Concerns After Front Suspension Rebuilt

[JayRolla]

somewhat off-topic... i'm confused about LCA/UCA bushings. Some people go OEM, most people go poly. Is the rubber OEM simply better? [MENTION=50342]JayRolla[/MENTION]

Ive heard of people trashing OEMs when they wheel hard. If you dont wheel than aftermarket rubber should last okay. Polys are solid and will never need replaced again but risk of making noise if installed dry. They also are less forgiving since they are so hard.

 

[4runnerflow]

I'm actually just replying to your picture so I can post a thread about my 4runner, but looks good!

 

[AZBub]

Wow, they must have some serious tweaking to do to get you aligned. Seeing the angle of your front arms made me question my lift and if I'm set up correct. But at that angle I presume there would be very little down travel?

 

[habanero]

Well, here's to it being a simple need for alignment!

I took these awhile back when I was doing a cv angle comparison- dunno that it really helps as it's not the same set-up...

left shaft 96 - Sonoran Steel 1.2 that's been on for 2 years when the pic was taken, and oe lower control arm bushings that hadn't gone bad at that point.

vs left shaft in 99, totally stock original everything.

Will be interesting to see how yours looks tomorrow.

Nice looking by the way, and nice sway bar disconnects too.

 

[Kotrin]

I was going to post pictures also, but someone already posted some. Those CV's are so steep, did you have a diff drop? I didn't see them in any pictures.

 

[habanero]

I was going to post pictures also, but someone already posted some. Those CV's are so steep, did you have a diff drop? I didn't see them in any pictures.

They're there, right above the front dif mounts.

 

[Kotrin]

Blaming my meds..

They're there, right above the front dif mounts.

I saw them, first pictures after I posted that..lol. /smack

 

[D Farms]

fyi, the way the alignment cams only move the arm horizontally. the main advantage of poly is that it slides instead of streching like the oem rubber. the poly bushings are quite soft for our application, i think they could be stiffer. also if the existing sleeves are rough they will wear through the poly bushings faster than you expect.

[MENTION=98153]MStudt[/MENTION] I suggest doing more research on how the ifs works before tackling something like making your own control arms. you have learned a few things already, and soon you will understand how it all works and why, and then you can make modifications to make them work better.

 

[MStudt]

fyi, the way the alignment cams only move the arm horizontally. the main advantage of poly is that it slides instead of streching like the oem rubber. the poly bushings are quite soft for our application, i think they could be stiffer. also if the existing sleeves are rough they will wear through the poly bushings faster than you expect.

[MENTION=98153]MStudt[/MENTION] I suggest doing more research on how the ifs works before tackling something like making your own control arms. you have learned a few things already, and soon you will understand how it all works and why, and then you can make modifications to make them work better.

I had a lot more off than just the cams on this. Since the entire front end was taken off I had to deal with toe as well. I messed with it some, but at the end of 4 days of work I didn't want to mess with. I paid the shop to come pick it up, and take care of the alignment for me. I wish I would have had some more time though, or even some time to watch the guys at the shop. I would loved to have learned more about an alignment process. This is an area that I'm clueless on, and something that I've always been curious about.

I had thought about building some UCA's, but decided not to. I ended up taking your advise, and just shaving some stock UCA's. I don't do much wheeling, but more so just some back roads exploring. I've not had any issues with stock UCA's in the past, and doubt I will in the future. The money saved on building those will allow me to work on a roof rack. Thanks for your advise in the other thread, and video. It really set in stone what I was looking for.

 

[D Farms]

I find that a lot of these companies are using what i like to refer to as "marketing wank" in order to get you to buy their product. do you know that I searched many times and found no conclusive numbers for stock travel on our trucks? all of these companies claim extended travel but no where do they state the exact numbers. the only company that states shock travel numbers is bilstein. the companies that make ucas claim to extend down travel, but in my testing ive found that the shock is always the limiting factor for down travel. up travel is limited by the bump stops, then by the shock, then finally by the uca, but most likely the tire will cause an issue before coming to any of those limits unless you have modified the firewall and have a big body lift.

 

[MStudt]

I find that a lot of these companies are using what i like to refer to as "marketing wank" in order to get you to buy their product. do you know that I searched many times and found no conclusive numbers for stock travel on our trucks? all of these companies claim extended travel but no where do they state the exact numbers. the only company that states shock travel numbers is bilstein. the companies that make ucas claim to extend down travel, but in my testing ive found that the shock is always the limiting factor for down travel. up travel is limited by the bump stops, then by the shock, then finally by the uca, but most likely the tire will cause an issue before coming to any of those limits unless you have modified the firewall and have a big body lift.

It's not surprising to me. With extended travel shocks it always been my understanding that you won't gain much. I know on King's the only difference between extended and regular travel are a bushing inside of the shock. I do see your point with the UCA's, and that was a reason I'm steering away right now. For what I need I'm sure my front end will be just fine.

After driving to work this morning I can tell the difference. I now know just how shot my front end actually was, and what it feels like to have a good suspension again. Now the rear is going to have to play catch up.

 

[AZBub]

So did it change post alignment? Pics.