JBA Offroad Upper Control Arms And Suspension MEGA Thread BS thread

I ended up getting ome ucas lol

 

So got the JBAs installed. The alignment tech had no clue why I'd want caster so high. He also said the alignment sheet I gave him from JBA was wrong as the tires would wear bad. I didn't have enough knowledge to say one thing or another so I feel at a bit if a loss. Talked to the KC thread and they recommended a shop that has worked on lots of Toyotas and Jeeps. Hoping they can fix this mess.

 

Getting my UCA's in weren't bad at all. The hardest part was the fender mod getting the bolts out. When in doubt, AIR HAMMER!!!! Installing them I put the front washers on the bolt as I inserted it through the uca, not worrying about the back washers yet. Then with the bolt about half way through I took my pry bar and gently made space for the inside rear washer then tapped it in place. Then the bolt slides right on in and finish off with last thick washer and nut. The only real issue I had was the passenger side ABS line was extremely tight so I gathered some slack from either end and made another sleeve out of small fuel line and re-crimped it to the mounting bracket.

 

Got mine installed today and hoping alignment tomorrow will fix my rub issue.

 

I am considering upper arms now and came across JBA.

my question is, which one do I need? OEM or high caster?

I have the Eibach stage 2 pro coilovers and 1” rear block+shocks waiting to be installed. I only want to do this all at once for 1 alignment.

I assume the front lift will be 1.5/2” range to level out the truck with the rear 1” block.

I’m planning to run 275/70/17 tires.

 

I have this one and it will work perfect for your set up.
https://jbaoffroad.com/jba-std-high-caster-upper-a-arms-for-toyota-tacoma-05-plus.html

 

You want high caster. You don't necessarily need the HD version, but why not.

 

Sweet. Thanks all!

I hope the new boots are legit. Definitely don’t want to be dealing with issues constantly. Looks like it’s hit or miss, but I feel more confident buying a set with the new boots

 

So, I’ve been debating which UCAs to get for a while now. Was set on SPC, then saw this thread. I’m going to have a 2.5” Eibach Pro Truck Stage 1 in the front, and OME EL111r 2” rear springs. I need UCAs, as I’m already “squirrelly” at high speed now, with 1” up front and the OME springs out back. I’ve been “pushed” to the SPC UCAs by some members, but the added adjustability and possibility for errors and failures scares me.

My question is, other than describing the steering feel as “great”, what should I expect from these? A stock feeling? Floating, wandering etc.

Use will be on a DCLB mall crawler, because who offroads a long truck?

P.S.- I’ve read about 30 or so pages, and driving descriptions were vague at best.

Thanks

 

SPC adjustability is really a gimmick. Their ball joints and bushings are sub par quality. JBA's bushings are one of the best. The ball joint is rebuildable, or you can sub in any brand that you please.

 

Let me give you my experience with my JBA's since I have a 2013 double cab long bed (That I DO off road BTW lol), and have had my JBA's on for the past four years. The need for aftermarket upper control arms is to basically give you the articulation that you would need for the suspension to work properly. You are really not going to "feel" anything different on the road. They also allow you to have more options regarding putting on bigger tires, for your lift, mainly due to the geometry that are built into them to help you align your truck correctly. The SPC UCA's are actually a very good UCA. "Gimmicky" or not, they do allow for more adjustability for whoever does your alignment. If the person knows what they're doing and knows how to adjust the SPC's because they have previous knowledge and experience on how to do so, that is a great thing. If they don't, it can actually make things a lot worse. I went with JBA for a number of different reasons. I knew that they were "rock solid", had 3 degree's of caster built into them ( I have 285/70/17's so it definitely helps), they come with a lifetime warranty, both of the upper bushings are greaseable with Zerk fittings as well as the ball joint, outside of the icon "Delta joint" in my opinion the ball joints are some of the toughest around as well as very easily replaceable by the common man without a press, and they are backed with a lifetime warranty. I do off road my truck a lot, even though it is a "trail limo" and it allows the suspension to fully cycle instead of getting hung up on the geometry of the ball joint. Keep in mind, that any 2nd gen truck with 2.5"+ of lift in the front ( even though I tell people 2" still makes a big difference) Will be necessary to make sure that your suspension is working correctly and you are not putting undue stress upon a ball joint stretched to the limit. Are they absolutely 100% necessary? The true answer to that is no. Are they 100% absolutely recommended? The true answer that is yes. I did have the old ball joints in my truck and they never once failed on me. I changed them out after three years, and 50,000 but not because the ball joint failed, I wanted to replace them because of how hard I can be on my truck. People are going to try to sell you on whatever they feel is going to be what is best for them, but maybe not you. It basically turns into a "Ford versus Chevy" debate. There's going to be pros and cons to each UCA you put on. My personal experience, if I had to do it all over again, I still would choose my JBA's. This is just my two cents.

 

Much appreciated @Texoma and @crashngiggles . You’ve given me something to think about.

 

Edit: ordered them, can’t wait for these and the coilovers to come in!

 

Question about alignment with these since they have 3* of caster built into them does that force the alignment tech to automatically have to adjust the lower control arm forward to correct alignment or do you still have to let them know to push the lower control arm as far forward as possible for tire clearance?

 

@Vst Specs provided with purchase of my HC arms was stock toe and camber, and 4.5*caster. My alignment guy will get the numbers you ask for, so just tell him what to shoot for, a good tech will get it.

 

I had my JBA UCAs installed sometime last year by a professional since I don't have the skill set or time to do it myself. I don't drive my truck much so I recently had my first oil change since having these installed. I decided I would run my first grease through it and noticed an issue that you can see below. I highlighted in red that one of the bushings popped out. I then noticed, after looking at pictures of other JBA UCA installs, that it was installed without washers on the inside of the bushing (yellow circle). Could this have been the cause of the bushing being pushed out? Also, I don't know how long this has been pushed out like this so I don't know what kind of damage it might have caused. Can anyone give me some advice on this?

 

That really stinks. It needs to be done correctly or it will continue to happen. Thin washers in the middle. Big on the outside. Personally I would purchase new bushings and have them installed.

 

Wow, a professional.

 

At the very least, that shop owes you a new set of bushings. Honestly, you should get your money back AND new bushings, so you can pay a different shop to install them properly.

 

Go get your money back from the jackass who charged you to install those. That's the first thing you need to do.