billet uca Spiro lock retaining ring size?

Looking for the retaining ring size for the spherical bearing(uniball) on the uca for a gen 2 tacoma. Is there a regular snap ring I can replace it with instead?

 

And apparently I also need to know the proper size of spherical bearing.

I called icon a couple months ago to find out the bearing size and the guy told me com- 16t and gave me all the dimensions. I ordered a set, as well as a set of stainless equivalent to see if I could get some longevity out of my uni balls (first set lasted 14 months, less than 7000 miles and not covered by warranty).

Nearest I can figure out is that it is in fact a hcom16-t but I would like to confirm before I blow another $150 on bearings that I can't return.

 

The uniball is a COMH16T and we have them specially made by FK Bearing for us in stainless.....they can only be ordered here at ICON or through one of our dealers.

We do not use a snap ring, but actually a spiro-loc or spiral retainer ring (slightly different design than a standard snap ring). The size to reference is WHT-200

We sell a service kit that is part number 614500 and cost is 156.95. This includes all the above parts + an anti-seize tube for a pair of arms.

 

Snap rings

 

Fyi. I ordered the FKSSX16T _
Stainless/Teflon/Stainless

Not the COMH16T _
Stainless/Teflon/Chrome

The chrome can and will rust. No bueno.

 

Wut tha hell happened there?!?

 

Rusty balls, they tore the Teflon liner and caused that much play and the caps were scored due to it.

 

Anyone have sources for the rings?

 

Are you sure the fkssx16t will fit? That's what I ordered, hoping to prevent/prolong the rusty ball issue, but mine didn't fit and I had to buy another set.

 

what didn't fit? You got me worried now. I checked and rechecked the dimensions of the uniballs and everything looked correct.

These are for the ICON Uppers right? If thats the case I need to get another set asap since I need to get this done before the next trip.

 

Are you saying the new ones were too big or small? or the hardware from ICON didn't fit properly?

 

Well shit! Now I'm not happy. I read on one website and all the specs were Identical. I read in an FK document, they are not. Emailing and calling in the AM to have the offending site correct their info and getting the right bearing.

 

I believe the retaining ring is 2 inch. I was able to order it through a local bearing supply company. What really sucked is that I got my incorrect info from icon themselves . When I called back to get the proper bearing part number, I was given the incorrect number AGAIN by the guy who answered the phone.

I was not impressed with the service life of the parts, or icon's customer service.

How are your heim joints(rod ends) on the uca and uniballs on your coilovers?

 

I believe they are fine. I will re check.

I just spoke to FK themselves and requested that the COMH16T be made in the stainless. They want 1000 bearing order for it since they already have the dies for it. From what I was told they are in contact with ICON to help them better improve their product.

Waiting on a call back right now. The guy seemed genuine and accommodating. Expressed that there is the potential for a superior product in our vehicles since they are in a corrosive environment.


Something he also mentioned to me is that there are the different fitments. F1/F2, etc. I know about these. He mentioned that he has had issues with the off road/ rock crawling industry where people are squeezing the liner out of the side of the bearing and because of that, going with an F1 (tighter) fitting.


Ultimately, its an issue of mismatched components for the environment we are using them in. Not necessarily an issue ICON created or that FK did either. Each company offered what they are able to based on demand and lines.

Hopefully someone heres us banging. I told the guy I would get 4 so I had backups. Expressed there are a couple others in for the full SS version too.

He said "we have the dies from the COMH16T, all we need to do is just load the machine up with SS instead of the carbon steel. I can't do that for less than 1000 pieces though. This is a very simple issue to resolve for a company. Need to have the right buying power though. Then it would become a catalog item and everyone would benefit from it. Would curb the issue of corrosion, thats for sure"

 

icon changed to the stainless race and still use the chrome bearing. Official word from FK and ICON.

 

ordered 614500

 

That's what I ended up doing. Sucks that you have to replace it with the same part that's just going to fail again when the bearing rusts. I think I'm going to switch ucas to something with a sealed traditional ball joint when these ones go.

 

From what I was told. I have the OLD bearings. The new ones are supposed to be 100% better. I'm hoping for the best.