3rd Gen Maxtrac Spindles

More research on caster camber and toe numbers

 

More research..

 

@Xrs-fsho man thanks a bunch, puts my mind at ease for sure. I'm gonna give them a call now and have the guy put them to those specs!

 

You should have no problem getting good caster with those spc uca's. Post your alignment sheets when you're done..

 

Yeah bro the guy who installed my new suspension has been working on trucks(but a shit ton of Tacomas) for the past 15 years. These numbers off my alignment sheet are exactly what he wanted since he did the alignment himself at a Toyota dealership he used to work at. You can probably get your caster set a little bit higher too if you wanted to 3.0 degrees. As long as you're in that sweet spot (2.5 - 3.5 degrees caster, close to 0 toe and camber) you should be good to go.

Edit - no problem bro! I was in the exact situation as you, did a shit ton of research too. But I got lucky in finding a good tacoma guy to do my work (he has a Tacoma he fabbed up himself to make independent rear suspension that he likes to jump his truck) and I just asked him and he said those number should be good for you too. And that you have more flexibility since you have aftermarket uca's (I don't)

Edit - you can probably even get your caster to 4 degrees too

 

@Xrs-fsho damn you're good! Yeah I went ahead and let them know I wanted to be around 2.5-3 caster and to have camber and toe at 0. Hopefully they can get that right and not come back with other reasoning as to why they can't. There's so much room to get it right with those UCA's which is the reason I got them in the first place, aside from getting them at a steal for 250! (had to rebuild them for an extra 100, but still worth it and a steal!

It's a good thing you have a guy that specializes in Tacomas. I need to find me a guy here in San Antonio to have as my go-to.

I don't want to go too crazy on the caster as I want to be able to clear my cab mount. That's how it works right? Positive caster moves the tire back towards the cab? and neg caster moves it forward towards the bumper?

 

Yeah dude at 3 degrees caster you should be good to go! As far as the caster goes I believe you're correct. Hopefully someone can correct us. But I think that's right. But all I know is that when i had a spacer in front I was hitting the cab mount a little (especially in reverse) but once the spacers were removed and spindles installed I now completely miss the cab mount now. But it did push my tire wowarnds the front inner liner inside the fender so I had to cut more plastic out. So I believe you're correct

Dang you got a good bargain for those spc's! I wanted those but I only had money for JBA's. But then I returned the JBA's for spindle money. I want the aftermarket uca's! So much room for utilization and future setups and proper alignments.

 

@Xrs-fsho
Just waiting to hear back from the shop, hope they get it right! It'd be impossible to mess it up lol. I rub both the cab and inner fender so as long as I can clear the cab mount I'll be appy to trim as much as I need to up front.

Yeah man I got them off a guy up in Austin, TX. He had the new bushings to replace the old ones and all I had to get was the ball joint so for 350 can't complain! JBA's would have been the next option.

 

long travel will be the next project for this truck!

 

Same I would like to have a long travel setup next! When you replaced the ball joint on those spc's what kind of ball joint did you use? I'm curious in case I go your route(there is a guy in my area selling used lr uca's and I would want to replace the ball joint too(but I'd have to replace the bushings on my own since he doesn't have extra bushings).

I hope it works out for you with the alignment. Can't wait to see the alignment sheet!(since I've lifted my truck my interest in those sheets has gone up) and maybe after the alignment you'll be further away from that cab mount too

 

I used the ones off Headstrongoffroad.com. They have the replacement parts for the control arms.
https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/s...ment_Greasable_Ball_Joint_(PAIR)_-_25001.html

Also, the bushings are on here too
https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/s...acing_25470/25480_UCA's_-_SpecRide_25476.html

The bushings I had to have someone do for me as they're impossible to press out with a ball joint press. They had to burn out the rubber on the inside and take it all out, then they used an air hammer to punch out the bushing sleeves. Lot of work but it's doable.
The ball joint was easy, after I installed them on the truck, I used a breaker bar to take off the nut on the ball joint (torqued to 150 ft lbs) and installed the new ones. Good thing about them is that they're greasable.

I'll post up the sheet once I go pick up the truck so you can compare. I've messed with this truck so much already I've got a glove box full of alignment sheets lol got that lifetime alignment from Firestone.

