Running aftermarket control arms (Total Chaos, All Pro, ICON, Dirt King) on your truck? Sooner or later you are going to notice the front suspension making loud creaking/squeaking noises when turning, or while going over bumps.
Bad news, your uniballs are worn and need to be replaced. Your experience may vary with the amount of abuse your rig sees, I typically get between 18 months and 2 years out of a set of uniballs.

Here is what you'll need:

-snap ring pliers
-picks/flat blade screw driver
-ball joint service tool
-appropriately sized bearing receiver/press cup (I use the one from Total Chaos)
-bench vise
-anti-seize
-shop rags
-1/2" impact gun and large socket to drive the uniball tool (mine is 22mm)

...and of course, replacement bearings. I get mine from Summit Racing. These are the exact same PTFE lined stainless steel spherical bearings from F&K Rod Ends that Total Chaos uses, but at a fraction of the cost that TC will charge you for a replacement set ($98 as opposed to $180). ICON uses a COMH16T, which is a slightly different size, and are chrome plated carbon steel as opposed to stainless steel. I can't speak for any others, but make sure you order a direct replacement, or they may not fit.

I'll pick this up from the point at which you have already separated the control arm (either upper or lower, depending on which needs to be changed) from the spindle.

It is possible to do this with the control arms still on the truck, I like to swap out the bushings at the same time though, so I always remove mine entirely. If you chose to go this route, once you pull the control arms off, wrap a rag around it, and secure firmly in your vise. Remove the snap ring. The picks and flat blade driver may be useful here if you find the snap ring is stubborn.
Once the snap ring is out, position the large bearing cup on the same side. The small cup should fit nicely on the opposite side. Snug up the ball joint tool with the pads in the centre of the bearing cups.

Use your impact gun to drive the bearing out. It should come out fairly easily. It should be possible to do this with a ratchet, but I can't imagine wanting to. Clean any old anti-seize or debris out of the control arm. Take this opportunity to compare the old and new bearings, specifically how stiff the new bearing is. Once you can easily spin the bearing, its definitely time to replace them.


Apply new anti-seize liberally to both the bearing and the control arm - the last thing you want is a stuck bearing when it comes time to do this again. To press the new bearing, simply switch the cups (large one on the non-snap ring side, small cup on the bearing) and use the ball joint tool to press it back in. If the bearing does not want to go in straight, just press it back out and try again.


The new bearing is properly seated when the snap ring groove is visible.

Re-install the snap ring, wipe off any excess anti-seize, and reinstall the control arm.

Provided you don't take the control arms off the truck, a pair of uniballs can be changed in about 2 hours, or about 3 hours if you plan to remove the arms entirely.

This is really a helpful write-up, makes me feel a lot better about buying some TC UCA's

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

Thanks so much @Jono.ful
These are the same uniballs that dirtking uses.

I picked up a ball joint tool from princess auto and used a 1/2 drive impact. Piece of cake.

Great writeup.

Yes, great write up. I'm surprised to hear that upgrading my UCA will require this kind of maintenance. I am seriously considering the very stout Dirt King UCA so nb rob's point is helpful too.
Thanks for posting this.

Yep, the uniballs need triflo and the bushings will need grease a couple times a year or anytime after wheeling, then you'll have to replace those parts every couple years as well.