New UCAs or UBJs?

[OpenYota]

Caught between two minds and would like some suggestions.
My upper ball joints need replacing with one having a torn boot and both being factory with 168k on them.
I currently have a Bilstein/OME lift with around 2.5" in the front and 265/75/16 tires but plan and going to 33"s this year.
I've had my eye on the JBA Offroad UCAs for a while but am not currently having alignment issues with the stock A-arms.

Would it be more fiscally responsible to just do the ball joints or go ahead and upgrade for the efficiency with alignment and more droop/better castor with the JBAs?

 

[Zhehan]

I would say yes. Just get the JBA UCAs. I'm loving mine.

 

[GhostRing]

I feel the full arm swap has some decent merit.
You get a new UBJ and new bushings. Mine were horrifyingly roached and
way overdue for replacement/upgrade. Bit more road feel as a result though.

How are your current caster numbers? At 2.5" I would feel you are approaching
the tail end of usable adjustment that most aftermarket arms give back.

It's a bit more up front, but the benefits are many. Perhaps also look into the weird
SPC/not SPC(totally SPC) Arms sold through Rock Auto? Almost adjustable to
a fault, but they can really get things tuned just how you want them.

 

[OpenYota]

I feel the full arm swap has some decent merit.
You get a new UBJ and new bushings. Mine were horrifyingly roached and
way overdue for replacement/upgrade. Bit more road feel as a result though.

How are your current caster numbers? At 2.5" I would feel you are approaching
the tail end of usable adjustment that most aftermarket arms give back.

It's a bit more up front, but the benefits are many. Perhaps also look into the weird
SPC/not SPC(totally SPC) Arms sold through Rock Auto? Almost adjustable to
a fault, but they can really get things tuned just how you want them.

Those are all fair points.
I don't know what my current caster numbers are as it's been a while since my last alignment but I believe they were close to 0.0 give or take.

I was also looking at the Mevotech(SPC arms) UCA on rockauto but I don't think they sell them anymore. :shrug:
Are you using the SPC/non SPC arms?

 

[GhostRing]

I am. I only have about 1.75-2" lift, and at the D setting I have about 4* caster.
They may get brought forward a touch, as the steering is very stable, but takes a fair bit more effort.
It will eventually get lifted a little bit higher, so I just wanted to maximize my options.

I was unaware that the arms are no longer available? I feel the JBAs are a great solution though,
I just have too much tinker-itis, so the extra adjustability appealed to me.

 

[mtbtim]

You can replace the boot for the UBJ. Just because you have 168K miles on them doesn't mean they need to be changed. If there's play in the joint, then yes, they need to be replaced. UBJs are notorious for failing like the lowers are. I have 230k on my 2000 and it has original UBJs. If you don't really need aftermarket UCAs, why get them.

Here's the part: Upper Balljoint Reboot Kit - #43324-39015

You can use my video to replace it.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-sY2azyLBuI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[OpenYota]

You can replace the boot for the UBJ. Just because you have 168K miles on them doesn't mean they need to be changed. If there's play in the joint, then yes, they need to be replaced. UBJs are notorious for failing like the lowers are. I have 230k on my 2000 and it has original UBJs. If you don't really need aftermarket UCAs, why get them.

Here's the part: Upper Balljoint Reboot Kit - #43324-39015

You can use my video to replace it.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-sY2azyLBuI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The man, the myth, the legend.
I appreciate the input.
I presume you pressed in new bushings in the control arms; how is it running with the original UBJ after the Sonoran lift and do you have any issues with alignment?
Also, I wanted to make it out to the Atlanta BBQ but I had to be out of town that weekend which I'm still bummed about.
Let us know the next time you're coming down!

 

[JZiggy]

To Timmy’s point if the ball joints aren’t worn just reboot them for now. If you want to do something more drastic the JBAs are a great option. Rebooting is easy, I have done it before.

 

[Zhehan]

As someone who has had the TRD Tundra/5100 on the truck for 13+ years, both with the stock UCAs and now with the JBA UCAs, I can say that the JBAs are a big game-changer. I think that when you lift the front of the truck 2" (from the '99 tall specs or 3" from pretty much every other year) that the corrected Caster UCAs are a must. You get a lot more straight line stability on road and far less bump steer both on and off road. It's a really big upgrade and I wish that these were available when I lifted my truck 21 years ago. The racing options with the Uni-Ball that were available just wear out too fast and cost too much. I've had 4 different front lift setups on this truck and the current setup is the best by far.

Having a greaseable, serviceable set of UCAs is a big win. I needed to replace my UBJs and UCA bushings last year, so I went with the JBAs since the description for the product aligned exactly with how I use my 4Runner. Also, with the research I did, the SPC arms seemed to have a lot of failures both with the ball joints and bushings. I couldn't really find very much in the negative column for the JBAs with the current offerings. All of the teething problems of a new product seemed to have been solved by now. I am happy with my SPC rear lower links.

That's my full take on this.

 

[mtbtim]

The man, the myth, the legend.
I appreciate the input.
I presume you pressed in new bushings in the control arms; how is it running with the original UBJ after the Sonoran lift and do you have any issues with alignment?
Also, I wanted to make it out to the Atlanta BBQ but I had to be out of town that weekend which I'm still bummed about.
Let us know the next time you're coming down!

I'm running aftermarket control arms with my lift. I'm using Camburg, similar to Total Chaos. They're pretty pricey, around $700 for a set back then. Probably more now. I have no issues getting my rig properly aligned. When I installed the lift, I did replace the LCA bushings with Whiteline poly bushings and it was a smart move. I had one cam adjuster frozen into the bushing sleeve on each side. When the cam adjuster is frozen, an alignment tech can't do the necessary adjustments to dial in the camber and caster.

With the UBJ video, that was not my rig. I was helping out someone who contacted me.

I partnered with [MENTION=148218]JZiggy[/MENTION] to replace OEM upper control arm bushings on his rig. I'm assuming everything is working like it should.

I'll be back to visit Jordan in Atlanta and we'll have another party. Hopefully you'll make the next one.

Here's the UCA bushing video for those interested.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_lZbAd1_EUM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Storm01]

Caught between two minds and would like some suggestions.
My upper ball joints need replacing with one having a torn boot and both being factory with 168k on them.
I currently have a Bilstein/OME lift with around 2.5" in the front and 265/75/16 tires but plan and going to 33"s this year.
I've had my eye on the JBA Offroad UCAs for a while but am not currently having alignment issues with the stock A-arms.

Would it be more fiscally responsible to just do the ball joints or go ahead and upgrade for the efficiency with alignment and more droop/better castor with the JBAs?

JBAs are very nice. My good friend has a pair on his T4R and loves them so far. Lots of travel with his 6112s. Personally, I am running stock arms on a 2-2.5" lift. According to my most recent alignment, I have 2.8 degrees of caster which is good enough for me and I'm satisfied with. I will most likely upgrade to those JBAs down the road but they are out of budget for now. Lol.

Honestly, if you need to replace the UBJs anyway, I'd just get new the whole upgrade but if they're solid and your alignment is good, I wouldn't bother.