So this happened...what would you do?

Dang you guys can wreck everything can't you.

I have around 35k on mine, installed 2011.
They seem fine, old style with the bad dust boot and no zerks.
That older style boot is not sealed at the bottom, no sure how you would even grease them without forcing more grit into the joint. Would have to pull it apart.

I have had the new style ball joints on the shelf since last year, looks like I need to get wrenching.
 
sportyota said:
No I haven’t. Since most of the driving has been on the street, I didn’t even think about greasing them but lesson learned


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2016 4Runner SR5 said:
They should be greased every 10K miles or so BUT even with that said, this is an unacceptable failure at 50-60k If you haven't greased these, you likely haven't greased anything else. Better get under there and poke around. Not sure what fittings you have but you should at least have fittings on the front and rear drive shaft u joints and slip yoke. U joints get grease until the old stuff is pushed out of all 4 caps on each one and clean grease starts showing. That'll ensure all the old crap is clear and they're full of fresh clean grease. Slip yoke is 5-6 pumps and you're good.
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Do the SPC uniballs come pregreased? Looking at the pics, it looks like there's been no grease in there at all.. It's just... Rusted...
 
theoutbackdream said:
Do the SPC uniballs come pregreased? Looking at the pics, it looks like there's been no grease in there at all.. It's just... Rusted...
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That's not a uniball, it's a ball joint. They do come pre greased from SPC just like every other ball joint in the world. Think of it this way. Our OEM arms and every other suspension component can't be greased, no zerks. They still last 150K-200K right? There's no excuse for ball joint failure in 50K-60K. The reputation of these arms speaks for itself.
 
2016 4Runner SR5 said:
That's not a uniball, it's a ball joint. They do come pre greased from SPC just like every other ball joint in the world. Think of it this way. Our OEM arms and every other suspension component can't be greased, no zerks. They still last 150K-200K right? There's no excuse for ball joint failure in 50K-60K. The reputation of these arms speaks for itself.
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Don't know why I said uniball. but anyways...

Is the amount of grease packed in the balljoint from SPC adequate enough to be ran for many miles? My assumption is that the balljoints aren't packed with an adequate amount of grease/if at all, and expect the user to pack the balljoints properly upon installation. It's even in their instructions to grease the balljoint during installation. And the fact the OP didn't even service his balljoints means they were running dry for some amount of time. Looking at the picture, that ball looks rusted... Badly...

It's true that OEM components that are sealed can't be greased, but they are/should be packed with the right amount of grease.

By no means am I defending SPC, as I have read countless threads about them failing, but it'd be interesting to know if this was indeed another failure caused by the part itself, or a mixture of the part and owner not doing maintenance.
 
theoutbackdream said:
Don't know why I said uniball. but anyways...

Is the amount of grease packed in the balljoint from SPC adequate enough to be ran for many miles? My assumption is that the balljoints aren't packed with an adequate amount of grease/if at all, and expect the user to pack the balljoints properly upon installation. It's even in their instructions to grease the balljoint during installation. And the fact the OP didn't even service his balljoints means they were running dry for some amount of time. Looking at the picture, that ball looks rusted... Badly...

It's true that OEM components that are sealed can't be greased, but they are/should be packed with the right amount of grease.

By no means am I defending SPC, as I have read countless threads about them failing, but it'd be interesting to know if this was indeed another failure caused by the part itself, or a mixture of the part and owner not doing maintenance.
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Totally agree. I don’t have aftermarket arms yet, so I read everything I can about the different brands, good and bad. The one basic thing, regardless of brand, is that all moving components NEED lubrication! I’ve dealt with aftermarket, poorly designed seals on other project cars, and the solution is always to check them periodically, and grease as needed. The pics show that those were likely NEVER greased, other than maybe the initial grease from the factory, and if the boots don’t seal well, that would get washed out in a year, or 2 with rain, salt, etc. Not saying SPC arms aren’t low quality, but some onus lies with the OP inmo...
 
07V8 said:
EXACTLY why I didn’t put SPC junk on my truck.

