Help me make UCA decision

lewdog998

lewdog998

New member
I know its probably been beaten to death but I have a few requirements I am looking for and the info on the manufacturers is sometimes inconclusive.

Vehicle is a 20 TRD pro. with the TSB fox shock update. Waiting on the Eibach lift springs to come out. In the meantime I want to get my UCAs ordered. When all is in I will install the UCAs, sprangs and 285s

I like to grease things so I want a UCA that is greaseable with zerk fittings on both the ball joint and the arm pivot..... basically long life and durability is what i am looking for. Maybe I am overthinking it.............
 
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Does not respond to your requirement to be greaseable... I have Ironman 4x4 UCA and it works for me on Wildpeaks 285s E.
 
I use the icons with the delta joint and havent had any issues, but i'd also look at the non-uniball dirt kings.
 
I went with Ironman's, but my 2nd choice would have been the ball joint Dirt Kings with billet ball joint covers.
 
tm965 said:
I use the icons with the delta joint and havent had any issues, but i'd also look at the non-uniball dirt kings.
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I also use icons with delta joints. Quiet, grease-able and less maintenance than uniballs. I’m happy with them.
 
jawkdna said:
Another vote for the Icons here, that's what I use, super easy to maintain and awesome.
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Ok..I think icon sounds like a good choice...can you confirm that the delta joint is greasable....the pictures online show what appears to be a small cap in place of where a grease fitting goes, but no actual fitting....
So my guess is you service and then remove grease fitting and replace cap (to prevent it from getting g damaged??)
 
lewdog998 said:
Ok..I think icon sounds like a good choice...can you confirm that the delta joint is greasable....the pictures online show what appears to be a small cap in place of where a grease fitting goes, but no actual fitting....
So my guess is you service and then remove grease fitting and replace cap (to prevent it from getting g damaged??)
Click to expand...

As the video shows, that is not a cap, but rather a type of grease fitting that requires a needle point grease gun fitting.
 
Total chaos uniball, need to be greased 2-3x a year but takes about 30 minutes. Helped me achieve 5.7 degrees of caster.
 
fkheath said:
As the video shows, that is not a cap, but rather a type of grease fitting that requires a needle point grease gun fitting.
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This for for OP: Icon ships with both needle fittings and standard zerks for greasing. The shop that installed mine swapped to zerks. Easier than needle in my opinion. Swapping is simple, of course.
 
arehman11 said:
Total chaos uniball, need to be greased 2-3x a year but takes about 30 minutes. Helped me achieve 5.7 degrees of caster.
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Huh?! Every 4k - 5k miles for me. Or after every trip with more-less serious suspension flexing. Otherwise it's becoming really squeaky. And greasing it takes definitely longer than 30mins unless you do it on the ground and don't loose the UCA nuts.

After doing that for 3 years I'm thinking of switching to something else with regular rubber bushings instead and less maintenance headache.
 
Firstly - determine if you really need UCAs.
Your ride height and desired caster will affect that need.

I have a mild lift, maybe 2.5"-3" but I have kings with the EXT designation so I needed a set. I'm running ICONs with the newer delta joints. I like them because it's relatively easy to maintain - I bought a grease gun from harbor freight and all the fittings are zerk. The DJ (delta joint) comes with a needle type fitting from the factory - they do this so you can add a cap for a cover because it's low-profile.
NOTE: It's not too difficult swap in the supplied zerk fitting so you only need 1 grease gun. I'm able to grease the DJ without raising the truck nor removing the wheels. I haven't tried greasing the bushings yet but I'd really only have to remove the wheels if I don't already have access to them.
 
vt100 said:
Huh?! Every 4k - 5k miles for me. Or after every trip with more-less serious suspension flexing. Otherwise it's becoming really squeaky. And greasing it takes definitely longer than 30mins unless you do it on the ground and don't loose the UCA nuts.

After doing that for 3 years I'm thinking of switching to something else with regular rubber bushings instead and less maintenance headache.
Click to expand...

I usually do it every oil change around 5k miles, but on some years that I was driving 15k+ it was 3x. I have some tools that make loosening the UCA bolt a lot easier, but I do not need to remove the wheels to do it.
 
arehman11 said:
I usually do it every oil change around 5k miles, but on some years that I was driving 15k+ it was 3x. I have some tools that make loosening the UCA bolt a lot easier, but I do not need to remove the wheels to do it.
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What tools are you using to make it easier?
 
SBRChris said:
What tools are you using to make it easier?
Click to expand...

I use a torque adapter on a breaker bar to break it loose and then use the same with my torque wrench to torque back to spec. I do jack up the front just to get enough room in the wheel well, but never get the tires off the ground or anything. Also having the rad rubber fender liners, makes it easy to unclip those and move them out of the way too.
 
arehman11 said:
I use a torque adapter on a breaker bar to break it loose and then use the same with my torque wrench to torque back to spec. I do jack up the front just to get enough room in the wheel well, but never get the tires off the ground or anything. Also having the rad rubber fender liners, makes it easy to unclip those and move them out of the way too.
Click to expand...

Are you referring to a crow's foot? I use that for the UCA bushings to loosen the thru bolt and then grease. It's a pretty simple job, although torqueing to spec requires the vehicle to be on the ground, which leaves little room, but I can usually snug it pretty close and then get a 1-click range on my torque wrench with the crow's foot adaptor.

Tip: adding a crow's foot effectively changes the length of your torque wrench, thus allowing you greater leverage. So, depending on the length of your wrench, you have to calculate the percentile reduction of the indicated torque. I can't remember exactly, but I think it was around 2-6% lower indicated torque value to achieve the same actual torque on the bolt. Is that significant? probably not, but I like properly torqued fasteners... kind of anal about it.
 
ahtoxa11 said:
Are you referring to a crow's foot? I use that for the UCA bushings to loosen the thru bolt and then grease. It's a pretty simple job, although torqueing to spec requires the vehicle to be on the ground, which leaves little room, but I can usually snug it pretty close and then get a 1-click range on my torque wrench with the crow's foot adaptor.

Tip: adding a crow's foot effectively changes the length of your torque wrench, thus allowing you greater leverage. So, depending on the length of your wrench, you have to calculate the percentile reduction of the indicated torque. I can't remember exactly, but I think it was around 2-6% lower indicated torque value to achieve the same actual torque on the bolt. Is that significant? probably not, but I like properly torqued fasteners... kind of anal about it.
Click to expand...

It’s similar but closed end, yep I actually get it in there with the front jacked up slightly, per Total Chaos you don’t need to be on the ground to torque their uca so I’ve just had it slightly unloaded and haven’t had any issues. Yep I factor in the extra length and adjust the torque spec or put the adapter at an angle where it doesn’t add any length.
 
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