UCA bushing question

[nb rob]

I've been dealing with the exact same thing. Installed my Kings w/ Total Chaos UCAs and it was squeaking a day later. I know that polyurethane bushings and uniballs make more noise by nature but I'd like to see what I can do to make it as quiet as possible. And "race truck suspension makes race truck noises." Whatever, I'll try whatever I can.
Loosening the long UCA bolt under the weight of the truck and pumping more grease in the zerks definitely helped the most so far. I crawl around under the truck a few days every week to see if I can spot anything rubbing but no luck. And it's been aligned 3 times since the install so if a LCA bolt was loose I think we would have found it by now.
Couple other things I would check: if sway bar was relocated, check to make sure it is not hitting the radiator brackets under your front skid plate. Also make sure sway bar links look good. I also saw a horror story of someones shock body hitting the inside of their coils. Not likely but worth a look.
My next step is having someone swing by so they can bounce the truck up and down while I listen. Hopefully my pelfreybilt sliders will be ready soon to aid with the bouncing.
Best of luck and keep us (me) updated!

It’s not a matter of an LCA bolt being loose, as much as a matter of an LCA bolt not being unbelievably tight.
And there’s is an old torque spec of 100ft lbs that a tech may have used, or more likely, a zip with an impact wrench and they move to the next one.
129lb-ft involves a BIG torque wrench and some muscle. It’s effing tight. You can’t tickle it to 129

 

[DesertCanyons]

Bears repeating

It’s not a matter of an LCA bolt being loose, as much as a matter of an LCA bolt not being unbelievably tight.
And there’s is an old torque spec of 100ft lbs that a tech may have used, or more likely, a zip with an impact wrench and they move to the next one.
129lb-ft involves a BIG torque wrench and some muscle. It’s effing tight. You can’t tickle it to 129

Amen to that brother. And it bears repeating.

I had a hard time getting that much torque with my 18" long torque wrench (~90 lbs of force at 18") while hunched over near the wheel well. Next time I'd try using a 24" breaker bar, maybe with a cheater pipe, and apply less weight at the ends (65# at 24").

I have the ICON Tubular UCA with a Delta Joint, so I can lube it at three points.
Ball joints are known to squeak. Which is why I chose the Delta Joint.
My ICON Heim joints on the trailing arms and track bar were stiff and hard to turn until I took them apart and added grease. One sleeve was so tight it wouldn't turn. I think they would have bound up and squeaked if I hadn't applied grease.

 

[garface]

It’s not a matter of an LCA bolt being loose, as much as a matter of an LCA bolt not being unbelievably tight.
And there’s is an old torque spec of 100ft lbs that a tech may have used, or more likely, a zip with an impact wrench and they move to the next one.
129lb-ft involves a BIG torque wrench and some muscle. It’s effing tight. You can’t tickle it to 129

Good point. I'll get out there and check that today, had it in the alignment shop yesterday and have gone to the same place every time so that would explain it if they're using the lower torque value.
Thanks for the tip!

 

[eelliiss]

After the lift you got an alignment right? The LCA bolts are probably not tight enough- they MUST be at 129 ft lb. If they were torqued to any less than that they will creak loudly any time you come to a complete stop or go over a large bump.

If you can turn the nut by hand with a socket and a short wrench they aren't tight enough. Take it back to the alignment shop and have them check- if they are loose make sure you get them to re-align it because it will be off.

This exact thing happened to me.

Don't think this is the case as I had the noise while rolling on the stock tires and no alignment for a week after the install.

I've been dealing with the exact same thing. Installed my Kings w/ Total Chaos UCAs and it was squeaking a day later. I know that polyurethane bushings and uniballs make more noise by nature but I'd like to see what I can do to make it as quiet as possible. And "race truck suspension makes race truck noises." Whatever, I'll try whatever I can.
Loosening the long UCA bolt under the weight of the truck and pumping more grease in the zerks definitely helped the most so far. I crawl around under the truck a few days every week to see if I can spot anything rubbing but no luck. And it's been aligned 3 times since the install so if a LCA bolt was loose I think we would have found it by now.
Couple other things I would check: if sway bar was relocated, check to make sure it is not hitting the radiator brackets under your front skid plate. Also make sure sway bar links look good. I also saw a horror story of someones shock body hitting the inside of their coils. Not likely but worth a look.
My next step is having someone swing by so they can bounce the truck up and down while I listen. Hopefully my pelfreybilt sliders will be ready soon to aid with the bouncing.
Best of luck and keep us (me) updated!

