TOTAL CHAOS - UCA Maintenance (Lubricating Bushings & Uniballs) *VIDEO*

Okay I'll give you a call, How do the bushings themselves look? There's about 50k on the uniballs but the bushings were replaced sometime in the middle of that. I don't think i notice any squeaking but I can't be sure

 

I'm not a mechanic, so I'll ask for patience when asking my questions in what might seem like an uninformed way.

I hear some annoying rickety sounds on the passenger side suspension. I especially hear it when I'm driving slowly and when I drive onto bumps or the sidewalk.

The only maintenance I've ever done is oil changes, but I've been wanting to inquire about the necessary greasing/lubricating that might avoid such issues. The passenger side shock on the front was replaced under warranty because the original was defective.

My truck is 6 years old. 50K miles. What maintenance do I need to ask for at the dealership to resolve this issue?

Furthermore, any instructions about what to ask for, or how to ask so that I'm not taken advantage of with unnecessary maintenance would be greatly appreciated.

If there's any other essential maintenance that you guys highly recommend for my truck, I'd be grateful because I plan on keeping this truck for a long time. I always feel like the dealership recommends everything conceivable but I want to know what is truly necessary to secure the longevity and reliability of my truck.

Thanks, guys.

 

Without looking at them super closely it's hard to say. If they aren't cracked or torn or noisy, you can keep rocking them. Sometimes, it is easier to just replace them if you're already tearing the setup apart

 

Do you have any photos of your setup? What modifications have you done?

We can try to help!

 

@TOTAL CHAOS So I should’ve looked here about 48hrs ago... I just installed UCA’s. I didn’t receive any instructions but I found your video which was extremely helpful. I didn’t notice instructions on greasing at first but saw to loosen the bolt before pumping grease. Wasn’t sure how much to pump in. I think I pumped 5-7 times on each fitting. Also I didn’t know types of grease mattered. I used marine grease from harbor freight (posted pics above of specific grease). Is this something I need to have removed right away or should it be ok? Also reading previous posts should I release any pressure through the zerk? Thank you!

 

Don't feel like you need to remove the grease immediately, we've seen customers use a similar grease before. If you experience noise or any issues, then we definitely recommend switching out the grease. If the bushings are bulging at all or deformed, releasing some pressure in the zerk fitting will help

 

I assume any old grease gun with either the valvoline or super live in canister format will work for the application? I had no idea it needed to be done so often and mine must be way overdue

 

I love my tc UCA's. Had some issues with squeaking bushings because I had lubed the od of the bushings on installation. I took them apart, cleaned the grease, greased only the inner diameter and they've been silent ever since.

I am having some squeaking with the uniballs. I wipe them clean often (weekly) and spray with blaster dry lube with Teflon. 12k miles. Seen lots of dirt. Turning seems to cause the noise, and I've verified it is the uniballs. Suggestions? Thanks!

 

@TOTAL CHAOS from the googling I did I found that this is part #VV615, but it looks like they renamed it. Is this one from Amazon the same one? It is the same part number.

Valvoline VV615 Automotive Multi-Purpose Grease, 14.1 Fluid_Ounces

$10 Valvoline Multi-Vehicle High Temperature Red Grease 14.1 OZ Cartridge

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CQ4DIM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ZBQ8Db1PJJX9H

 

Does the UCA have to be loaded with the wheels on and in the ground when tightening the bolts?

I couldn't get enough leverage with small amount of space with the wheels on so I took them off to get more leverage. Do I need to loosen and re-tighten the bolts with the wheels on and suspension loaded?

 

Yes this is correct. We recommend a Teflon based lube but the standard gun should do the job.

 

We recommend using a Teflon based grease, Super Lube as an example.

 

Load not needed, you're all good!

 

Has anybody seen any clever improvised dust caps/covers for TC uniballs?
My truck lives in wet and dust, and cleaning/regreasing uniballs happens very, very frequently. I use tri-flow.

 

They say that caps capture moisture, so they don't use them.

 

Huge shoutout to @TOTAL CHAOS !

I was installing double shear UCA coil tower gussets and swapping my uniballs. The uniballs came out with barely any effort on a vise. New ones slid in with antiseize even easier. I highly recommend them to anyone interested. And my old ones barely had any play after 3 years of NE winters with salt and such.

 

I have had the total chaos UCAs with king shocks on for a couple of weeks. When the truck hits a speed bump or a pothole I can heard a squishy squeaky noise. It been roughly 1k miles and I figured it was just the poly bushing breaking in or something. But the noise doesn’t seems to be going away. Everything was installed correctly by a reputable shop. Doesn’t anyone have any ideas?

 

i just replaced my uniball and bushings according to the video you have posted (great step by step btw) but recently (1-1.5 weeks after install) i have a creaking noise while going low speeds over any dips or bumps. i torqued everything down and pumped super lube grease in prior to torquing like the video states. do you think i need to loosen and pump some more lube in? (ha thats what she said)

 

Have you checked the lower heim joint or bushings on the coil overs?

This is a common spot for dirt and debris to build up resulting in loud creaks and squeaks

 

I haven’t but that’s a possibility. I figured since I had just done my bushings and ball joint on the UCA that it was that. I’ll spray some ptfe lube on there and see if that helps