SPC UPPER CONTROL ARMS.. YAY OR NAY?

My SPC arms are toast after 15k, very mild off roading, mostly street miles. Bushings, and ball joints done. Going back to stock, very expensive experiment.

 

Looks like they have a new balljoint out. black in color, I did an install for them on a Tundra. not sure if there is any internal changes.

 

I had a discussion on a different forum on spcs. Yes, they have different iterations of ball joints and arm design. I ran the greaseable ball joints for 40k plus without issue taking care to grease my joints every oil change. I wouldn't run them with non-grraseable ball joints.

I blew my first set of ball joints at about 10k and I didn't check for grease

With all that said, when it's time for the taco to get ucas, it's probably gonna be jbas or dirt kings.

 

I've had mine for about 40k, zero issues. Greased every oil change. Mostly daily driving with a few trips out west. Reading this has me nervous now.

 

Ive had these arms in the past, yes the ball joints went bad after thousands of miles. My old set still had the old design bushings, they held up ok. I bought another pair last year and have gone through multiple ball joint replacements, they are junk. The bushings are the new style and they seem fine. But OMG the ball joints are total JUNK. The set I installed had grease fittings, fine, still failed in no time. Bought another set of “maintenance free” ball joints…fcking junk. I don’t know wTF happened to SPC but they have turned to complete china junk. I love the adjustability, but I can’t stand the failure of the ball joints, the bump steer, the wobble in the steering wheel. I’m going back tomy totoal chaos uniball arms. Unfortunately the total chaos arms just have the shit urethane bushings that are a maintenance issue. I swear, the price you pay for these UCAs is ridiculous considering the durability. Rant/

 

Well I'm about to get my 2010 back from the shop tomorrow with Bilstein 6112s and new SPC UCA's, so hey... I'll be the guinea pig and report back y'all! Hoping they'll be fine for my rig which probably sees a lot less use than most others. It's not my daily. Once or twice a month I'll take it out for easy to moderate trails, and it'll be my winter / snow ride when it's too deep for my rear wheel drive sedan. I live one mile from work, so it won't see huge milage. Here's hoping, lol.

 

They are awesome for alignment, thats why i went back to them. I’m glad i didn’t sell my total chaos ucas. I do still have them on my 4Runner with Bilstein 6112 and Eibach springs, it rides like a dream with the 6112’s. I had SPC arms from 10 years ago, the bushings improved, but if you are going to off road them at all…the ball joints are Taiwan junk now. Keep us posted on your experiences with them.

 

I have about 150K miles on my SPC UCA, tubular model (bought in 2012, model 25470). Last week, I installed my third bushing set (SpecRide bought end of last year) and balljoint, along with new coat of paint. I now have the newest balljoint model (black). I do a lot of high speed forestry road travelling. I've been quite pleased with my SPC UCA's. Seems like I dodged all the bad iterations!

 

Freedom Offroad has an in-situ adjustable UCA that takes OEM-style ball joint: https://www.customwheeloffset.com/s...control-arms-for-2-4-lift-05-23-toyota-tacoma

 

Can you guys describe the symptoms of a bad ball joint? My tires are wearing evenly I don't see an issue with my alignment. I do hear an occasional thump when riding over a bumpy road but I can't determine if it's my shock or control arm.

 

I'm not very knowledgeable on vehicle alignment. But I have a set of SPC paired with the Eibach stage 1 suspension. I have about 15k miles on these UCA I can already it hear it clunk and pop on bumpy roads..if I go back to stock will I be able to get the factory alignment while lifted 2"

 

My experience is just wobble in the steering wheel over bumps. i have my TC bushings replaced and was going to put them back on this weekend but weather did not permit. You need to jack the front off the ground and try and move the wheel, it seems noticeable when pushing the bottom of the wheel towards the rear. Its actually kinda hard to get the push in the right direction but when you see the slop its definite. I don’t notice the clunk, just the wobbly steering. The TCarms clunk when the bushings are bad,maybe more noticeable because they are attached to the frame. I’m just irritated because these SPC ball joints are junk, I’ve gone through 2 sets in a year. I just wish the TC arms had the bushings like the SPC and they would be perfect. Although i love the adjustment of the SPC, nothing compares.

i will report back hopefully this week when i go back to the TC ucas.

 

I contacted SPC and they seem pretty helpful about replacing my Ball joints if they're are indeed the culprit. I just can't think of another component causing my clunk sound over bumps.. if they determine my ball joints are fine then they will gladly bill me for the new replacements. I thought SPC was the household name when it came to control arms. Now I'm stuck with a $650 paper weight. Idk if should find some stock UCA on market place and just dump these to the trash. I will not be replacing ball joints twice a year I just cant afford that. Not sure what to do at the moment

 

Ball joint = lift from the frame so that the wheel is off the ground and just take your hand and pull up and down on the uca. If there is any play in the bj then it should be changed. But also make sure that the main nut it tight too.

Bushings - take a pry bar to it to check for any loose play.

 

First off make sure allyour bolts on the suspension are tight. At ride hight, slightly loosen and then tighten your upper control arm bolts to specified torque. Make sure the cam bolts on the lower arms are torqued, although that usually causes a loud creak if they are slightly loose. Then jack it up and check in all directions for play or looseness. Ball joints, tie rods inner and outers. Or you just live with it for a few months until it gets worse and more noticeable, should be easier to find then.

 

That's exactly what I was going to do wait for it to be more noticeable and maybe just completely the UCA

 

Well when I switched back tothe SPC i was going to sell my Total chaos, glad i didn’t, I’m going back. I can’t believe these arms cost so much in this day and age. I fully understand maintenance and upkeep, I’m a fucking technician, but shit just doesn’t hold up to anything anymore. They all have flaws and refuse to acknowledge them. The Total Chaos arm bushings are junk, have they upgraded them? No.

 

So yoi got rid of your SPC? Or you are running them? I was actually thinking of just going back to stock I don't have an overkill I'm about 2.5/1.5 don't know much about alignment but I think i can get away with stock UCA.

 

5k the inner bushings got play in them....5k ball joints got play in them .... purchased and installed around covid ...if you keep your taco stock you will not have as much maintance all these "high performance mods" ...come with HIGH maintance /servicing. .it's a scam kids keep it stock

 

Couldn't agree more lol