LR uca's squeak

[Qjake]

After only about a month my Light Racing upper arms have begun to squeak. When I first looked at how the bushings were installed and how they would interact with the washers on either side of them I knew there was the probability that they would squeak. So when installing them I was very liberal with the grease both on the sleeve and between the washers and the bushings but to no avail.

I'm sure I'm not the only one with squeaks so my question is, short of removing and re-greasing them, what have others done to quiet them down? maybe some waterproof silicone spray lube or...I don't know :shrug:

I haven't tried anything yet as I'm a bit frustrated/angered as I thought it would take alot longer than a month for the squeaks to start :redbrick:

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

Maybe this will help, start reading at post 20.
Light racing UCA's - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

 

[Qjake]

Thanks will take a look :thumb3:

 

[limamike]

Mine started to squeak after a few miles, and it took Ducmonsta ripping them apart and re-greasing everything for it to go away - even after he rebuilt the UCA it took about 800 miles for the sound to go away completely. I tried all kinds of grease and spray from the outside, but nothing helped. It took rebuilding them to make it go away. It sounded much like a worn bushing in a leafspring pack at low speeds. Is that what you're experiencing?

 

[Qjake]

Ya thats pretty much it, squeaks with small movements during normal driving and loud creaks with large movements while fully compressing/extending when wheeling.

I could tell this was a possibility when I saw how the arms were designed. Large rubber/poly bushings against large steel washers is definitely the recipe for squeaks. I used a ton of grease, guess I'll have to pull them out and use two tons but no doubt the squeak will return :redbrick:

And yes I also tried spray lubes but they don't last long as they wash out pretty quick.

 

[limamike]

Ya thats pretty much it, squeaks with small movements during normal driving and loud creaks with large movements while fully compressing/extending when wheeling.

I could tell this was a possibility when I saw how the arms were designed. Large rubber/poly bushings against large steel washers is definitely the recipe for squeaks. I used a ton of grease, guess I'll have to pull them out and use two tons but no doubt the squeak will return :redbrick:

And yes I also tried spray lubes but they don't last long as they wash out pretty quick.

I contacted Mark from Metal Tech about mine as well. He said he's never heard of them squeaking before my report. Did you buy yours from MT? If so, it might be worth contacting him.

 

[Qjake]

I contacted Mark from Metal Tech about mine as well. He said he's never heard of them squeaking before my report. Did you buy yours from MT? If so, it might be worth contacting him.

Yes I did I'll drop him a PM. What if anything did he offer to do about the issue?

IIRC SPC had redisigned the LR uppers not to long before we bought ours so complaints would be minimal I suppose.

 

[limamike]

Yes I did I'll drop him a PM. What if anything did he offer to do about the issue?

IIRC SPC had redisigned the LR uppers not to long before we bought ours so complaints would be minimal I suppose.

I didn't press him to do much of anything because I was really just looking for feedback. I suspected the issue was caused by the original install problems I had. I just wanted to check with him to see if it was a common thing or I was the only one. He pretty much told me I'm the only one he's heard of having squeaking. He did confirm that the ones I bought are the old design, not the new one. MTs customer service seems to be pretty good, so I'd ping him and see about an exchange since you know you greased them. I just didn't feel comfortable asking him for anything since my initial install issues were so public.

 

[Qjake]

Ya okay thanks! I may pull them and re-grease just for giggles if the problem persists I'll speak with MetalTech and see what they think.

 

[aha2988]

If there anything like the 4th gen UCA's then the washers that go to the outter side of each bushing (the washer the bolt head seats to and the washer the retaining nut seats to) these washers have a concavedness about them. when installed there supposed to concave into the bushing leaving the outer edge of the washer about an 8th of an inch away from bushing preventing any squeaking or rubbing between washers and bushings. I just recently had an issue with my LR UCA's with the ball joints squeaking I called SPC and told them about my issue and sent pictures of my installation and they said a while back they had a bad batch of ball joints where the boots wern't sealing around the steer tappered rod, as well as, the boots wouldnt seat to the top of the spindal as the tappered rod was to long to allow proper sealing of the ball joint. They took a 100 dollar core charge to have them ship me the new ball joints first so i could do the swap and ship the old ones back for the return of the core charge. If you send yours to them first they will ship theres out without a charge. So if its your ball joinst squeaking perhaps contact SPC and check into a warrenty, if its your bushings make sure the washers are installed properly. It's rare for these UCA's to have noise issues there designed to be quiet.


showing the old ball joint notice the gap = not good


i can push my finger up into the gap between the boot an the rod



propper installation of the washers and bushings

 

[Qjake]

If there anything like the 4th gen UCA's then the washers that go to the outter side of each bushing (the washer the bolt head seats to and the washer the retaining nut seats to) these washers have a concavedness about them. when installed there supposed to concave into the bushing leaving the outer edge of the washer about an 8th of an inch away from bushing preventing any squeaking or rubbing between washers and bushings. I just recently had an issue with my LR UCA's with the ball joints squeaking I called SPC and told them about my issue and sent pictures of my installation and they said a while back they had a bad batch of ball joints where the boots wern't sealing around the steer tappered rod, as well as, the boots wouldnt seat to the top of the spindal as the tappered rod was to long to allow proper sealing of the ball joint. They took a 100 dollar core charge to have them ship me the new ball joints first so i could do the swap and ship the old ones back for the return of the core charge. If you send yours to them first they will ship theres out without a charge. So if its your ball joinst squeaking perhaps contact SPC and check into a warrenty, if its your bushings make sure the washers are installed properly. It's rare for these UCA's to have noise issues there designed to be quiet.

Thanks for the input, either the 5th gen's are different or you have the old design as mine are not the same.

