RC Forged Aluminum UCA's.....Hear me out

Oh I agree 100%!! I do all my own work except alignments, tire mounting and balancing and AC since those all require very expensive equipment. This thread is really just trying to see if anyone has had them and what their experience is. I think they are fairly new since they introduced their 3.5" lift kit, which I don't know when that was. I tried looking up reviews on the 3.5" lifted Tacoma's but haven't found anyone with more than 10k miles. So far it all seems to be holding up. But as we know, most RC customers aren't doing much off roading...more for style.

I have been seeing posts about JBA ball joints failing more recently, seems like it's on more recently purchased JBA's. Possibly ones purchased in the last year or so? I haven't read into the failures much but I see threads popping up about them more often recently on 2nd gen, 3rd gen and this suspension threads.

 

Same here. I know JBA has recently replaced the boots (version I got). Wonder what the stats look like on ball joint failures - how many hard wheelers vs casual wheelers like me?

Anyway thanks again guys.

 

So I was looking up some different UCA's and I didn't know Bilstein (51-304683) made UCA's now. Made of 4130 chromoly! A little overkill, but chromoly is light which is why KTM uses chromoly. They are equally as light as aluminum framed bikes and far stronger. The Bilstein UCA's use GM 3/4 ton ball joints FYI, specifically MOOG K6696.

I unfortunately am not a hard wheeler. My location in NW IA puts me about 8hrs from any trails worth traveling to, plus I have to drive it there and back so I'm not too rough on it. But that's not to say I don't take chances/risks on the trail, they are just very calculated. Which I don't have time in my life to do 3-4 day trips frequently sadly. Plus I have other toys that need driving/riding attention too...91 MR2, 12 KTM 300XC and a 12 Victory Cross Country.

 

I drink the Beta koolaide. My little mountain goat is a 200rr. BUT miss my Harley (08' Dyna) more than any other bike I've ever had.

Sorry to the OP for the off topic comment.

 

To be totally clear chromoly steel is heavier than aluminum. The addition of chromium and molybdenum increase hardness and corrosion resistance but do little to affect the steel's weight. The difference in weight you see in bikes of each material is down to the wall thickness required for a given level of strength since the steel alloy can be made thinner with equivalent strength to aluminum.

 

i greased mine after every other wheeling trip and both have play in them already, I've had them for around a year lmao.

i cant recommend them at all.

 

I recommend them in a different thread and will here also. JD FAB with the oem inner bushing (that's known to last 200k miles) and the unball out that has a sealed top cap with grease fitting. These things a way over built for 99% of owners and around $600 shipped you can't beat them.

 

No worries! This was originally a bit of a BS thread to begin with to see any info about these UCA's or reasons not to buy them for other memebers.

Good point. I didn't even think about! I ain't no metallurgist, heck I can barely weld! But that's what's great about this forum. So many people from so many knowledge backgrounds. Very well rounded!

 

I have been following the JBA issues reported here over the last year as I am really interested in the design they chose for UCAs. The more recent issue has revolved around a bad batch (or batches) of boots for the ball joint. It has been tearing in as little as a month, allowing grease to escape and exposing the metal ball joint to dirt and moisture ingress. I know JBA has recently started sending out replacement poly boots for those that have filed warranty claims and *I believe* they are shipping new UCAs with the new boots.

There are benefits to JBA's design, especially if the new boots hold up and prolong ball joint life. From JBA:

So, easy to find replacements in a pinch, they use the Moog

$27 K6292 Front Upper Suspension Ball Joint for Chevrolet K1500

K6292 ball joint off Mid 90s C/K2500 trucks, which will be absolute overkill for our Tacomas. Also, no need to use a press or specialty tools to remove and install. Just 4 bolts and go!

EDIT: Typo on the MOOG PN. It is K6292 NOT K9296

 

That last bit is great info!!! So you could OEM ACDELCO 45D0064 ball joints for $26 from RockAuto rated for the diesel (GVW 8600lbs), which would likely last forever on our trucks!!

 

I believe they have revised the ball joints lately.

 

Not sure, you can use MOOG K6292 ball joints or any other brand equivalent. JBA copied the bolt pattern so they should fit. I would only be worried about the actual ball joint size since JBA ball joints fit snugly into the UCA, see pic below:


If you look at JBA's website, it states what part numbers the JBA ball joint replaces: https://jbaoffroad.com/jba-upper-ball-joint-k6292.html

But as @JayRolla points out, JBA revised the specs when they began having bespoke ball joints manufactured for their UCAs. The ball joints that JBA has manufactured for their UCAs have 90 degrees range of motion, 40 degrees on up travel and 50 degrees on down travel. I don't know how that compares to Moog ball joints and their equivalents. The only recent revision I am aware of is to the poly-boot due to the cracking of the previous design.

Edit: I forgot to mention, the JBA ball joint is rebuildable as well for only $60ish. https://jbaoffroad.com/jba-upper-ball-joint-rebuild-kit-for-jba-k6292-b.html

 

I already got them delivered from Rough Country via FedEx.
What I can tell so far they look like quality parts.
Going to install them tomorrow!

Toyota Forged Upper Control Arms (05-21 Tacoma) UCA
Brand: Rough Country
SKU:

$300 74201A Rough Country Forged Upper Control Arms for 05-23 Tacoma | 10-24 4Runner- 74201A

74201A
$269.95

Here are some high-res pictures of them...

 

I contacted Rough Country via eBay.

Me:
I know you guys recommend to use these UCA in combination with 3.5" front lift.
My Tacoma has been lifted with coil-overs 3" front lift. Just trying to figure out if these will work for me.
Thanks!

RC:
Our techs state that you will not have any issuing this since you at 3" in the front.
Thanks
Thank You,
Rough Country
Customer Service

 

I tried searching the Google machine for experiences from other forums. There has been so much conjecture as far back as 2012 with ball joints failing and people claiming they are crap. Who knows...but I'm not gonna try.

 

I’ll accept $5 donations to purchase a set and test them out for everyone. Haha I have considered using some Amazon points to purchase a set.

 

Dude, you rock!! Those ball joints are equivalent to MOOG K6696, which is for 2001-2010 Chevy 2500 diesel trucks. Or even MEVOTECH TXK6696 which supposedly have more angle and are more durable.

 

At that price point I’d try them if it would work with 2” of lift. Let us know how it goes!

 

Here are they installed on my taco with 3" lift.
Install was a breeze
Love the look and how they perform so far.

Probably the best budget friendly UCA out there!

 

All control arms are the same pretty much. They have additional 2* caster.