eBay uniball control arms?

[Troymclure]

Ok, so although I have a 3rd gen, I have been posting here since this is where the info all seems to be.

As I said above, I have ordered the All-Pro slug adapters (BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE award goes to them BTW) - they measure exactly like the OEM balljoints so that should be good.

I also ordered 25mm rod end seals from seals-it and I will test fit those (about $16 from eBay)

While looking at the different uniball control arms, I noticed that ICON has a completely different design for their balljoint adapters and hardware. Instead of using a pressed in slug adapter, the whole thing is designed so that the bolt comes up from underneath and threads into the lower spacer, the top spacer is then bolted into the lower spacer - thus clamping the uniball.

It looks like a lot more thought went into that setup and I wonder if they will sell you just the hardware?

Take a look -

58400 - 96 - 02 toyota 4runner tubular uniball upper control arm system

Study the pics a little and you will see it is a lot more ingenious.

ALSO - they do also make a cap to cover the uniball (actually how I found their site) But it is too low profile to fit on our uniballs.

What I did think of is that it would not be hard to find a lid that will fit, a cut down spray-can lid would work if you glued it on with some RTV - not nearly as elegant as a CNC billet anodized piece - but would get the job done, I'm sure with a little more searching we could find a solution.

Why do you want to cover them? If properly maintained, they should be fine. Ive heard from most that run covers that they fill with dirt and mud, and actually are worse in the long run than leaving them open.

 

[angus]

Why do you want to cover them? If properly maintained, they should be fine. Ive heard from most that run covers that they fill with dirt and mud, and actually are worse in the long run than leaving them open.

I just noticed that more than one company who sells uniball arms seals them.

I think if you were to seal it with RTV there is no way anything is getting in there.

 

[ajonesnv]

The bottom is stil exposed, so it's not like your really protecting it.. Icons look slick, my buddy has them, but they offer no way to service them without pulling the caps off, which only uses double stick tape. With that said double stick tape will not keep elements out and RTV will make the cap semi-permanent

Not a chance in the world that I would cover these from a regular visual inspection.

Edit: FYI, I'm quite sure that the uniball for the icons is different than the standard 1" wssx-16t uni-ball too, so I don't think you can run their hardware as the uni-ball is different (I definately could be wrong).

 

[Troymclure]

^Agreed. I like to keep them open for easy cleaning and relubing too, since it has to be done about once a month. Granted you might not have to clean them as much with covers, but they will still need to be lubed regularly. And unless you could find some sort of bolt on cover, that would definitely be a pain to remove it and reattach/rtv it down a lot of times.

 

[angus]

Well I would rather not have to clean the dirt out of them, and I'd rather not get dirt in them to start with.

I am going to try the seals from seals-it and see how it works out.

 

[angus]

OK well I got my seals-it 25mm rod end seals today.

They fit perfectly and provide a very positive seal and look like they will seal the full articulation of the ball, I suppose they are actually made for this actual uniball.

Th best part is that if you want to service them, you can use a pick to lift up the rubber and "flip" it inside out so you can get in there and then flip them back to seal them without taking anything apart.

I will eventually post pics.

 

[robaroni]

I finally installed the Silver Suicide UCA's tonight. Took me about 3 -3 1/2 hours while watching post NFL draft analysis on TV.

I think I addressed all of the concerns touched on by my accomplished colleagues in this tread. I will take it out for a drive tomorrow to see how she feels.


Drivers Side

Passengers Side

 

[subspd]

Figured I would just report back in on these since my brother and I were early adopters. I have done 15000 miles with them just as they came from the box without issue. That is in the salted north.

My brother has done 20000 miles since last year and has done several Tellico trips as well without issues with them straight from the box on his Tacoma. Only thing we both did was wiped out the grease the installers used on the uniball and use a Teflon dry spray lube instead. I hit mine with it every month. Just a quick wipe and spray has worked well.