Rip them off and get Total Chaos or other reputable brands. You could have had your family in the truck going 80mph when that happened
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I've had my SPC UCA's on my truck for 92,000 without an issue. Maybe you shouldn't live in the rust belt instead
 
HOJeepster said:
I've had my SPC UCA's on my truck for 92,000 without an issue. Maybe you shouldn't live in the rust belt instead
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lol I grew up in NY, now in MD, will be in NC in a couple years. Fact is, parts should be manufactured to last regardless of the area you life in. I do agree this may have in part been lack of maintenance and that falls on the OP but I just cant see ball joints failing in 50k even if not greased more than the initial grease at install. Either way, I never liked the design of SPC arms from the moment I saw them and after reading all the horror stories, I will never personally purchase anything at all from them. So many other good options out there.
 
And frames on trucks are supposed to last forever. But when they dont lets go bash them because they live in an area of the country where rust gets off on eating parts on vehicles. Even with maintenance I would find it very hard to keep something from rusting.
HOJeepster said:
I've had my SPC UCA's on my truck for 92,000 without an issue. Maybe you shouldn't live in the rust belt instead
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Actually when 15 year old frames failed, Toyota stepped up and replaced them. Goes a long way when you step up, admit you made a mistake, and you fix it.
 
2016 4Runner SR5 said:
Actually when 15 year old frames failed, Toyota stepped up and replaced them. Goes a long way when you step up, admit you made a mistake, and you fix it.
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That was cool they did that with the Tacomas, but I wish they’d do it for the 4 Runners! I know, I’d have them do it for sure because I love this truck and plan to keep it a long time, but I’m concerned by some of the rust I have in the frame, and can’t believe how bad it has gotten on some of the frames I’ve seen in other threads! Makes me very concerned that despite my best efforts to slow it down, I won’t be able to do much for the inaccessible areas that rust from the inside!
 
Terminator03 said:
That was cool they did that with the Tacomas, but I wish they’d do it for the 4 Runners! I know, I’d have them do it for sure because I love this truck and plan to keep it a long time, but I’m concerned by some of the rust I have in the frame, and can’t believe how bad it has gotten on some of the frames I’ve seen in other threads! Makes me very concerned that despite my best efforts to slow it down, I won’t be able to do much for the inaccessible areas that rust from the inside!
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Weed killer sprayer and oil inside the frame 3-4 times a year. I paint my frame and everything else 3-4 times a year. I also used 5 cans of industrial grade bed liner on the floors and outer frame rails. Used a product by Wurth. Can't really do much more than that.
 
Hey fellas,

I'm late to the party but was simply curious if the BJ that SPC uses happens to be an off the shelf deal or only they have replacement units? They look rather specialized to me, hence the question.

I'm on Dobinson's site but can't locate the UPC easily. If anyone has a link, please post up.

Thanks.
 
alia176 said:
Hey fellas,

I'm late to the party but was simply curious if the BJ that SPC uses happens to be an off the shelf deal or only they have replacement units? They look rather specialized to me, hence the question.

I'm on Dobinson's site but can't locate the UPC easily. If anyone has a link, please post up.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

SPC ball joints are specific to their arms, their design.

Dobinson arms use OEM Toyota ball joints in case you weren't aware.

https://www.amazon.com/Dobinsons-Control-Toyota-Cruiser-4Runner/dp/B076KV8S62
 
Not sure what kind of angles Dobinson can achieve. Keep in mind, while technically a replacement JBA ball joint can be had over the counter, the original ball joint is not. You can use a Chevy ball joint if the original one fails however JBA has designed their own ball joint also which has to be purchased from them. They did not achieve the angles they boast about using an off the shelf ball joint. Something that really bothers me about the JBA arms is the fact they use bolts that are too short making the nylock nuts useless. The bolt is not long enough to protrude through the nylock which is very confusing to me. Bolts need to be about 1/8" - 3/16" longer to be secure as far as I'm concerned.
 
Well I ended up going with Total Chaos. They just arrived this morning and installed them this afternoon.

Here are the driver side (bad) and passenger (intact). Looking at it, there is no spot to grease them

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