SPC UPPER CONTROL ARMS.. YAY OR NAY?

somehow didn't see this thread prior to ordering my SPC uppers. But, the new joints that came with mine (installed today) say maintenance free and the inner bushings are more similar to a johny joint than they are to your standard rubber bushings. when installed, there is just over 5mm of the top of the ball joint showing, which i thought was a problem, but spc said that its fine since the boot sealt to the joint and not the spindle surface.

i have been running the high caster JBLs for a a year, and they have just as much, if not more, play as the SPCs did in the first video posted. on top of that, they shoved my tires into the firewall and no amount of adjustment gave me clearance. the SPCs already do not rub at all on setting f with the bolt almost all the way in.

i hate how no manufacturer adds in the description weather or not the caster is being pushed forward or back. i know a buddy has a set of totoal chaos uppers and lowers, oem length, and he runs 35s without a cab mount chop. they wont confirm which geometry was changed, upper or lower, when talking to them on the phone several times. also, he replaces the joints in them every 6 months, to the point where he keeps spare joints in the truck and tool to pop them out.

after reading through this thread, i hope i didn't make a mistake buying these. i know as far as clearance and adjustability go, they are super easy to adjust. i don't even need to jack the truck up. a 32mm socket and a rubber mallet will let you make adjustments with the truck on the ground. they do hit on the tire with 0 offset wheels, but i have -12 beadlocks that will be going on in the am, and they clear just fine. i noticed i didn't see anyone talking about tire clearance. the JBLs didn't have that issue. they cleared 35s 0 offst no problems, but did rub when turning.

 

I agree that there isn't much info on tire width & what offset is needed to avoid rubbing on the SPCs at full lock. Compared to stock UCA the SPCs are a little wider toward the front of the vehicle, but they are thinner than stock UCAs. Here is an overlay of the two.

Next part may not be helpful for a 35" tire but someone else may find it helpful. Below are some pictures of a 255/85r16 (33" diameter and 7.5" tread width) on a 13mm+ offset 16 x 7" wheel, SPCs at position E, lower control arm all the way forward. At ride height there is 1" of clearance to the SPC when fully turned, however at full droop this clearance is decreased to about 1/2".

Ride Height:

Full Droop:

I am thinking about 285/75r16 next but worried about rubbing the control arm if I stick with the 13mm+ TRD Pro wheel. Any one else running that combo without issue?

 

i will add. you need to find an alignment shop that doesn't complain about non factory parts.
had the official alignment done today. i use firestone for the lifetime, which isnt the best option, but i get an alignment almost every 3 months from wheeling. poor kid, hes a littel autistic. i explained to use the bolt on the UCAs to adjust t he camber and he still turned the cam bolt. now its rubbing all over again. i had it a whole day where it didn't rub at all in any position. taking it back in the morning. he also didn't do some other items on the ticket, like removing tpms sensors from all 5 wheels(he did 4) or resetting the SAS sensor(skipped some teeth last trip). probably the biggest downfall to having adjustable control arms. you can find a good shop but then have to pay every single time to get the alignment.

 

Yep, 8k and 2 years and click … click …

JBA

 

My budget for truck upgrades is tight right now so I’m just going to MOOG UCA. Shouldn’t have given my stock ones away.

My SPC bushings have some play when I grab the arm and shake it with the wheels on the ground. Can feel a distinct clunk from it. This is after 40k miles. I’m running 5100 with OME

 

I just put the "New Maintenance Free SPC's" on my 3rd gen last night. I took pics of the ones I took off my 2nd gen to compare. The old ones I had on my 2nd gen for about 5 years before the ball joints failed. But 5 hard years of mud, sand, trails, flood waters, jumps any hell you can put a Tacoma through, lol!

The only thing that changed is the ball joints

 

How do you adjust them without jacking the truck up? Every time I loosen the nut at the top it wants to slide all the way to the end? What's your trick?

 

To all the SPC owners with failed ball joints. I bet 100% you, the vehicle owner, did not grease the SPC ball joints per their instructions. I always recommend every 3k or every oil change at least!

Sick of hearing "my ball joints failed after 2 years" from some lazy owners that didn't do their part. Grease the ball joints often and they won't fail often. That goes for any brand or any part with a greasable part.

 

If you slide a small jack under the LCA and lift it enough to get the tire off the ground, the tire will no longer be imposing a force on the spindle and subsequently the UCA and you can make fine adjustments without it slamming inward on you.

 

You are right, and that's exactly why SPC changed to a sealed BJ. They told me they were getting sick of denying warranty claims because people wouldn't read the instructions and weren't greasing them properly. Also, the type of grease is/was important as well. You can't just use red & tacky like most of us would have in our grease guns already. Needs to be a specific kind with moly in it.

 

8k miles, they were serviced correctly. The most action the truck has seen is going to the drs office, no off-road since I’ve owned the truck.

hahahaha, part ways for the know it all.

 

I have installed more lift kits on Tacomas than probably anyone on this website. Do them every week for the last 4-5 years. So I might know a few things.

 

That being the case, that seems to me like SPC's fault for using a joint design that requires an unusual type grease.
Most everybody is accustomed to lithium-based products typically labeled "Chassis Grease" (the 'red & tacky' stuff you said), which works perfectly fine for nearly every other brand of ball joint, as well as steering linkages, and u-joints alike. To think people would remember a special grease requirement a year or two after the fact (if it was even read at all) didn't make for a wise business decision.

I've wanted a pair of SPC arms myself, but have held off buying them because of all the reported ball joint failures (and issues with the bushings too). This is the first time I've heard about them needing a special grease.

 

JBA specifically states DO NOT use red and tacky on their upper arms. That it doesn't blend well with their materials.

So no, you should follow directions and use the appropriate grease recommended by the manufacturer of the part.

 

I remember asking if you would replace my UCAs a few months back, thanks for the quote.

Funny, I saw your post just as I got back from confirming I needed new ones, and was going to reach out and get something scheduled for the install.

emphasis on “was”, in case that wasn’t obvious.

 

Well, hope you find a good installer. Cheers.

 

I have SPC UPC and have had no problems at all, and yes, I lube them about once a year.

 

Their bushings are just as bad as the BJ. With the costs of the bushings, and the pain to install them, makes the arms not really worth it.

 

Had mine swapped yesterday, huge difference.

 

Well, this didn't age well. The replacement sealed BJs failed now too after about 1.5 years. Both sides, I could move the UCA up and down about 3/16". Emailed SPC with a video, they replaced them under warranty again. Shipping took 3 business days to Canada (impressive). Got the new black ones on now. So lucky me, I get to try all 3 versions!

SPC rep I was in contact with tells me the new black BJs are now built in-house again. Supposedly the issues with the silver ones were that they were designed for certain tolerances and worked well when they were built in-house. But they couldn't keep up with demand and outsourced the mfg of the BJs which resulted in the tolerances being out too much and that's why all the recent failures. So hopefully 3rd time is the charm here. Time will tell I suppose.