Uniball maintenance on UCAs

[ryanak341]

I have ICON tubular uniball UCAs, does anyone know if the uniball itself needs to be cleaned or lubricated?

 

[SunPilot]

I have ICON tubular uniball UCAs, does anyone know if the uniball itself needs to be cleaned or lubricated?

I also have them on my 4Runner. It is my understanding that the uniball has a teflon liner. The best thing to do is keep them clean and not get a bunch of dirt and debris inside them (they seem pretty tight and it would take a lot to force dirt inside anyway). I've read that we just need to wipe them clean and not oil or lube them, as this attracts and holds dirt, which we don't want. Icon does have a shield available that goes on top of the ball to keep it clean, I'm going to get a set soon and install them on my truck. I believe the Icon part number is 191011. They are basically a shield. You should realize that uniballs are durable and give more range of motion but you need to replace them more frequently than ball joints...one of the trade-offs I guess.