3" spacer lift/UCA question

I realize there are probably similar threads out there for this but i got tired of looking. Im looking to get a 3" spacer lift and have read some threads about people having to replace the UCA's in order to get their alignment right or stop rubbing. So im looking to find out who has actually had to get new UCA's for a simple spacer lift? Any suggestions on which UCA's?

 

If you go with 3" of lift then your gonna need new uca's to get a good alignment. Simple as that. Your truck doesnt have enough adjustment room to be able to correctly align your suspension with a 3" lift.

 

IMO, if your gonna drop at least $400 on some UCA's, i'd save some more $$$ and get a better front lift. spacers are junk, i used to have them long ago and i regreted putting them on

 

The option "due to rubbing issues" would be hard to select without knowing the wheel/tire setup

 

WRONG!! I've had a 3" spacer lift since a few months after I bought my truck new in 06 with no aftermarket UCAs. I Offroad as often as I can and have had a few Alignments with no real issues. They say its harder to do but it is acheivable. Just need a shop that knows what they are doing.

I would recommend getting some coilovers if you have the money. Do it right the first time so you dont have to spend that money twice when you do decide to upgrade. Good luck.

 

I have a 3" spacer lift that was put on by the dealership prior to me buying it and it still has the stock UCA's with no rubbing issues. When i bought it i was riding on 285/70/17 BFG AT's and i have had no alignment issues yet and i bought it in 2008. So i would have to say no to your question.

 

^^^^^What he said too!!!!

 

Well I would have to say... Post your alignment spec.'s! Because there is absolutely positively no way you have 2.5-3 degree's positive caster with a 3" hockey puck! It's just not possible! I never said you couldn't drive your truck with negative caster. If you want it to drive and handle the way it does in stock form then your gonna need to get new uca's that are designed to give you room for more caster adjustment. That's why they make them!

 

I figured there'd be more rubbing issues with the coil touching the UCA than the tire/wheel combo in general. Yes, I know that anything with much wider rim and or tire with 3" lift of any type will become an issue. IMO, save for better lift than spacers. Many stories of of yeah it'll work then OMG, can't believe I was riding around like that to not just get better lift to begin with that you can stay with longterm and get properly aligned at most places. I'm also gonna go with.....if it's that hard to get it aligned properly then it's gonna be that hard for it to stay aligned properly with all the playing offroad and with typical bullshit roads.

 

OMG, Next time i get it aligned i will definitely post them son! Owned this truck for almost 2 1/2 years now with no issues or negative anything so im sorry to tell you but must be something wrong. You can ask any of the socal guys down here. My truck rides excellent with no neg camber or any of that bull****! The original set of tires came off after about 40,000 miles on them and the same with the second . so that tells me the wear is great! if it had neg. camber issues i would have been replacing my tires a lot earlier than that! Same as Imsikotik!

 

Let's try to keep in mind that my experience doing the same thing to the same model truck won't necessarily be the same as the next guy's is or was.

 

I didn't think caster had anything to do with tire wearing even or uneven. So you could be out of caster and still have great tire wear...I think.

Edit: caster is not the same as camber

 

Caster doesn't affect tire wear

 

thanks a lot for the help guys, i did look up some UCA's an i think i will save up for a coil over set up....any suggestions who to go through for that? I hate that i know more about powertrain than suspension sometimes....

 

Toytec. And PM Toytec Lifts for a discount code. These are their coilovers with the Bilstein 5100 shocks.

 

I voted no, but it all depends on your specific set up.

For me, I'm currently running stock rims and tires. The shop didn't have any problems getting mine aligned to spec either.

 

my shop aligned it twice (well once and then checked second time) and said the numbers are perfect. It still pulls hard to the right and I find myself kinda fighting it now. Don't want to spend $450 on LRUCA if I don't need it, but will if this persists.

 

^^^ John, check out www. Fatbobsgarage.com for LR uca's. $379.99. Gotta call to get that price. From my experience your alignment woes will persist. The uca's will help you acheive the positive caster numbers needed to make your truck handle like stock.

 

Ok. Thanks. Easy to install yourself?