SPC, UCA Balljoint has play...8,500 miles

Alright, I knew what I was getting into with additional maintenance headaches but even I am surprised to have UCA's have play after only 8,500 miles (literally NO wheeling this winter either).

I took it back in the other day because the steering wheel was off a touch to the right. I figured the passenger LCA had given out since I didn't replace it in September when I did both upper ball joints and a complete LCA on the driver's side.

Luckily, the shop took care of the realignment at no charge. However, I am wondering if they messed up the UCA installation even though the alignment was good, and that lead to premature failure. Maybe I got a bad set.

Below are photos of the upper ball joints post-alignment. You guys not in the rust belt can keep the rust comments to yourself LOL.

The driver's side looks wonky to me...
Whats everyone else seeing here? Other than rust...

 

The drivers side upper bj looks to be set in a different position than the passenger, thus why the castor is 0.9° lower than than the passenger.

Asides that being different, I changed my Spc balljoints every oil change or two

 

This ^ The only comment I have on the rust is DAMN!!

 

I got 30k out of my first set.

 

Yup, Michigan is hard on vehicles. I was really surprised at how quickly the springs went to shit. Less than a season before the started looking rough.

 

Definitely different location on the UCA, Your springs look like a ring of cooked Kielbasa. Happy Easter.

 

Man, if I lived in an area like this I’d try to find a way to keep from driving my modified off road truck in the winter. The whole point is supposed to be more reliable off road capability.

Maybe I’d lease a Hyundai, then I wouldn’t care when it decays away.

 

This is just a weekend warrior...I have a company car, but it sucks in the snow. Sooo, the Taco is the ski rig. I will say as with most new vehicles how quickly they start to rust is infuriating. I am seriously considering selling and going back to leasing every 2/3 years and foregoing the rust altogether.

 

Thanks for mentioning kielbasa. Now I’m hungry.

 

Looks like the shop torqued down the upper ball joint while the square washer is outside the slot. In theory this can cause the ball joint unit to rotate (and the caster to shift) when you hit a pothole, curb, or a sharp terrain feature off-road. The washer has a star-shaped hole to engage the hex-shaped bevel on top of the ball joint unit and is used to lock down the caster setting. You should go to the shop to correct this.



Keep any eye on the last coil of the spring where it's ground to a taper to sit flat on the spring perch. It has a tendency to break off. "Corrosion-assisted fatigue" as the metallurgists call it.

 

Thank you kind sir!!

 

Yes, it's very slight, but it's there.

 

THIS ^^^

 

Seems pretty typical of SPCs these days...I had play in my driver side after only 4 months (after replacing both sides due to failure). I've since taken those off and went with a different brand.

 

What did you switch too?

 

I'm on JBAs now...and I'm not sure if my driver-side UCA is messed up or if its something else...but after swapping to those and getting my alignment done, I have a terrible clanking noise when I reverse with my steering wheel cranked left lol. Haven't got to the bottom of that noise yet...

 

The SPC balljoints do have play, there is a youtube vid from SPC showing their proprietary ball joint. It is somewhat spring loaded/retained . I'm not saying this your issue but there is a slight up and down movement of the balljoint, even when installed correctly. I had to replace mine, because their proprietary bearing/bushing went bad. I bought another set and replacement bushing to keep as a spare so I dont have any downtime. SPC does have quite a bit of youtube vids on their channel of their parts.

 

Have you ever tried spraying down your suspension or frame with a corrosion inhibiter? I would think that would be ideal for you.

 

With the wheels off the ground, up and down play is normal. Side to side is not.

Do make sure to grease them with the specific greases listed by SPC, https://www.spcalignment.com/subjectFAQ/SPC Approved Grease.pdf which makes a big difference.

 

I’ve got a pair of 650# I’ve had up for sale… if I lay shipping was not 60+$

Also, since I see you posted here, happy birthday @71tattooguy