Pre-Lift maintenance

[OrangeChicken123]

Anyone have any input as to what i absolutely must have to do (maintenance) before i put a lift and tires on?

keep in mind i have about 190,000 miles

i was reading some stuff and so far the biggest concern are the lower ball joints.

 

[Funcrazy1]

I would say lower ball joints,UCA,your outer tie rods inner tie rods,steering rack, and brakes

 

[D Farms]

so I went to the juno yard yesterday, and i noticed that the uca bushings are fixed to the mount and they actually flex the rubber to move up and down. after you do the lift, to me it makes sense that you should loosen the uca bolt while its at ride height, and then retighten it, so that the rubber bushings arent under tension at ride height.

I just replaced my ucas with poly, and they work differently that the oem stuff, they have grease and actually slide, where as the oem is all bonded together and basically just stretches the rubber to move up and down, seems kind of dumb actually.

 

[absalom]

I would say lower ball joints,UCA,your outer tie rods inner tie rods,steering rack, and brakes

Pretty great list here. The only suggestion I might make would be to replace "steering rack" with "steering bushings". The OEM rack is pretty tough and steering issues are often misdiagnosed as a wrecked rack.

so I went to the juno yard yesterday, and i noticed that the uca bushings are fixed to the mount and they actually flex the rubber to move up and down. after you do the lift, to me it makes sense that you should loosen the uca bolt while its at ride height, and then retighten it, so that the rubber bushings arent under tension at ride height.

I just replaced my ucas with poly, and they work differently that the oem stuff, they have grease and actually slide, where as the oem is all bonded together and basically just stretches the rubber to move up and down, seems kind of dumb actually.

To expand on this, SPC UCA's are very budget friendly (at $380) and very well made. OP, keep in mind, you most likely won't be able to hit factory alignment numbers after lifting until you replace your OEM UCA.

 

[Funcrazy1]

To expand on this, SPC UCA's are very budget friendly (at $380) and very well made. OP, keep in mind, you most likely won't be able to hit factory alignment numbers after lifting until you replace your OEM UCA.

This is true I'm in the process of ordering SPC UCA for alignment.. 3 inch llift leaves you with no camber to play with

 

[OrangeChicken123]

so I went to the juno yard yesterday, and i noticed that the uca bushings are fixed to the mount and they actually flex the rubber to move up and down. after you do the lift, to me it makes sense that you should loosen the uca bolt while its at ride height, and then retighten it, so that the rubber bushings arent under tension at ride height.

I just replaced my ucas with poly, and they work differently that the oem stuff, they have grease and actually slide, where as the oem is all bonded together and basically just stretches the rubber to move up and down, seems kind of dumb actually.

This is true I'm in the process of ordering SPC UCA for alignment.. 3 inch llift leaves you with no camber to play with

Pretty great list here. The only suggestion I might make would be to replace "steering rack" with "steering bushings". The OEM rack is pretty tough and steering issues are often misdiagnosed as a wrecked rack.

To expand on this, SPC UCA's are very budget friendly (at $380) and very well made. OP, keep in mind, you most likely won't be able to hit factory alignment numbers after lifting until you replace your OEM UCA.

im guessing you guys stuck with oem uca's with the lift?...
i was reading through some other threads and it seems that UCA's aren't super necessary but kind of like "if you have the cash, get them." can anyone reassure me on this?
how bad is the alignment? is it tolerable as a DD? how bad is it on the tires?

 

[Funcrazy1]

Depends I'd rather spend the money on the UCA so my tires don't get burnt out so quick

 

[OrangeChicken123]

Pretty great list here. The only suggestion I might make would be to replace "steering rack" with "steering bushings". The OEM rack is pretty tough and steering issues are often misdiagnosed as a wrecked rack.

To expand on this, SPC UCA's are very budget friendly (at $380) and very well made. OP, keep in mind, you most likely won't be able to hit factory alignment numbers after lifting until you replace your OEM UCA.

wuuuuuutt....... gimme link. The only quality budget friendly ucas i've seen are the light racing ones from toytec for about $500 i think

 

[JayRolla]

wuuuuuutt....... gimme link. The only quality budget friendly ucas i've seen are the light racing ones from toytec for about $500 i think

I bought a set two weeks ago for $370 shipped. Now they are over $460, and they will change again, they move up and down every day.

http://www.amazon.com/SPC-Performan...UTF8&qid=1429737253&sr=8-1&keywords=spc+25460

They are sold out of Fort Collins. SPC/LR is out of Longmont, CO. Not sure why pricing changes so much. Maybe depends on demand.

