Front End Suspension Clunk After LR UCA's

I have been in email and phone contact with Jeff and David @ SPC the last couple days. They had me email some basic info - purchase receipt, make, model, year, mileage, shipping address, etc for their warranty process, and then they set up the $50 core charge for the arms. David mentioned that they are pressing in tighter tolerance replacement bushings into the arms on the fly, as they receive warranty claims. They shipped mine yesterday and UPS shows they should arrive tomorrow.

SPC also emailed me a prepaid return shipping label. Overall, they have been great to deal with (assuming the new bushings solve my issues)... Fingers crossed.

For anyone else with these symptoms, here is the contact info that I've used at SPC:

1-800-525-6505
custserv@specprod.com

 

Was this the first time you’ve contacted them? I gave them all my information a couple weeks ago via the vendor I purchased from. Maybe I’ll give them a ring on my own.

 

I initially was in contact the last couple weeks with Headstrong Offroad (Marie), the vendor I purchased my arms through. She has talked to SPC a few times, and she recommended that I call them directly. So I called them on Tuesday this week, and they got everything rolling.

I would say, give SPC a call (or email) and make sure you're in their warranty system. It did sound like they are a little short-staffed this week for whatever reason.

 

Just got off the phone with them and they’re starting to process me. Talked to Esteban and then Dave. Both very helpful. Post back when you get them installed guys

 

I got my phone call today and I should have my replacements next week. The process was about a little over a month from the first day i sent them an email. I assume the process is a lot quicker now that they have the UCA in stock.

 

I installed my warranty replacement arms yesterday afternoon, took about 1 1/2 hours to swap them. I torqued everything down once the suspension was loaded again (although not required according to SPC) - off the jack / stands. 85 lbf-ft for the pivot bolt and 150 lbf-ft for the ball joint nut.

For some reason, it looks like I will need another alignment. My steering wheel is now off-center and the camber looks visually more pronounced for both front wheels. I kept the same settings for the star plate / ball joint position / slot position, etc. I'll call the shop and see if they can get me aligned in the next couple days...

On the old arms, the x-axis bushings don't have much resistance and pivot pretty easily... I'm still curious why SPC is using this ball-style bushing in this application. Also there is noticeable slop between the OEM pivot bolt and the SPC bushings before tightening the pivot bolt, I would guess almost 1mm. I might compare the bushing ID from the factory arms vs the SPCs this afternoon with calipers, just for reference.

 

That's strange, you'd think if you didn't loosen those LCA bolts and you're using the same settings on the new UCAs, the alignment should be the same.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2nTsm4DD_E/?igshid=69c2p0mtiw56

 

Sucks about the alignment part. Sorry to hear that. More importantly... How about the clunk? Is it gone??

 

Hey, that's the tech that worked on my truck last.

 

I'm going through the warranty process now as well.
I hear clunks/pops faintly but I can definitely feel them through the floorboard. Most apparent on take off from a stop, slow driving over cracks and bumps in the road.

 

Kinda sorta wishing I just went with the Dirt King UCA’s at this point.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought too... I didn't touch the LCA cams. I might shoot SPC another email today.

 

Have you checked sway bar end links? When I put new ones on they made super loud popping noises and I could feel them. I had to tighten them up for it to stop.

 

I took my sway bar completely off to rule that out.

 

Did you drive it a little before noticing the camber being off? Coming off the jacks it always sits higher with increased positive camber. Weird the steering wheel was off.

 

Other than the alignment being off, truck rides well with no noise yet. It's also isn't very warm yet, which is when I experienced the clunk.

Unfortunately, the clunk I had took maybe two to three weeks to show up initially.

 

That’s good to hear. Mine started right away. Should have my replacements today or tomorrow.

 

It was really noticeable coming off the jacks. I tried to bounce the front end and cycle the suspension a few times before torquing the UCA hardware. Driving it did help a bit, but I'm still scratching my head about the steering wheel being off. While driving, the steering also feels... different. Not sure how to explain it.

I'll give it another day to hopefully settle a bit. Just eyeballing, the passenger side camber seems worse for some reason.

 

Well that was quick.
First emailed them about my issue this morning and new one is on the way.
They sent me a ups call tag to ship back old arms minus ball joints.