I first chalked It up to performance suspension = noisy suspension, but I still feel like it can be quieter. I'll keep you posted. Truly it's only audible if I have the radio off and I'm really listening for it, but it's still enough to be an annoyance.

 

[eelliiss]

Thanks to all for the feedback!

 

[eelliiss]

Quick update. I searched around some more, tightened the top three mount nuts to 45 ft/lb, was able to torque the LCA nuts just a bit more to 135 ft/lb, etc. The slight squeak is still there when I rock the vehicle back and forth.

Just did a further inspection of the UCAs, and I noticed this:

It looks like a small tear in the bushing. I can move the small flap. As a reminder, I torqued things to spec as the vehicle was in the air. This is my first suspension job, and no where in the instructions did it mention to have the vehicle's weight on the suspension before tightening. Followed them to a T for better or worse. I missed this common knowledge somewhere along my shade tree mechanic'ing. As another reminder, I drove it this way for about 800 miles before redoing the preload on the bushings, ie. loosened the through bolt, cycled the suspension, and then torqued when the vehicle was on the ground.

Can this small tear be the source of the creaking? What is the likelihood that the bushing was destroyed when the 4Runner was returned back to the ground during original installation? I've spoken with a few mechanics by trade, and they've all mentioned that it would take some extended driving for the bushings to be destroyed, but it would happen much faster than if the installation had been done correctly. I mean, I guess there is no way to see if there is more damage without removing the whole arm(s), but anyone have a couple cents to add here?

 

[nb rob]

is there supposed to be a zerk fitting where that set screw is?

*edit - I guess that might be for an optional zerk if you choose to run poly bushings

 

[eelliiss]

is there supposed to be a zerk fitting where that set screw is?

Yes, but I believe that is in case an owner decides to go with something other than the stock Toyota style rubber bushing that comes with it, such as polyurethane. From everything I've read, JBAs should be quiet right out of the box. This is their hallmark.

 

[TeeDub21]

Not sure if I'm clear on your question. I greased the ball joint as JBA's have zerks there for easy maintenance. I greased the ball joint after I lowered the vehicle back down and torqued the uca through bolt to spec. They do not have zerks on the bushings since they utilize stock rubber bushings.

You sure you have JBA’s? I just installed them on my 2018 and they don’t use stock rubber bushings and they most certainly have zirks on them.

I called JBA and spoke to Marlin about torquing them with droop and he said it isn’t a huge deal because of the type of bushing they use. I did use my floor jack under the spindle and lifted it up before torquing the bolt. I didn’t think I could do it with the wheels on and on the ground. Mine are silent.

When you used the large OEM washers on that long bolt did you make sure the dished in cupped area faced towards the bushing?

I just saw your photo. These look like an old version. The new ones have different bushings and zirk fittings.

 

[TeeDub21]

Here’s mine. Zirk fitting with cover. Just bought a couple weeks ago and installed last week.

 

[eelliiss]

Here’s mine. Zirk fitting with cover. Just bought a couple weeks ago and installed last week.

Must be a very recent update to their product. I purchased mine In the October time frame, I believe. Just installed towards the end of last month.

 

[garface]

Update:
As of today I have a quiet truck finally! While prepping to install my Pelfrybilt sliders, I washed the truck, buffed out some pinstriping, and waxed it. I also figured I'd put some fresh grease in the UCA bushings, as I go out to the desert almost every week and a bunch of grease has probably been pushed out since the last time I did it. I used a different grease this time, Lucas Oil Red n Tacky lithium grease, as I've had a hard time finding the SuperLube recommended by Total Chaos, and I had bought a 3 pack and it had this in there.
Drove it around right after, not a single noise. I was so excited, I went in and out of a couple driveways and dips at speed and got nothing.
I previously tightened up the LCA bolts and noticed no change, this new grease seemed to do the trick. I had previously used the green Lucas Oil X-Tra heavy duty poly grease I got in the pack and it said it was recommended for off road use and sounded more durable. Maybe it was too thick to properly move around.
Just wanted to share my experience in case it helps anyone. I'm going to be a bit more picky about the type of grease I use in the future. I also learned a ton about my truck in the process though, which is probably way more valuable than a less-squeaky ride.