soupkitchen
New member
feels pretty much the same, just a bit heavier. Alignment was easier to accomplish into specs. I need to look at brake upgrades next.
Soupy front end - Shoes, 5100, uca, lbj, toytec... =)
- Thread starter soupkitchen
- Start date
RunnerLimited
New member
Hey, greta looking rig man!
How do you like the UCA so far? any driving and testing?
Been looking to get SPCs wonder if i should just get these and save a bit of money
How do you like the UCA so far? any driving and testing?
Been looking to get SPCs wonder if i should just get these and save a bit of money
soupkitchen
New member
hey thanks! So far so good. I have really just been daily driving it for now, haven't really had a chance to see how they do offroad. I def don't miss the look of the factory stressed uppers!
I was lucky when i got these they were 225.00 shipped..i think they've gone up a bit since. Fit was spot on except for one washer was a little fat on the driver side. Easy fix. For what i paid i don't think I could have gotten anything better.
i see you have 9 wraps...are those the 8.75's? I pulled a set from a 96 or 97 Lexus, yellow blue and white and have been thinking about installing. Yours sits real nice. I was worried I'd be too high in the rear with no additional weight.
RunnerLimited
New member
Man i should really grab one before they start hiking up the prices, did you order through amazon or ebay?
Yeah I have the 9 wraps in the back, but i do have a lot of weight in the back, first the retrofited Hilux tire carrier, obviously with the spare tire mounted, and probably 200- 400 lbs of gear and stuff in the trunk. I recently removed the spare tire and it sits much nicer, before it actually looked like a 3-4 inch lift but without that excess weight it looks way better.
soupkitchen
New member
got from ebay seller lift.option, yeah were 225.00 on feb 5th.
Awesome man. I do carry probably 200 pounds in the rear at all times...i may end up throwing them on to see how it sits. Gotta get an adj panhard bar or drop bracket first though! Yours does look really good. love those hilux carriers.
psraff
New member
I just paid 375 shipped for my SPC arms new fwiw. I considered those arms as well, then I landed an Icon front suspension and didn't like the way it rode. So I went for the SPC as a compromise.
I was checking this out earlier kinda dreading the upper balljoint removal. I have pneumonia but I am restless and going to tackle at least one side tonight. My arms arrived today and look great. They also have the grease fitting balljoint's. If it's only $50 difference, I'm glad I went the route I did, almost $200 difference and I'd have done the same as the OP did.
I was checking this out earlier kinda dreading the upper balljoint removal. I have pneumonia but I am restless and going to tackle at least one side tonight. My arms arrived today and look great. They also have the grease fitting balljoint's. If it's only $50 difference, I'm glad I went the route I did, almost $200 difference and I'd have done the same as the OP did.
psraff
New member
Where did you find SPC for that price?
soupkitchen
New member
did you get those uppers out yet? I tried several methods, best route for me was to cut down to the ball and then kind of grind around the top of seat..couple good whacks while its still hot and it'll come right out. First side took me forever, second literally about 5 mins.
soupkitchen
New member
yeah if spc are only 55 more, i'd go that route too...damn the ebay ones went up quick...i did a lot at one time so was looking for the best deals I could.
soupkitchen
New member
How come your UCA use a small allen key bolts ?
Everything looks good brotha. Very nice
Idk I don't think I could trust that. The bolt for my UCA is massive !
thanks kolelt! I think its just the picture. The allen bolt is pretty beefy, its capped off now but I had to use one of my larger allen sockets for it. Def no worries with it!
Sorry to intervene with the thread OP, however, yes I did get the uppers out. I am a backyard mechanic, but I've gotten pretty handy over the years. When I can't get stuff done, I'm shit outta luck, so I find my ways.
I went pretty simple, used a flat head to pry the retainer/boot off the balljoint. Then I ground the stud off, used a couple flat head screwdrivers to pry the ring off the base of the balljoint. Then I hit it with a 3 lb hammer a few times, done and done.
My SPC uppers come with a collar that you "press" into place where the factory balljoint was. I used the same hammer to knock the collar into place. Hardest part of the whole job was getting the retaining ring on the bottom of that collar. The way it's angled, snap ring pliers are useless. It's a very stiff/stubborn retaining ring. So I tried some sockets that JUST slipped over the collar, figured I could use them as a guide to tap the retaining ring into place. Not happening without pulling the spindle. Lastly, I used 2 pairs of vice grips. Gripped the retaining ring in 2 strategic points and my long set of needle nose pliers to do the final leveraging. Got that done and everything looks excellent.
The upper control arm bolt's are a bit of a ***** to get out. Had to undo a sensor, a retaining clip bolt, just awkward engine bay locations with the truck jacked up/lifted to boot. First side took me 1 hr 15 minutes, second side (passenger side) took me 40 minutes. Never touched upper control arms before, and I have doctor diagnosed pneumonia, so I'm far from 100%.
I got my arms from performancelifts.com they were on sale for $420 and then I emailed them and was sent a 10% off coupon code within 15 minutes. Customer service was great, never used them before but my experience was great. Paid at 2 pm and item was shipped with tracking number in 2 hours. They had some sort of statement on their site about SPC having price limitations, so just email them and you can snag them for a good deal.
I went pretty simple, used a flat head to pry the retainer/boot off the balljoint. Then I ground the stud off, used a couple flat head screwdrivers to pry the ring off the base of the balljoint. Then I hit it with a 3 lb hammer a few times, done and done.
My SPC uppers come with a collar that you "press" into place where the factory balljoint was. I used the same hammer to knock the collar into place. Hardest part of the whole job was getting the retaining ring on the bottom of that collar. The way it's angled, snap ring pliers are useless. It's a very stiff/stubborn retaining ring. So I tried some sockets that JUST slipped over the collar, figured I could use them as a guide to tap the retaining ring into place. Not happening without pulling the spindle. Lastly, I used 2 pairs of vice grips. Gripped the retaining ring in 2 strategic points and my long set of needle nose pliers to do the final leveraging. Got that done and everything looks excellent.
The upper control arm bolt's are a bit of a ***** to get out. Had to undo a sensor, a retaining clip bolt, just awkward engine bay locations with the truck jacked up/lifted to boot. First side took me 1 hr 15 minutes, second side (passenger side) took me 40 minutes. Never touched upper control arms before, and I have doctor diagnosed pneumonia, so I'm far from 100%.
I got my arms from performancelifts.com they were on sale for $420 and then I emailed them and was sent a 10% off coupon code within 15 minutes. Customer service was great, never used them before but my experience was great. Paid at 2 pm and item was shipped with tracking number in 2 hours. They had some sort of statement on their site about SPC having price limitations, so just email them and you can snag them for a good deal.
CoupeSprinter
New member
Nice truck. The wheel color looks great with the white.
RunnerLimited
New member
yeah..where did you get it for that price!
Yoter
New member
Read his above comment ^^^
They have them now for 400, slightly more maybe they will go on sale at the lower price again?
Here is the link:
SPC Toyota Tacoma & 4Runner Upper Control Arm Kit # 25460
soupkitchen
New member
thanks sprinter!
glad you got the uppers in 99runnr...there's a youtube video for tacoma install that I watched before i did mine. Just bend that little bit of metal up in the front and your bolt has good clearance to get out. That and unbolt that one sensor is all I had to do on the drivers side....the passenger didn't need any extra help.
Yeah I wasn't afraid to manipulate the thin metal for clearance. I just had to move that wiring loom and the one sensor at the front. It's been an hour or so and dude can't get one side into spec with my alignment. So we'll see how this turns out.
soupkitchen
New member
oh no..hopefully they get it straight. good luck man!
