UCA Maintenance

My tacoma recently started to make squeeky noises when going over bumps. It has had its ICON UCAs for about 5k miles and its time for a re-greasing on its bushings. I was wondering if you guys know what type of grease to use on these type of bushings?
I tried searching through tacomaworld but i cannot find an answer.
Thank you

 

Do you have uniball joints? If so I use DuPont dry Teflon sprayDuPont Teflon Non-Stick Dry-Film Lubricant Aerosol Spray, 10 Oz.

$12 DuPont Non-Stick Dry-Film Lubricant Aerosol, 10 oz

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UTX0R8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_g.7RDbNV0B7BW

 

@3pooches yes i have Uni-ball. Thanks for the recommendation! Gonna order it too.

Do you know what type of grease goes for the Bushings though? Im planning to use a grease gun to shoot in grease through the zerk fitting.

I dont think the squeek is coming from the uniball, though i will lube it with the dry lube as well

 

I forget what my JBA UCAs said to use but I use some Moly-Graph grease in the poly bushings. Let me do some research and I'll see what I come up with.

 

The blue waterproof grease is what I use on poly bushings

 

I was planning to use this grease from Valvoline, but im un sure what type of material the bushings are whether they are polyurethane or not. I dont want to pump up the wrong grease and screw it up

 

Thanks guys! Just want 2nd opinions to make sure i do it right.

@3pooches would u have a link that i can look that one up?

 

https://www.suspension.com/blog/the-best-grease-for-polyurethane-bushings/

 

Fyi delta joints are an alternative to uniballs. Not bushing part of the uca

 

I just use Lucus Oil red n tacky for literally everything. On the truck, boat, trailer, lift, anything with a zerk lol....works good

 

@3pooches my mistake, they are delta joints and not uni-ball. Im not really aware of the differences between the too.
Thanks

@whatstcp from my understanding, we loosen the UCA bolt loosely, insert the grease through the zerk until the grease starts coming out. Lower the vehicle and then torque the bolt while the vehicle is on the ground correct?

 

You only have to put enough grease in to make the bushings start to move out. Just loosen the nut a bit and give it a few slow pumps while you closely watch the bushings for movement. Once they start to move, you're good. As far as the type of grease, that seems to vary by manufacturer depending on the plastic used.

 

@Ccrames2018 so no need to pump until some grease comes out then. As long as they start budging slightly. Yeah i was seeing different greases people used for different UCAs but i think as lomg as i use a grease appropriate for poly it should be good

 

Yeah all the videos I've seen and the instructions for my arms said just pump until they start to move and stop, so you don't stretch the bushings.

You should be fine, I haven't had any squeaking in about 4.5k miles using the moly grease in mine, and I think technically mine are supposed to use lithium based grease because of the rubber type. We'll see if it has any effect on longevity though I guess.

 

can't you just use any teflon spray for bushings too? Or does it have to be a grease?

 

@crhsharks12 teflon spray should be compatible with Poly bushing but i cant imagine it lasting as long as actual grease on there like Superlube with PTFE

 

yeah I’m sure it doesn’t last as long. Or lubricates as well. But the nice thing is it doesn’t attract grit grime oil or anything. I’ve been spraying Boeshield T9 AND or triflow Teflon spray on my UCA bushings for 3.3 years now and they work perfectly. No noise either, and they’re never dirty or the metal around them rusted because of the boeshield T9 spray

 

Thoughts on using Super Lube for ball joints too?

 

I bet ball joints need a specific grease. Check the specs on the model. But idk honestly

 

From ICON....

The Delta Joint comes fitted with a low profile zerk fitting that can remain on the UCA. The extra zerk is for customers who would prefer to use a regular style zerk.
This is the grease we use here at Icon:

https://www.valvoline.com/our-products/heavy-duty/palladium-grease

The specs on the grease that comes in the joint are:
NLGI GC-LB #2
GREASE WITH MOLY
The UCA bolt will need to be loosened prior to pumping grease into the pivot housings while performing maintenance. The bushings are air tight, so the seal will need to be broken in order to not damage the bushings due to the pressure.