Adjusting caster on Total Chaos UCA's

Seeing at they aren't adjustable, is there any way to actually push the wheel forward while running their UCA's? My wheels seem to sit far back in the wheel well and I'd like to go with 295's next. I already have a CMC and the clearance is tight.



Past alignment specs:



At the end of the day, I'm not opposed to swapping for something else as I can only seem to make it a year on a set of uniballs and bushings before they get loud as hell, even with lubrication every 5k miles. I suspect road salt is the culprit.

 

Set the caster between 3-4*

 

Ya, that's my question though, how does the caster get set on a non adjustable uca?

 

There is a caster adjustment cam on the lca. One adjusts camber the other caster. If there is no prebuilt caster in the uca you made need to get some they do have it or that are adjustable. My jba uca’s have 2* of caster built in. So getting 4* was easy.

 

as far as the TC uniballs getting loud, really you must lube them on the regular (weekly), every 5k miles will simply not cut it...

as far as really pushing for positive caster, you might want to consider the jba upper control arms if not perhaps the spc light racing arms. either of these options will solve the maintenance issues of running uniballs...

how much CMC did you actually trim out? maybe some more grinding and trimming should be done if your current clearance is not enough for you...

 

I’ve got the JBA’s and I’m thinking of switching over to the SPC’s. I still rub and hear crunchy pops on the pass side when it flexes even a little bit. I have to go slow into my driveway or it’ll be loud as hell.

 

Do you use the PTFE spray?

Regarding the CMC, it's actually a pretty deep cut and into the circular opening around the body mount bolt/bushing.

 

The above alignment sheet doesn't show your caster specs. Any experience alignment tech can lower your caster to move the wheel forward more to prevent contact with the body mount. I suggest try a different alignment shop.

 

Even with a non adjustable UCA?

 

Correct. I currently have SPC UCAs and i installed them with the default setting "D" which gave me +2° caster. When I first got my alignment, the tech put my alignment within the factory specs which had my caster at 1.5-2.0°.I was aiming for caster to be above 3°, which i was able to get 3.5° and 4.0° by just adjusting the LCA eccentrics.

 

I have 3.6 caster with tc uppers. Needed the extra caster for 35s

 

So 3.6 was just built in or you were able to adjust the caster through the lower control arms?

 

The caster is adjustable from the lower arm. I can go anywhere from 1* up to 3.6

 

Rear cam all the way out and front cam all the way in is max caster

 

Perfect, thank you!

 

Gonna go to an offroad alignment shop soon. Although I’ve been reading threads on here about the LCA tabs busting, so that’s promising lol.

 

So a castor of 3.5 degrees, how far forward does it actually move the tire? New to uca info, but just got 33s, planning a cmc and ucasnext, its such a tight fit now.

 

OP, all after market UCAs that have built in caster is positive caster. Positive caster on UCA pushes the tire toward the rear fender.
This is to improve steering and alignment specs after a lift, it’s intentional.

The only way to move the tire forward with a UCA is an adjustable UCA, like SPC. Many people, including myself for a while assume or think that built in caster on a UCA places the tire forward. This is absolutely incorrect.
I didn’t start to rub my CM until after I installed Icon UCAs that had built in 2* of caster. The stock UCAs didn’t rub.
There are so many people on this forum that get it wrong and think their built in caster on aftermarket UCAs moves the tire forward. It actually moves it further back than stock.

I recently went through this extensively. I had to buy SPCs and sell my Icons because my oversized tires had a slight rub on the CM after setting caster to 4* via the LCA.
After the SPCs were installed my tire is now about 2” from my CM at its closest position when turning the wheel. All of this is with 33” tires and NO CMC or any trimming. I did have to trim a small amount of the front part due to the tire being so far forward now.
My lift is also just under 2.5”

Do a search for SPC UCAs and you’ll see plenty of people explaining this.

Good luck!!!


EDIT for clarification:
Positive caster on the UCA moves the tire back.
Positive caster on the LCA moves the tire forward.
When doing a normal alignment without an adjustable UCA the only place to move caster is at the LCA. The more positive caster adjusted on the LCA, the more forward the tires moves.

 

Would you say spc is the best choice?

 

They are the most adjustable. I am biased because I have them, but I got them after doing a lot of research and determined that they are the best adjustable UCAs. I love mine and they are great.
From my research, almost everyone said SPC are the best adjustable UCAs.

I also called them a couple of times for help on how I should adjust them and they were very familiar with the Tacoma and set me up. Their customer service is awesome. They have a couple of technicians at the office that will go in great detail with you if needed.