SPC UCA Durability Issues

I did a little searching in the 1st Gen forums and found a lot of grumbling but no thread directly bitching about this.

I bought SPC UCAs in March 2021. I had to do UBJs anyways and figured it was a good time to "upgrade" and use something that goes well with a 2" lift and 33s. Uniball-style UCAs aren't really a feasible option in the Northeast on account of salty winters and SPCs seemed mid-tier.

Well the bushings & ball joints seem to only last about 18-24 months. The ball joints were replaced in September 2022 and October 2024. The bushings were replaced in September 2022 and I just noticed that the driver side needs replacing again this past week (March 2025). The truck sat unused for about 6 months in 2024 while I sourced another 1st Gen and my friend rebuilt & dropped the 1KZ diesel into it, so realistically we're talking about 18-24 months of normal driving on both paved and dirt roads in the Northeast.

Has anyone had theirs last longer than that?

To SPC's credit, I did get warranty replacements the first time around in September 2022 and I have reached out again to file another warranty claim so we'll see how it goes, but overall really not impressed with the durability from them.

Also just to be warned- the bushings and ball joints carry a 3-yr/36k-mile warranty on them NOT the "limited lifetime warranty" that their website clearly states on the product pages for both the ball joint kit and bushing kit. Clicking through to the warranty page also does not provide any information about the 3-yr/36k-mile warranty. I think that's a fine warranty period, (I mean, if I'm eating through these things in 18-24mo and they do keep honoring the warranty then so be it) but having incorrect information on your website in 2025 isn't acceptable. I attached screenshots of the pages because I'm annoyed and I want to be pedantic about it.


So yeah, I'm going to keep running these SPC UCAs for the foreseeable future and hope that they continue to honor the 3yr warranty period when I inevitably continue to munch up bearings doing mostly paved/dirt road driving in my truck.
I'm open to suggestions on what other non-uniball UCA to use, but realistically I'm not going to spend another $1k+ on UCAs for this truck.

If anyone out there is thinking about a UCA upgrade, perhaps look elsewhere first. Thanks for letting me vent here, guys.



TL;DR- SPC UCAs perform fine but bushing & UBJ durability is terrible. SPC support/warranty fine, but warranty not clear on website. Can't recommend SPC UCAs to others in good faith.

 

Well shucks, I've got a fresh set of SPC UCAs waiting to go on my 2018 Tundra and it will get used in much the same way you describe using your truck. Hoping they make the Tundra arms much more robust and durable.

FWIW, I have the Icon Delta Joint UCAs on my Tacoma and am very happy with them thus far. They've been on for right at a year and I absolutely thrash my Tacoma

 

Interesting info. Mine still has a good alignment with its lift but it's probably on the limit, I have considered aftermarket arms but was worried about the longevity. What kind of miles are you getting before replacing the bushings?

 

Good to know. I'll stick those on the short list if the current status quo persists.

My maintenance records say I got about 35k miles out of the first set (included a cross-country road trip, hence the high miles in only 18 mo) and about 28k miles out of the second set.