SPC UCA Bad ball joints after 20k

I have about 35k on mine and still solid. I grease with an NGLI #2 every 5k and before/after road trips and any major off-roading.

Premature wear is usually attributed to improper maintenance.

 

Any front end clunk, first thing to check is that the alignment cam bolts are torqued to spec.

19mm hardware, 110ft#'s
22mm hardware, 130ft#'s

90% of the time, that will do it. SPC bushings do have an issue with a pop or clunk noise which SPC will warranty, so if the noise continues after you torque all 4 LCA bolts, then that may be the issue.

 

This is not a metal on metal clunk, this is a rubber rebound sound when hitting big bumps. Mostly from the drivers side but also on passenger side. Sounds like a bushing or mount that is loose but hasn't ripped the bushing all the way through. Going to replace the front body mounts (by Radiator), but while I have all the tools out wanted to see what else it could be. No sway bars, new coilovers.

 

Curious where are those torque numbers from? FSM specs LCA bolts at 100 ft/lb (19mm), UCA through bolt at 85 ft/lb (19mm), and UCA BJ to knuckle at 81 ft/lb (22mm). Want to make sure we all have the correct information.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-torque-spec-guide.318116/

 

19mm hardware is on 05-15 Tacoma LCA bolts/nuts. I've found 100 isn't enough, so 110 has been good. 22mm hardware is found on 16+ Tacoma LCA bolts/nuts, and that is spec.

 

Go ahead and put your torque wrench on everything. Body mounts are 32ft#'s.

 

I would love to hear the emerical evidence to support a substantiated difference in 10 ft/lbs...

 

Just expirence, no actual science behind it. Gives the hardware an 1/8th to 1/4 turn at best.

 

Ok that makes a little more sense to me. I’ve seen a common practice to add 1/4 turn after hitting the spec.

 

I will do that. I have some energy suspension bushings to swap in there for the front body mounts.

 

What is a clear symptoms of ball joints going bad? My tire wear seems normal no shaky steering wheel. I do have a slight thump sound when turning into bumpy turf.

 

Not sure there is a one-size-fits-all symptom. Mine failed after about 1 year and something like 10k miles. Started by giving a little bit of click-clack sound from time to time which went away after I pumped more grease in (which by the way you should do more often than 5k for sure). Then I started noticing my steering feeling a little "off" like it wanted to wander but couldn't notice anything so figured it's mind playing tricks. Then with more mileage it became clear as day when my front tires were cupped so bad I almost had to trash them and buy new ones. Ended up rotating them and running in reverse direction which burned off tread life excessively but caused them to return to mostly being level.

 

Any kind of movement in the balljoint.

 

I'm assuming while the truck is jacked up and no weight on vehicle?

 

Ya thats how you can easily test it, though if it was wiggling with weight on it I'd be nervous.

 

https://www.spcalignment.com/partFAQ/25002_FAQ.pdf

 

Thanks but I don't think I've ever owned a dial indicator

 

Who does their oil change every 10k? Toyota recommended 5k to 6k right?

 

The upper ball joint doesn't really carry weight. If you can get a pry bar under the UCA and leverage off the tire, that's one way to check for play. (May not work if your tires are bigger than 35")

 

You can get one that's accurate enough for this job at Harbor Freight with a magnetic base for like $30 or less with coupons/sales. That's what I did, and that's how I proved the excess radial play.

Up/down play doesn't matter with these according to SPC because the spring washer takes up that slack (though I agree, up/down play does actually matter a bit). It's the side-to-side play you have to measure because it's small but carries big consequences.