[Camreeeee]

My personal philosophy as a DIYer is that my tools drive are only 1/4 or 1/2 with 3/8ths adapters for the rare times a 1/2 is too big. 1/4 for ≤13mm only.

Keep in mind I only use these on one vehicle for DIY work, not all day every day.

Their impact sockets are a super snug fit on the bolt and the anvil. Impact extensions are snug fits as well as are their impact adapters, I bought them but haven't needed to use them yet because the swivel sockets eliminate the need for 3/8ths drive.

The sockets can take a decent beating, I heated the 19mm one up to 300-400 degrees impacting with the earthquake xt for 3 minutes straight to break loose the big bolts in the rear knuckles and it still looks new and fits snug. The lettering paint wears off quickly but the sockets are dope.

The impact u-joint a are a God send but frequently out of stock, the swivel impact sockets are my go-to socket for any job now and are basically black magic when you attach u-joints to them.

I'm probably not getting rated torque breakaway doing that, but they are very snug even chained together and have taken off every major bolt and nut in my car without breaking into pieces or flying off.

As far as non impact sockets, I hate the regular Pittsburgh ones, they are 12 pt nut strippers and fit loose on the drive as well. Swapped to 6 point Tekton for when I need thinner sockets and they haven't let me down.

They have a premium feel to them and the quality is top notch, the price is really reasonable as well. If I were to buy impact sockets again for what I use them for I'd still get the harbor freight impacts again over tekton though. The difference is less extreme than the non impact sockets.

 

[Camreeeee]

AutoMechanic, that's what the website says:

"The chrome molybdenum construction and black phosphate coating make each of the sockets in this deep impact socket set durable and rust-resistant." Source:

1/2 in. Drive Metric Impact Deep Socket Set, 13 Piece

Amazing deals on this 13Pc 1/2In Dr Metric Deep Wall Impact Socket at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

"This high quality impact socket set is durably constructed of rugged chromium molybdenum ..." Source:

1/2 in. Drive Metric Impact Socket Set, 13 Piece

Amazing deals on this 13Pc 1/2In Dr Metric Impact Socket Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

The Icon line is also Cr-Mo:

1/2 in. Drive Metric Professional Impact Socket Set, 14 Piece

Amazing deals on this 14Pc 1/2In Dr Metric Impact Socket Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Speaking of Icon, is there any practical advantage of the Icon over the Pittsburgh impact sockets?

Sockets, no. The HF impacts stay true to form, and they definitely don't rust, my craftsman and walmart sockets rusted within months and the harbor freight impacts don't have a spec of rust after a year or two I've had them and they've been rained on and left in bins with water. You need a seperate socket rail for the HF impacts, they are heavy AF and the plastic rails break too easily.

The Icon ratchets are worth the money over the pittsburg ones. The 180 degree flex swivel head 1/4 drive icon ratchet is the coolest and most useful tool I've ever owned or used, and it was like $20 or less.

 

[Camreeeee]

12 pts are aftermarket only as far as I know, I've never seen anything but 6 pts in junkyards, not all of them are 30mm either. Mine are 32mm 6 pts.

It's way more expensive and not necessarily if you have air tools, but the electric corded and cordless earthquake xt is an absolute beast as well.

The battery life is super long, a good 15 minutes of hammering from a 4A 20v battery. It broke loose some junkyard rear knuckle bolts with 1 charge in 5 mins and my old rusty 300k rear knuckle bolts that an 8 ft breaker+cheater bar (now bent) was just lifting the car off stands.

Only complaint is it goes into a safe mode after 5 minutes straight so you have to let the motor cool down for a few if you have a really stuck bolt. It's also pretty heavy compared to something without a big battery.

Still way more expensive than corded or air impacts but if you need something portable it's no slouch. Lots of YouTube vids comparing it to others since I can't, but they show it being stronger than many air impacts.

I just think it's super cool that a portable electric impact has that much torque.

 

[Camreeeee]

... '00 Camry here is due for control arm bushings, a complete rear suspension rebuild, and a replacement steering rack - I'm thinking a new Impact will save me some time & grief when I do the service(s) in the next few weeks.

I would recommend using whiteline poly bushings for the steering rack sleeved bushing even if you don't drive it hard, it will tighten up the steering with worn steering components more than brand new tie rods and a rack with new oem bushings. The rubber bushing allows a 1/4-3/8ths inch of play, 1/2" when shot. The poly bushings don't allow any movement worth measuring without a caliper. Once you put the rack in it will be a PITA if you change your mind.

I'd also recommend using whitelines split front control arm donut bushings as well if you want less torque steer and more stable braking, the ride would be firmer over curbs and potholes and grooves where the wheel is not conforming to the road, but it wouldn't make it jarring or harsh driving down the highway or anything, just less sloppy.