 

[gamefreakgc]

I agree with the suspension/steering/bushings being replaced. A lift puts more stress on your steering and suspension and they will start to act funny if they are worn out. A lift will just increase that wear.

Sway bar bushings are also a biggie if yours are falling apart or flaky. Made a world of a difference for me and I replaced mine also at 190k miles.

 

[Jhelms]

Re-grease all of your universals heavily and check for play / replace if needed. The lift will just add stress to them. Check all CV boots and make sure they are pliable and not ready to rip. Go ahead and make an appointment now for an alignment.

 

[absalom]

wuuuuuutt....... gimme link. The only quality budget friendly ucas i've seen are the light racing ones from toytec for about $500 i think

Light Racing and SPC are synonymous. Cheapest I've found em!

 

[JayRolla]

Light Racing and SPC are synonymous. Cheapest I've found em!

Nice someone still got them priced good. I was worried. $460 where I bought them, im guessing this may change here soon too. Hopefully not. I know they make you add to cart for price because they cant advertise low pricing if the OEM doesnt want them too.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Nice someone still got them priced good. I was worried. $460 where I bought them, im guessing this may change here soon too. Hopefully not. I know they make you add to cart for price because they cant advertise low pricing if the OEM doesnt want them too.

I've always wondered why that is! Not just with car parts, but home appliances will do that too. Super annoying when trying to do a price comparison, but I guess that's the point!

 

[D Farms]

basically what happens when you lift the truck is the caster changes to be more positive. the shop will be able to get the toe and camber into alignment perfectly, however the caster wont be able to be quite what it needs to be, and it gets worse the more rake and lift you have. however caster does not wear tires at all, it just affects how turning the wheel feels and also helps pull the wheel back to center.

the way the adjustment works is the two mount points of the lca move in and out, to adjust camber you move both cams at the same time, to adjust caster, the cams are moved in opposite directions. if you have an adjustable upper control arm, you get a longer range of adjustment than the stock setup allows. to adjust the caster in the correct way after a lift the lca is pivoted forward, which in turn moves the wheel foreward and gives more clearance. personally i just trimmed my ucas recently and im fine with having 1 degree of negative caster, the oe recommends 3-4 degrees. in the days before powersteering cars came with caster in the positive direction to aid in manueverability. anyways its just a different feeling in the wheel, and if you have loose steering components it wanders more.

 

[OrangeChicken123]

basically what happens when you lift the truck is the caster changes to be more positive. the shop will be able to get the toe and camber into alignment perfectly, however the caster wont be able to be quite what it needs to be, and it gets worse the more rake and lift you have. however caster does not wear tires at all, it just affects how turning the wheel feels and also helps pull the wheel back to center.

the way the adjustment works is the two mount points of the lca move in and out, to adjust camber you move both cams at the same time, to adjust caster, the cams are moved in opposite directions. if you have an adjustable upper control arm, you get a longer range of adjustment than the stock setup allows. to adjust the caster in the correct way after a lift the lca is pivoted forward, which in turn moves the wheel foreward and gives more clearance. personally i just trimmed my ucas recently and im fine with having 1 degree of negative caster, the oe recommends 3-4 degrees. in the days before powersteering cars came with caster in the positive direction to aid in manueverability. anyways its just a different feeling in the wheel, and if you have loose steering components it wanders more.

oh okay, thanks. in that case once i get all my maintenance done i think for the time being i might just stick with the OEM ones until it starts to bothers me.

 

[A.Wilson013]

Here's a better price for the SPC/Light Racing UCA's... I am 99.99% sure this is the lowest price on the net.

Headstrong Offroad

$375.99. With free shipping it should be about $20 less than Fat Bob's. Price was so low that Toytec would not price match.

 

[azynprswazyn]

Im thinking about doing my lift in the next few months as well and may just opt in on the uca's when I get the toytec lift. Ouch.

 

[Funcrazy1]

Here's a better price for the SPC/Light Racing UCA's... I am 99.99% sure this is the lowest price on the net.

Headstrong Offroad

$375.99. With free shipping it should be about $20 less than Fat Bob's. Price was so low that Toytec would not price match.

Wilson want to help me do them Never done them ! I will come to you!