Chromoly Uniball UCA by Element Hard Parts

Came across these on a FB or IG advertisement. Chromoly uniball UCA.

https://www.elementhardparts.com/co...ment-chromoly-uniball-uca-2005-tacoma-2-4wd-1

Anyone with experience with these? Any first hand tacoma reviews?

I'm glad there's another option and it seems fairly priced.

 

I'm also interested in reading reviews on these, particularly with Elka 2.5s. I'm waiting to pull the trigger on a setup from #CaliRaised

 

I just purchased a set of Element's billet UCAs to pair with my Elka 2.5s. I went to my local Off Road Warehouse and looked at both the chromoly ones and the billet ones in person. I decided on the billet ones because they are absolutely bad ass, but the chromoly tube ones were also really nice, especially for the price. The guy at ORW was telling me that Element is a newer company based out of San Diego, and that their dealings with them so far have been great. He said their products have been top notch, and their customer service has been even better. I love supporting smaller businesses that dump a lot of effort into the Toyota community, so it was a no brainer to get these vs. something like Icon or Total Chaos (nothing wrong with those other brands either, I just like supporting small businesses).

I haven't installed them yet, but everything about them is amazing so far. If my wife hadn't given me last minute permission to double my budget on the spot, I would have purchased the chromoly ones. They were also really nice, and Element has their own bushing design that looked really good and is supposed to eliminate squeaks.

 

Those aren't bushings, those are heim joints. You may want to look into that more. Because there's no poly or rubber bushing, they don't flex or give, meaning, you'll get more feedback in the steering. In other words, a rougher ride.

Typically that style is used in more extreme uses, where you want the feedback and more direct input.

I'll search for a great video that explains the differences.

Good looking UCA though...

https://youtu.be/d4A3QGLEpTQ

Around minute 8, he goes into a detailed explanation.

 

Thanks for clarifying, and I apologize for not being more specific. I was referring to the bushings on the chromoly ones, as that's what the OP was asking about. But I do like the heims on these billet ones for my application. I had heimed UCAs on my Xterra (before I purchased my Tacoma), and I loved them. If I had gone with tubular UCAs, I would have run a really rigid poly bushing anyway, so these won't be much different in regard to the "feedback" in the steering. For me, these are a direct comparison to the Icon Delta Joint billet arms, but I like the design more (with the chamfered bottom) and I got them for a couple hundred dollars less. Paired with the 2.5 Elkas I'm going to install, I think these are going to serve me well

 

JFanaselle, any updates on the install? I'm eager to know how they came out. Any issues with allignment, or squeaky noises with the heimed billets? I've got the Elka 2.5s with the tubular Element uca sitting in the garage waiting to be installed, but have been contemplating upgrading to the billets for the additional adjustability. Would love to hear from someone with the same setup. Thanks!

 

Install was no different than any other UCA. The hard part is dealing with that stupid upper bolt, which is like 10 feet long and gets installed at the factory before the truck is fully assembled. I even bent the pinch weld seam A LOT like I saw in all the YouTube videos, and it was still a major pain in the ass to work it out and back in again. I see that some people order new bolts and cut the old one out (then install the new one from the opposite direction). In hindsight, if I had done that, it probably would have saved me at least an hour of work and a whole lot of swearing and sweating.

Other than that, they went in super easy. I did not reuse the outer washers from the factory UCAs, because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to (since the heim misalignment spacers act like a washer anyway). I later read in the instructions that you are supposed to reuse them, so I'm not sure if that will end up being a problem for me down the road. I really hope I don't have to pull that bolt back out The upper heim joints are already adjusted and locked in place right out of the box, so you shouldn't need to touch them. When I got the truck aligned afterwards, the tech only played with the lower cam bolts and didn't do anything with the upper heims, but he only gave me 1.5* of positive caster (which I am ok with, because my tires don't rub at all). If/when I upgrade to larger wheels and tires (I will eventually move to a 34" - 285/75/R17), then I'll take it to a better shop and have them adjust the top heim joints, too, in order to get more caster out of it.

There are threaded holes machined into the top of the UCAs for the brake line bracket to mount back to, and they come with a little shim that you sandwich between the brake line bracket and the top of the UCA. It's basically just a really thick washer, because the bolt actually threads into a recessed portion of the UCA, and it would bend the super thin bracket without the little shim underneath.

I definitely feel more feedback in the steering wheel. Every little bump in the road is translated into the wheel, due to the lack of traditional rubber (or even poly) bushings. It doesn't make the ride unpleasant or anything at all... you just "feel the road" more through the steering wheel than you used to. I actually kind of like it I don't hear any squeaking at all during daily driving, but I do hear a quick high pitched squeak or whine sound if I hit a speed bump or other aggressive obstacle with any kind of speed/force. I'm almost confident it's the sound of the fluid rapidly transferring between the reservoirs and the shock bodies, but I guess it could be a little bit of the heim joints, too (although I also hear it from the rear, so I'm almost certain it's the shocks). It almost sounds like a quick release of air from a pressure valve, like a fire engine or other air brake vehicle quickly tapping and releasing the brakes.

Here's what they look like all mounted up: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...3rd-gen-today.399305/page-10314#post-25884141

 

I like the look of the chromoly arms. Just want real feedback before jumping in.

 

Thanks for your input. That helped me make the decision to go with it. I finally got it mounted up, and yes totally agree with that pinch weld being a mf! Lol. I did come up with a couple hacks that definitely helped. 1) I finally found a use for the factory bottleneck jack, which was to push the pinch weld up, coz I was running out of leverage space with the channel locks and vicegrips. 2) Air hammer with a little lube around the bolt head to push past a part that I could not bend back on the passenger side, which is actually a bracket that the steering fluid res mounts to.

 

Nice! tip: next time cut the factory bolts and install the new ones backwards. That's how Toyota does it.