I've tried a few polyurethane brands and whiteline is pricier but the effort they put into their design and quality is worth it over energy suspension and nolathane. Problem solving bushings are awesome too but they are pricey and don't have them for everything.

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If you wanna save yourself grief with the steering rack mounting bolt; buy harbor freights swivel socket set and impact u-joints. They will save you a massive amount of grief with every suspension job.

With tie rods and the sway bar links disconnected from the bar you can push the swaybar to rotate it upwards where it sits against the fender well out of the way.

Then you unbolt the 2 closest brake hardline cover 10mm bolts under the car, its plastic so I just bent it backwards to work and then bent it back into place when I was done.

Then you can take 2 impact u-joints + 19mm impact swivel socket together and place them facing directly forward, this will leave you with the first u-joints female drive directly facing the ground.

[2 u-joints+swivel socket = 90 degrees]

Then you can attach a cheater bar and big breaker bar to it or a $10 hf torque wrench that is locked at the highest torque setting and used only for loosening bolts (way easier when you can ratchet it back instead of physically disconnecting a breaker bar.)

When I torque that steering rack bolt, I just sit on the ground outside the drivers door and press the torque wrench inwards with both feet. It's that easy [..never].

 

[Camreeeee]

Thanks for the recommendation on Whiteline poly bushings, and the detailed procedure for the steering rack w/ the swivel sockets and u-joints: that's some Pro tips in the procedure: I appreciate it, the detailed info will save me time here.

I wasn't planning on using poly bushings .. but you've convinced me. Seeing as this will be the last suspension service: I can show the Camry some love this time around. I'll be getting some Whiteline bushing sets (Front,Rear,Rack) ordered this weekend.

Keep in mind they are much harder than rubber, those two I mentioned are the two major bushings that will improve steering feel and response without adding harshness.

All 3 sets of those bushings combined will cause your car to want to keep going the direction the wheels are pointed when you brake and accelerate, by counteracting the forces trying to misalign your tires better than rubber will by virtue of being harder to compress. Keep in mind that means more of the force on the tires is going into the body instead of being absorbed by the suspension.

The steering rack and front control arm donut bushing are not a big deal NVH wise and you don't need to worry about a bad ride from those two, but the rear trailing arms are the sole thing keeping the knuckle from swinging back and forth so there is a lot of meat in those bushings. The Problem solving bushings I have in those arms are more poly bearings than poly bushings, I think the whiteline ones were a bit softer if I recall, but still hard as a hockey puck.

For the rear end if you put in poly bushings I'd grab whiteline trailing arm bushings, they will also improve stability when braking and to a lesser degree when accelerating and cornering; My perception of acceptable NVH is probably a very warped considering what I've done to my car, so I'm not sure if rear trailing arm poly bushings make it harsher, I'm guessing a bit but not much. Leave the lateral link heim joints as-is unless you're planning on drifting lol.

The front control arm bushings and rear trailing arm bushings/knuckle bushing can be removed using a box cutter/blades and pry bars/screwdrivers to pry chunks out of them. Don't use a torch on the one on the knuckle, that one you get to just lay under the car chipping away at it inside the knuckle unless you feel like removing the knuckle. The rear trailing arms bushings can be just popped in once you sand, clean, and lube the bore.

The front control arm donut bushings that are currently in the arms will have a 1-2mm thick steel retaining ring inside the control arm. You will need to hack-saw a slice out of it to remove tension but not into the control arm and then you can hammer it out with a chisel or screwdriver, before sanding and lubing the bore to slip the bushings in.

Preferably the type that lets 6"+ of blade stick out in front of the saw-frame, that way you can cut through it really quick. Harbor freight sells mini saw blade holders along with 10 packs of 12"x18 TPI blades for like $10 total, get sandpaper as well to clean up the bores after the old rubber is gone.

Your car will steer much more precisely and be a lot less sloppy when doing so after it's done.

 

[Camreeeee]

A press is always helpful and the correct method. After removal perhaps a visit to the local shop is in order?

A press isn't necessarily always helpful or the correct method for these specific control arm bushings.

I have a 20 ton press and couldn't get the retaining ring out with a master set of bearing press adapters before cutting it.

Even after cutting it the press still might not work because you have to catch a 1mm steel lip and even with 25 adapters to choose from none were exactly the right size, with a chisel and 4lb sledgehammer two hits popped them out.

For these bushings even when I used the press on the bushing they just split and pop out of the retaining ring, which still has to be cut out to install an aftermarket bushing, and due to the nature of the control arm bushing bore design, a hack saw is the best tool that will fit without risking cutting the control arm.

The bushings I was referring to are then easily installed by hand as they are split in two halves, large poly lips and large outer bore sleeve hold them bolted to the subframe.