are aftermarket UCA worth it
- Thread starter kolelt
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nicolasballia
New member
Nah not worth it. I got them because I'm getting 35's and wanted to clear the UCA but the LR make squeaky noise all the freaking time. And forget about taking your truck to any alignment ship, they don't know how to work them. Either align yourself or go to a 4x4 shop
If you show the alignment instructions to any alignment tech they should be able to handle it. And mine have never made any noise EVER.
thebrandon
New member
The original light racing bushings were redesigned to help fix the noise issue. They would go bad very quickly but have since updated them. I don't use them, so I don't know if the issue was actually fixed with the updated bushings.
In my opinion, aftermarket UCAs are a luxury, which have some nice benefits as well, but 90% of people who get them, probably don't need them.
Benefits:
-Poly bushings, these have their own pros and cons which you can weigh yourself. I myself find them to be better than rubber bushings and easier to replace.
-More down travel, even with light racing arms and their ball joint design will get you more down travel than the factory arms, but arguably not as much as a uniball set up, which even if it does give you more down travel, is hardly worth measuring I would think.
-Easier to change UCA bushings (I can swap the bushings out in my TC uppers in about 20 minutes taking my time without using any special tools).
-Some companies, like TC, Camburg, All Pro, have grease fittings for the uca bushings.
-Wider tires
-Correct alignment issues in most cases (they fixed mine)
-Most of them look pretty cool.
-Stronger tubular design than the factory stamped arms.
Cons
-Initial price/cost of maintenance compared to factory arms
-Poly bushings squeak after a while, but greasing and easy replacement fixes that.
-Uniball set ups can make noise, and generally uniballs wear out faster than ball joints, but again easy replacement fixes that. When a uniball fails it is not a catastrophic event like a ball joint failure. (Don't compare upper failures to lower failures though, these are two different beasts)
I personally have Total Chaos uppers and love them. I would say if you are looking to get the most out of your lift and factory style suspension, and have the money to spare, or need to replace the bushings/arms/balljoints anyway then they are a good worth while purchase that most anyone would be happy with. Just remember though, most people don't need them so you need to ask yourself if your truck is really pushing the limits of the upper arms.
In my opinion, aftermarket UCAs are a luxury, which have some nice benefits as well, but 90% of people who get them, probably don't need them.
Benefits:
-Poly bushings, these have their own pros and cons which you can weigh yourself. I myself find them to be better than rubber bushings and easier to replace.
-More down travel, even with light racing arms and their ball joint design will get you more down travel than the factory arms, but arguably not as much as a uniball set up, which even if it does give you more down travel, is hardly worth measuring I would think.
-Easier to change UCA bushings (I can swap the bushings out in my TC uppers in about 20 minutes taking my time without using any special tools).
-Some companies, like TC, Camburg, All Pro, have grease fittings for the uca bushings.
-Wider tires
-Correct alignment issues in most cases (they fixed mine)
-Most of them look pretty cool.
-Stronger tubular design than the factory stamped arms.
Cons
-Initial price/cost of maintenance compared to factory arms
-Poly bushings squeak after a while, but greasing and easy replacement fixes that.
-Uniball set ups can make noise, and generally uniballs wear out faster than ball joints, but again easy replacement fixes that. When a uniball fails it is not a catastrophic event like a ball joint failure. (Don't compare upper failures to lower failures though, these are two different beasts)
I personally have Total Chaos uppers and love them. I would say if you are looking to get the most out of your lift and factory style suspension, and have the money to spare, or need to replace the bushings/arms/balljoints anyway then they are a good worth while purchase that most anyone would be happy with. Just remember though, most people don't need them so you need to ask yourself if your truck is really pushing the limits of the upper arms.
I can't say I have alignment issues. Mayne a hair of , slwoky pulls to the left. My 33" tires clear the stock uca. But I'm going with new lift and was wondering If I should buy new lr uca ? The front will be about 3.25"
Anybody running light racing uca ? Any expierence ??
Id also like to get new bushing and top hats. Anyone know part numbers ?
Anybody running light racing uca ? Any expierence ??
Id also like to get new bushing and top hats. Anyone know part numbers ?
Last edited:
thebrandon
New member
If you go up that high you may run into some alignment issues, but who knows until you actually lift it, every vehicle is different.
Lots of people here have those arms. They are good arms and use a ball joint rather than a uniball and allow you to "dial in" the alignment which other arms don't offer.
Lots of people here have those arms. They are good arms and use a ball joint rather than a uniball and allow you to "dial in" the alignment which other arms don't offer.
FROGrunner
New member
I'm waiting for my total chaos arms, and I ordered them with heim joints vs poly bushings... I prefer a heavy duty 1" uniball vs weak balljoint. I've run TC arms on my tundra and enjoyed them, eventually went with the long travel kit in the end.
thebrandon
New member
I would love to do a long travel setup on my runner.