 

Man headstrong has a lot of products for us. I'm fortunate enough that they're 20 mins away from me so I might just buy the uca's and drop by headstrong for bushings and ball joints for my application. And good advice for the bushings I'll stay clear from that and have my guy do the bushings. Ball joints seem like I can do on my own thanks for that advice too! I'll definitely shoot for greasable ones.

Do you have any driveline vibrations when you drive after the lift? I do. I bought a carrier bearing drop kit I'm thinking of installing this weekend. I have them 5-15 mph. They're small. But I notice them and they are annoying.

 

Dang well lucky you! Don't have to wait for shipping lol they're pretty quick though on that too.

I do and always have had vibrations, more so between 50-70. It's annoying only because I can feel it under my feet the most lol. But I do have a CB drop kit. I might get another from OME and see if adding that will cancel it out. I can live with it though doesn't bother me too much.

The other thing that might be the cause of that is the tires I have. After I got them I noticed the whole truck would shake at those speeds so I went to Discount and they re-balanced them and it went away for a while but I hit a curb one day and I started feeling again lol so It might be the tires themselves, might have a bad one somewhere. I haven't seen anyone with Dick Cepek tires and when I ordered they said it's rare that someone buys them, but that they're part of the Mickey Thompson line? Idk. But after this alignment I'll get a balance and rotation done too.

The OTHER POSSIBLE THING it could be was my inner tie rods lol. I know I had a bad one that needed replacing so when I did the uppers I replaced the inner tie rods while I was at it. So I guess I'll just see how everything is today lol also will send pics!

 

I have a vibration at that speed too more like in the 50 mph range. It sorta bothers me since I feel I'm constantly looking for noises or vibes in the truck(paranoia), but I want to get the angles right so I don't have premature u joint wear(i just got new u joints and carrier bearing installed). I might add washer if the spacer doesn't work for me(the ome that came with the ome cb drop kit) and whatever space I find works I'll have my brother fab up something for me since he fabricates.

As for the tires, what you're telling me, I might have mine rebalanced again. I think my issue is probably the lugs for the wheels. But yeah man you're the first guy I've talked to on here with dick cepek tires. They're nice though I like them! How tall are your tires? 33s?

I mean my vibes may totally be cuz my tie rods. The guy who worked on my truck told me I'll need new ones and I've noticed I have a leaky boot for my rack and pinion so that may be where my issue is(I'm going to have that replaced next week) with that repair and everything else, I'll probably have spent 5000 on my Tacoma in the last month lol
Now I have 2 money pits(my Corolla xrs) (my wife and wallet don't like)

 

@Xrs-fsho yeah I get the same way too lol constantly trying to hear any clunking or squeaking. Dang if he creates something for your carrier bearing let me know!

Yeah 4WP had a special on Dick Cepek tires a few months ago and on the wheels so I pulled the trigger on them. But if the vibs continue I'll have Discount look into them and if there's a balancing issue I'll see if they can get me a new set or different set. Or just go down on size They're 315/75/16, so about a 35?

Oh man that is A LOT on repairs! Wife can't be happy about that haha

 

I will let you know if i need a custom piece for the vibes with the carrier bearing. I believe if the spacer that came with the kit doesn't work, then backtrack and use washers(I think 3/8 or 1/2 inch) and stack them til you hey the desired ride (without vibes). So I'll have to see what I need to get rid of that darned low speed vibe.

Maybe you'll just need a lug centric balance and not a hub centric balance cuz I think the first place I went to did a hub centric. Then I took it to another shop and they did lug centric and my wheels were balanced(no steering wheel shakes).. So much to take into consideration when lifting a truck(for future truck guys out there take note)

 

Did you have to regear with 35s?

 

Hmm I’ll try doing the same thing with washers and see what happens.

Once I go to discount I’ll see what they end up doing and if they can do a lug centric balance. So much to do to get this truck rolling right

I haven’t re geared yet, I do plan to in the near future though. But not if I downsize on my tires.

 

Tell me about it.. When I lifted my truck I guess I didn't do enough research and paying for it now. It's ok cuz in the end I wanted to do this so better now than later. It makes my head spin tbh lol

But yeah let us know what happens at discount and see what they do for your tires.. I'm very curious and also the alignment. The alignment is what I'm waiting to see. That way I can see what the numbers look like with aftermarket uca's and a slight lift on top of the spindle lift. Cuz i most likely will use your sheet as a guide for my own truck I'm the future. I hope you don't have to downsize, to me I'd probably not want to go back to 33's and having 35's. 35's just look so badass on a tacoma