strut Removal page.

4) Remove the two 14mm bolts holding the bottom of the axle carrier to the lower control arm’s balljoint. Then remove the control arm from the body of the car, 17mm bolt.

5) Remove the 17mm bolt and nut holding the strut arm to the body of the car. May need to remove one bolt of the underbody cover to get to the bolt.

6) The strut arm and control arm should come out of the car together. You can then separate them by removing the 22mm bolt & the various other parts holding them together. (The below pic is with the ball joint removed)

7) Here’s pics of the removal of the control arm & strut rod bushings.

Rear Strut Arm Bushing Install

1) Take the new bushing and lube it up with some grease. Notice that one end of the bushing is tapered, while the other is not.

2) Position the bushing and strut arm in the vice and start pushing the bushing in. Make sure everything goes straight.

This is about as far as you can get with the vice.

3) Now, reposition the strut arm in your vice, and attach your 2/3 jaw puller.

Use a few fender washers to apply the pressure evenly across the bushing.

4) The other end of the bushing should pop out once it’s completely in place. Wipe off the excess grease.

Rear Control Arm Bushing Install

Do the same for the control arm bushing.

Rear Strut/Control Arm Bushings Install

This needs to be done when putting the arms back onto the car.

1) Install the strut arm back onto the car.

2) Place the retainer, new collar, new bushing, and then the control arm….

3) Another new bushing, retainer, and the nut. Just tighten the nut by hand.

4) And then install the control arm onto the body of the car

5) Tighten down the strut/control arm bushing 22mm nut.

6) Reinstall the rest of the parts you removed to get to the suspension arms.

7) Before attaching the wheel, jack up the corner of the car via the control arm. Raise it up until it gets into it’s normal position, as if the car was lowered onto the ground. Tighten the suspension arms’ nuts and bolts to spec. This is so the bushings aren’t twisted when the wheels are installed & the car is lowered to the ground.

Tools needed:

• Various sockets, wrenches, pliers & ratchet
• Cheater bar for those stubborn nuts & bolts
• Bench Vice
• Monkey wrench or large channel locks
• Dremel tool (maybe, see step 6)
• Spring insulators x2
• Bumpstops x2

Rear Removal

1) Remove the 3 screws holding the decklid side panel.

2) Loosen the 19mm strut bolt (green) and the three 12mm strut top bolts (red). Do not remove.

3) Raise and support the rear of the car on jack stands.

4) Remove the rear wheel.

5) Remove the clip holding the brake line to the strut bracket.

6) Push the line up and then bend the bracket to open up space to remove the brakeline from the bracket. You may need a dremel tool to cut a line into the bracket.

7) Remove the sway bar end link from the strut assembly. 14mm nut.

Mark the camber position on the axle carrier. Then remove the two 19mm bolts/nuts holding the strut assembly to the axle carrier.

9) Remove the three 12mm bolts (red) from the strut top.

10) May take some working of the strut assembly and axle carrier, but eventually you can wiggle the strut assembly loose and can remove it from the vehicle.

11) Remove the 19mm bolt holding the strut to the strut top. I did not need a spring compressor for the rear. However, to be safe, use one.

12) Remove the strut top, spring and bumpstop.

13) Place the strut assembly in a vice, and then using a pipe wrench or channel locks remove the gland nut. The insert should then pull right out. Be careful of some oil within the strut assembly.

14) Here’s the parts contained within the strut assembly.

Installation

1) Place the new strut insert inside the assembly.

2) Pour some coolant or oil in the assembly to provide a bath for the insert. Helps dissipate heat.

3) Insert the new gland nut and tighten it down to the spec provided by your new inserts. You also need to measure the distance between the gland nut and the strut assembly (the exposed threads). If not within spec you will need to use a spacer. FYI, my Tokico Illuminas did not need any spacers.

4) Slide new (or old if it’s in good shape) bumpstop onto the shaft of the insert. Notice I cut the top off the bumpstop, as I am using ST springs.

5) Insert new spring insulator.

6) Position the spring into the assembly, making sure that it is positioned correctly in the insulator.

7) Insert strut top and tighten down with new 19mm bolt provided with the inserts. Make sure the strut top is aligned the proper way relative to the strut assembly. Consult the BGB or Haynes. (The ‘point’ in the triangle of the strut top should point toward the outside of the vehicle.)

Also, make sure the top of the strut insert is properly aligned with the bottom of the strut top. I ended up having to wait till I installed the assemblies in the car, before I was able to tighten the strut top bolt all the way to spec. The insert kept turning, and I didn’t want to grab the shaft with a pair of pliers. That would have been a bad thing.

9) Here’s the two assemblies ready to go back into the car.

10) Attach the one end of the end-link to the strut assembly, lot easier than doing it with the strut assembly in the car.

11) Insert the strut assemblies back into the car, top first. Hand-tighten the three 12mm bolts to hold the assembly in place.

12) Set the camber adjuster back to where you marked it, and then wiggle the axle carrier back into the strut assembly.

13) Insert and tighten the 17mm bolts into the assembly and axle carrier. Also attach the other end of the end links to the sway bar.

14) Use a jack to raise the axle carrier up, to compress the spring.

15) This will allow you to easily tighten the three 12mm strut top bolts (red). Also, if you weren’t able to align the strut insert ino the bottom of the strut top, you can do that at this time. Tighten the 19mm bolt (green) down to spec.

16) Mount wheel & lower vehicle.

Finally, started redoing the entire suspension in the car. I went ahead and removed the strut assemblies first, that way this writeup is more meaningful.

Tools needed:

• Various sockets, wrenches, pliers & ratchet
• Cheater bar for those stubborn nuts & bolts
• Spring compressor
• Bench Vice
• Monkey wrench or large channel locks
• Dremel tool (maybe, see step 4)

Front Removal (pictures show driver’s side replacement)