UCA Installation/Removing the Bolt

This UCA installation should just be bolt on, but I am having a heck of a time bending out the body on the drivers side to remove the damn bolt; the area beneath the battery looks like it is double walled. I changed out the one on my 2011 and it was a lot easier. Does anybody have any tricks they can share? Thanks
I may go to a body shop tomorrow and see if they can help. The new leaf pack is done and the new coils are in, so close.

 

BFH

 

I use a large channel lock plyer, and sometimes a pry bar. It just takes time.

If you want to save the bill, cut the head off the bolt, and insert the new bolt from the rear.

 

Sheet metal vice grips to bend it as far back as you can. Even then you won’t get it all the way but it’s super close. Then I took a punch and a hammer and tapped the bolt out. Getting it in had to tap it back in place with a hammer and a curved tip chisel. Removing the battery helps.

 

I just did mine. Use a large crescent wrench to grab the fender wall. The bolt never slid easily for me until it passes the fender. I used a blunt object to tap it out while making sure not to pinch any wiring or ac lines...

Going back in I used two 18" rachet extensions through the grill to tap the drivers side in... The passenger side I drilled a hole in the radiator brace to poke the extensions through.

 

Cool, thanks. I don't have that tool so it's a great reason to buy more tools.

 

NO NO NO NO NO. FFS do not give bad advice.

Installing the bolt from the rear is stupid and dangerous. What happens if the nut were to work it’s way off? Ever seen the aftermath of a UCA that’s come loose after improper install?

There’s a reason it’s installed the way it is.

 

I bought it specifically for uca installs on these trucks. It’s a life saver.

 

Lol calm down Francis. When installed in the correct orientation the bolt will still back out if the nut comes off due to improper torque. Doesn’t matter either way.

 

I've seen 3.5 inch solid pins mounted vertically, work their way up instead of down, on tower cranes. Vibration does weird shit.

 

The bolt will fall out if installed from the rear and the nut comes off.

If installed properly, gravity takes effect and the bolt will not back itself up and out on a semi horizontal pivot point. I’ve personally seen the aftermath of a bolt installed improperly from the rear and the guy that had the truck flipped 9 times on the highway hitting 3 other vehicles in the process.

 

Exactly. Torquing to factory and rechecking after 100 miles/periodically and the chance of anything negative happening are slim to none.

 

And I have personally seen a properly installed bolt also back out due to improper nut installation. So orientation of the bolt is less important than proper torque discipline on all nuts.

 

Chill.

I assure you there's a metric fuck ton of them running around backwards.

Find me posts of the arms falling off due to the bolt being backwards.

I've seen one arm loosen off, it was in the correct orientation, it clunked and alerted the customer.

 

Yap, if u pay attention, there's plenty of warning

 

I know we’re getting a bit off track here, but photos to back up my claims. Luckily it was just low speed off-road. To be clear this is not my truck.

 

So if you don't torque a suspension bolt properly it can cause a failure? Hmm

 

It’s weird how that seems to work.

 

Y’all have to realize that not everyone pays attention to shit. Not everyone is “in tune” with their vehicles all the time and at highway speeds things happen in an instant. There’s a right way to do things and then there’s the wrong way which sometimes ends in disaster, so why not do it the right way the first time?

I’ve been building Tacomas and drag cars since 1995 and have seen some incredibly stupid shit happen to people because of improper install techniques or taking shortcuts because reinstalling a component properly is a little difficult.

But you all seem to know better than the engineers that designed the vehicle, so go ahead and do dumb shit. Not my truck.