 

[robaroni]

Everything feels solid after drive drive. :roadkill:

 

[wnelax04sr5]

I'm sold at this point. one failure reported and they were installed upside down. I'm pretty happy with those results

 

[cpark_12]

I'm sold at this point. one failure reported and they were installed upside down. I'm pretty happy with those results

I just ordered a set today. They'll be here Monday, so I'll report here when I get them on.

I figured that with only one fail and other good results, I'd try them for the price.

 

[svana]

I'm absorbing a couple different reviews here, but is the general consensus that they're good as is (besides grease)? Or that they have to have their uniball's replaced?

 

[robaroni]

I'm absorbing a couple different reviews here, but is the general consensus that they're good as is (besides grease)? Or that they have to have their uniball's replaced?

-I replaced the grease fittings because the ones supplied were very cheap. ($6)
-Replaced the supplied Grade 5 bolt, washers and nut with Grade 8 (not sure it was necessary but it only cost $13)
-used a washer as a spacer so the bushing would not be crushed due to the short inner sleeve. (See the ajonesnv write up)
-Used my bench grinder to take a little off of the top and bottom uniball spacers so they wouldn't meet in the middle and allow play.

Everything went together very smoothly. Gonna go with the supplied Uniball and see how it performs.

I understand Firestone has a Lifetime Alignment deal. Anyone know cost? Do they do good work? Is it worth it? Do any other companies have a deal like this?

 

[wnelax04sr5]

-I replaced the grease fittings because the ones supplied were very cheap. ($6)
-Replaced the supplied Grade 5 bolt, washers and nut with Grade 8 (not sure it was necessary but it only cost $13)
-used a washer as a spacer so the bushing would not be crushed due to the short inner sleeve. (See the ajonesnv write up)
-Used my bench grinder to take a little off of the top and bottom uniball spacers so they wouldn't meet in the middle and allow play.

Everything went together very smoothly. Gonna go with the supplied Uniball and see how it performs.

I understand Firestone has a Lifetime Alignment deal. Anyone know cost? Do they do good work? Is it worth it? Do any other companies have a deal like this?

do you have pictures of the washer as a spacer?

 

[svana]

-I replaced the grease fittings because the ones supplied were very cheap. ($6)
-Replaced the supplied Grade 5 bolt, washers and nut with Grade 8 (not sure it was necessary but it only cost $13)
-used a washer as a spacer so the bushing would not be crushed due to the short inner sleeve. (See the ajonesnv write up)
-Used my bench grinder to take a little off of the top and bottom uniball spacers so they wouldn't meet in the middle and allow play.

Everything went together very smoothly. Gonna go with the supplied Uniball and see how it performs.

I understand Firestone has a Lifetime Alignment deal. Anyone know cost? Do they do good work? Is it worth it? Do any other companies have a deal like this?

I've got Firestone's lifetime agreement, it was $200. They scoff that they won't do any vehicles with aftermarket suspension, but they still did mine. YMMV, just keep it in mind.

 

[robaroni]

do you have pictures of the washer as a spacer?

Sorry, I throw the bags away. It was from the Grade 8 SAE drawers at Lowes.
I took the arm with me and found one that fit. I heard that the sleeves on the latest shipments were the right length. Can't confirm it though.

 

[cpark_12]

I just got the UCAs in. They shipped fast! Unpacking them, they're beefy for sure. The welds look okay, the powder coat looks pretty good, all the hardware is good minus the 8.8 bolt. I'll go get a real grade 8 bolt from Lowe's before I put them on. The spacers look like they're flush with the bushings, so we'll see when I go to install them. I'll get some pics up here shortly of the unboxing if anyone is interested.

 

[cpark_12]

Here's some pics of them right out of the box.

 

[LTDSC]

Id clean that nasty grease off the Uniball and throw some tri-flow on it.

 

[cpark_12]

Id clean that nasty grease off the Uniball and throw some tri-flow on it.

Yea...that's the first thing that's gonna happen before I put them on