Oem Lca reinforcement

Has anyone reinforced the stock tacoma lca? I got some total chaos uppers, gusseted spindles doing king 2.5 extended travel coilovers but don’t want to shell out 2k for boxed lowers at that point I would go lt but im trying to make my rig bullet proof as a mid travel setup due to budget. I have a welder and am thinking about boxing them up myself but haven’t seen it done.

 

The OEM lowers are already really pretty strong typically the reason for going aftermarket at stock length isn't for strength but is to get a uniball for the lower ball joint, to have provisions for a dual shock setup or a jounce shock or hydro/air bump, longer shocks and or limiting straps. Also because they're rebuildable as you "can't" get lower ball joints for the OEM. (You can through Ebay from the UAE just not U.S. dealers.)

You could get lower control arm armor if you're that worried about them but I don't think boxing is necessary, you're going to bend your spindles long before you break a control arm.

 

Thanks for your insight that makes me feel better about going with some new oems. Im also running a spindle with the total chaos gusset kit on it as it wasn’t much more than a new oem set. I also want to do king bumps all the way around as well pretty soon.

 

Are you building this thing for jumps or what?

I run my original stock lowers (240k) with new OEM lower balls joints and Energy Suspension Bushings. Stock spindles (though I plan to get the TC gussets from Mooseknuckles) All Pro Upper Uniball control arms (SPC would be fine I just got a deal on these) Durobumps and Fox 2.5 and King 700# springs.

Only non bolt on mod I have in the front suspension is the weld on Total Chaos Cam Tab gussets which I do recommend.

I have no issues doing this:

https://youtu.be/9ANF8q23eY4

Actually had to film it as the first time I did it harder and wasn't sure if I got air or not, recorded to confirm. The DuroBumps are awesome.

I think you're going over kill if you're not planning on SENDING it regularly.

 

Haha maybe a little bit I just want a setup I can drive hard while off-roading. I don’t like over landing I want to be able to go fast! I plan on doing a custom shock relocation hoop with 12in triple bypass in the rear and a axle under leaf setup as well so it’s gonna be pretty over built. Basically a mid travel kit that can take some punishment.

 

@Crom reinforced his stock LCAs in addition to doing the whiteline bushing install. Welded all the seams and drain holes shut. I don’t know if there was a noticeable payoff to the reinforcement but it was a cool idea while the arms were off.

 

Well then you're on the right track.

But yeah I think your stock lower control arms will be fine.

If anything maybe thicken or gusset up the lower shock mount but I don't think that's entirely necessary.

With tripple bypasses in the rear and SUA your front is still going to be the weal link until you go long travel but unless you're brave or ballsy like that one guy who lengthened his own stock lower control arms you'll be getting extended boxed lowers by that time.

Even still these trucks are incredibly capable stock, I think most (my own included) are way over built for what they really actually do.

 

I feel like welding the drain holes closed would be a bad idea but...

 

Unless you’re 100% sure they were sealed it seems like a bad idea. Mine frequently have sand and water in there from off-roading. If even a small hole in them it will never drain and you’ll have a rusty fishbowl for a LCA.

 

Pretty much my thinking, I've delt with the repairs of too many "sealed" structural components that were nothing but paint on the outside and rust flakes on the inside.

*Shudder*

At least with the drain holes you can see when things are getting bad on the inside.

I also doubt sealing would add much strength, plating and gusseting might in the right spots but I'd be afraid of causing embrittlement within the heat affected zones.

 

If you're buying full on new oems at off the street price, then you're already most of the way price wise to get in something like a stock length total chaos lower control arm. Might be worth it to you considering you are planning to go overboard to get those instead.

 

@Dpher I put on some Total Chaos stock LCA armor.

I like the look of all the armor

Have had them for years, powder coated at one point. Re-painted with spray many times. Sand blast em each time I redo em, seems to help a ton with the spray paint adherence.

 

I travel lots of logging roads in my truck. Some newer, others old and shitty. And yes all 4 of my tires have been off the ground before I think youll find that you run into lots of other issues like loose nuts and bolts, bad alignments, and even bent alignment tabs before you break/bend a LCA. In an extreme scenario like a high speed collision with a big rock or something, youll probably have other issues way beyond the LCA to worry about.

 

I had my stock arms reinforced when I rebuilt my front end. The main reason was that I've seen failures where the tube splits and the arms comes free from the bushing. It may be very rare but it was worth the peace of mind. I also added the rci lca skids later for further protection.

 

This is what I'm talking about

 

Those look really clean I think im going to brace mine up like that and probably just rebuild my stock lca. Eventually I just want to go full lt but thats out of the budget for a few months.

 

Look at the coloring of the breakage point, and the rest of the frame, it's a dead giveaway that the cause of that failure wasn't the design of the lower control arm but corrosion. Rust is going to damage anything and that looks like a truck that's seen salt roads.

Part of preventative maintenance is corrosion inspection, after every wheeling trip I pressure wash the crap out of the undercarriage after it dries I do a thorough inspection for damage, anything loose, and most importantly: corrosion! Including checking into the weep holes on the A arms and inspection points in the frame.

 

This has happened to many trucks on the west coast as well. Tube has a seam on it from the factory, it's not solid round.