As you can see the bushing now extends about 3/8" either side of the arm, the sleeve is just a hair narrower than the bushing and the washers are flat. When the bolt is tightened the washers push tightly against either side of the bushing causing it to squeak.





As for the ball joint the boot is fully covering it and has a tight seal on the tapered shaft and against the spindle to keep debris out. I'm certain the squeaking/creaking is not from the ball joint.

 

[Intruder]

Not sure if you've already seen this:
25460-25470-25480-25490 Toyota Adjustable Upper Control Arms

Checking the torque on the bolt might be worth a shot before having to pull the whole thing out. FWIW I've had LR UCAs installed for almost a year now and started hearing squeaking in the last month - so bad that it sounded like a 30 year old truck that had never seen a grease gun. Yesterday after wheeling it for the first time since the squeaking started it went away completely. I'm guessing in my case it was some grit or something that got jammed in there and worked itself out from the suspension cycling so much on the trail. On my way home I stopped at a car wash and hit every accessible inch of the UCA with a pressure washer then sprayed it with Boeshield after just to make sure. May be a different issue than yours, but still worth a try.

 

[limamike]

Just for reference, these are mine purchased at the same time as you (we were within 24 hours of one another, right?). Ignore the way the ball joint is installed; it's since been corrected and was squeaking *after* the correction:

 

[aha2988]

@ the OP its def. your bushings squeaking against the washers there really should be a gap in the design there as the washer doesnt move and the bush does lol naturally this would cause friction (squeaking) and added wear to the bushings. I would contact the reseller and or LR manufacturer and explain your issue they should be happy to help you out. at the previous poster, are you saying that your ball joints continued to squeak after you replaced them? i just put new ones on they sent me to correct the original mistake and my suspension is as queit as a mouse. hiding behind an engine lol

 

[helocat]

Squeaky Light Racing arms are something that is very new to us, we have not heard of this being an issue. Limimike was the first to say he was having an issue.

I have talked with the basic tech line back when Limimike said he was having an issue but it sounded like he got it covered. However this time I just spent a good half hour talking to Light Racing Engineer Chris Hinds. The old style joints that have the rubber bonded steel bushings would get squeaks due to the stock OEM Toyota dished washers being installed with the dish into the rubber. = Squeaks. Also the old style rubber boot on the ball joint could pull away from the stud, like in the photos above by ah2988, and the joint could get squeaks.

Enter the new bushings and new ball joint boots (new boots are in the photo Qjake put up).

SPC changed to the new SpecRide bushings made from a propitiatory synthetic elastomer. The new bushings on their three test trucks have over one year of testing in Colorado and no squeaks. The key thing with the no squeaks is during installation the small grease pack they come with must be used. The grease goes to the inside of the bushings and the outside faces that touch the now included flat washers. Chris says the way they engineered the bushings and the propitiatory synthetic elastomer used once they are greased properly during install, you should not have to do it again. (ok maybe 20+ yrs later)

SO in the case here where you have greased it and its making noise, that gets Chris's attention. He as ask that you call their tech line and ask for him directly 800-525-6505.

ANYONE with issues like this Light Racing asks you give them a call and they will work with you to trouble shoot the issue. There should be no squeaks with these arms, expecialy the new ones.

BTW: LR also has info and tech on their web site for the arms. As of right now its not updated to reflect the new bushings, however there still is good info there. Its located here: Specialty Products Company

ALSO Metal-tech 4x4 is here to help out our customers as well so please let us know if you ever have an issue with a product you have purchased from us. If we don't know the answer we know who to go talk to to get it.

Mark

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

Mark,
Thanks for researching/sharing that info! Just curious, I ordered the LR ucas through you guys during a group buy on the fj forums. Mine came with the new bushings and washers, but no grease packet. Should I have gotten that? No squeaks so far on mine, but I only have approx 5000 miles on them.

 

[Qjake17]

@Helocat,

Mark thank you for the speedy reply to my pm and this post!! I will definitely give Chris at SPC a call tomorrow and explain my issue, I'll let you know how I make out. Also I just saw last night you sell PowerTank, I wish I had seen this last week as I bought one from one of your competitors and would have rather given you guys the business. Next time I guess. Still waiting on your sliders for the Limited (ie: no trimming of rockers:wink2 so hopefully then. :bigok:

Thanks again, much appreciated :thumb3:

@Swamp Rider,

5K...you should be in the clear! I had about 300 :shrug: Though I didn't use the grease packet that came with them (not sure if it's some special grease:nono I did grease them thoroughly.

 

[limamike]

@Helocat,

Mark thank you for the speedy reply to my pm and this post!! I will definitely give Chris at SPC a call tomorrow and explain my issue, I'll let you know how I make out. Also I just saw last night you sell PowerTank, I wish I had seen this last week as I bought one from one of your competitors and would have rather given you guys the business. Next time I guess. Still waiting on your sliders for the Limited (ie: no trimming of rockers:wink2 so hopefully then. :bigok:

Thanks again, much appreciated :thumb3:

@Swamp Rider,

5K...you should be in the clear! I had about 300 :shrug: Though I didn't use the grease packet that came with them (not sure if it's some special grease:nono I did grease them thoroughly.

What did SPC say?

 

[Qjake]

What did SPC say?

I'm away til Sunday so will call on Monday or Tuesday.

 

[martini]

Mark,
Thanks for researching/sharing that info! Just curious, I ordered the LR ucas through you guys during a group buy on the fj forums. Mine came with the new bushings and washers, but no grease packet. Should I have gotten that? No squeaks so far on mine, but I only have approx 5000 miles on them.

ARK_SWAMP_RIDER, are you still squeak free? I ordered mine close to the same time as you and also didn't get a grease packet. I'm going to be installing mine soon, so I'm wondering if I should try and grease it or just install them without it. Thanks.