SPC LIGHT RACING UCA'S

ALL I WILL SAY IS BUYER BEWARE.
i used to love my uca's from light racing
that was until i had to replace the uca's 3 times (1st 2 times they stepped up and did the right thing) they replaced them free of charge......
yes i followed their instructions to the tee.....
i have also had to replace the ball joints every year i am now on my third set....
1st and 2nd set they replaced for free
the 3rd set i had to pay for......
and i checked them before i installed them and there is pitting on the ball joint "brand new out of box" mind you
i think quality control is lacking at best with this company
i know i cant be the only one having these issues......
do i use my truck yes.....its on the beach allot, mud, 30k+ a year driving
but i take good care of my truck and maintain everything......

now a while back after the third set of uca's i purchased the spec ride bushings that are supposed to solve all the bushing problems.....
so the last few weeks i have been having a vibe / shimmy.....i check it out and guess what the freaking bushings are toast and have caused serious damage to my brand new tires "cupping"
now i am pissed
so today i decide to pull the uca's off again and remove and replace the old bushings with the spec ride ones.....
first arm i nick the uca while cutting the old bushing out....
no biggie i run a bead with the welder grind smooth..all is good
and i press in the new bushings......and that side done
now second side....i try to install the new bushing and it wont go in and it tears.
well i have had it with these POS UCA's
i should have went with a different brand....live n learn pay more now for say dsm uca or tc or whoever or save a few bucks and buy these "and then just eat money year after year after year with all the issues these things cause

here are some videos of said issues.....i have had

I WOULD NOT EVER RECOMMEND THESE ARMS TO ANYONE EVER......
THIS IS JUST MY EXPERIENCE....
DO WHAT YOU WANT ....BUT IF / WHEN U HAVE PROBLEMS LATER ON DON'T SAY I DID NOT WARN YOU

http://youtu.be/BzJzkmEgibI

http://youtu.be/zGqZc_GN6oI

http://youtu.be/qQcD1tlR8C0


IF ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY PROBLEMS PLEASE POST HERE

 

That BJ looks dry, and those bushings were garbage from the start. I had the same problem with one of the bushings, and SpecProd took care of em'. I contacted Tech support and they sent me a new set of arms with the new style bushings, and they are still good to go after a year. I drive 30k a year as well, in the north east. I made sure to lube the hell out the BJ before I installed so I wouldn't have to worry bout what you got. I installed a few other members LR UCA's and made sure that their BJ's were lubed as well. I did just recently poke a hole in one of the BJ boots, so I'll be replacing that shortly. When I do, I'll be sure to inspect the condition of all the internals. But so far, I am 100% satisfied with my LR UCA's and also SpecProds customer service.

 

Go Bruins

 

Sorry to hear about your experience. I did hear about the older models having bushings go out but this is the first I've heard about any other problem. Mine have held up to abuse for over a year without issue. Wierd that you've gotten so much grief from yours.

 

70K and one has a toasted ball joint, both need bushings as the rubber separated, bolts where not seized and torqued properly... Camburg with OEM balls next

 

X2, Rangers suck

 

So Scott , are you gonna install the SpecRide bushings you got ?

 

Already did

 

Better ?

 

rif ^^^^
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-builds/229440-bgrs-build-thread.html

 

I'm not reading through the whole abortion

Is it better or not ?

Go Bruins

 

^70k seems like pretty good lifespan to me. Better than you'd get from an OEM Ford, Chevy or Dodge ball joint. Any reason you're not just replacing the balljoint with another LR one?

 

hmm just bought a pair of these hope this doesnt happen to me...

 

I chose to replace arms to Camburgs because: 1) I can use OEM ball joints (moog) that I can properly grease, made in the US, and are just stronger (I'll leave the details out). 2) I like that you can lube the bushings and the use of graphite urethane as the material. 3) I wanted to re-position the ball joint but keep adjustments only in the control arms. No alignment shop here likes messing with LRs adjustments.

verdict: Even though I still didn't get an alignment yet, this set up (w/ OME 885s) is just amazing. controlled but never harsh considering how nasty the roads here are... I'm not sure why but the LR arms made for nasty bump-steer and highway wondering since new (too much rubber in the bushing?) but all is gone now, just super direct.

 

My ball joints shit the bed just like that last video you posted. Been hearing a creak/ clunk noise for weeks, and lo and behold that's what it is. Mine has about 1cm of up and down movement, so I'm not sure it's safe to drive now. Hopefully SPC offers me a new set, as 20,000 Kms is a pretty crappy shelf life for mall crawler ball joints.

 

Sucks to hear this news, as the LR UCAs seemed perfect for my application- low maintenance ball joints, compliant bushings and price. My truck hardly goes off-road, but is lifted about 2", I wanted something that feels soft on the street, but does better than the OEs with a lift and some off road weekends. The search continues.

 

Hmmm, my first gen hasn't had any problems. Is this just a 2nd gen issue?

 

at least your arms aren't breaking at the welds like so many others have.

these arms are complete junk.

bad welds

bad bushings

bad ball joints

Whats left to go bad?

 

No issues so far with mine in 4 years

 

Replacing mine now because my bushings are toast and mostly gone. Brand new tires cupped already and no alignment shop will do an alignment since theirs a ton of movement forward to backwards on the uca at the bolt.