1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

The BEST UCA's for our trucks... I think I've found them!!!

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by DrRabbitFurHead, Aug 26, 2009.

  1. Aug 27, 2009 at 8:04 AM
    #21
    Dark Knight

    Dark Knight Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2008
    Member:
    #8006
    Messages:
    9,804
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Jeff
    NC/SC
    Vehicle:
    4Runner Trail, 88 pickup, Tundra Platinum
    A few bolts are different.
    good review, thanks for that.

    It seams you could have had alot less trouble and money involved if you just got a different set of wheels???
     
  2. Aug 27, 2009 at 9:18 AM
    #22
    nad

    nad mmmm tacos!

    Joined:
    May 18, 2009
    Member:
    #17388
    Messages:
    3,070
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Jordan
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    2014 Sierra All Terrain
    this thread makes me scared to get 285/70/17s with a -12 offset, will I have to go this extreme with bfg mt km2's and 5100s at 2.5? I heard I will just have to cut the fender
     
  3. Aug 27, 2009 at 9:24 AM
    #23
    ozmon420

    ozmon420 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2008
    Member:
    #8699
    Messages:
    1,075
    Gender:
    Male
    miami, florida
    Vehicle:
    08 tacoma
    18x9 pro comp 7031 rims, alpine iva-d310 w/sirius sat radio, ipod connection, tv tuner, reverse camera, bug deflector, wet okole seat covers, tinted windows, running boards, toytec coilovers front set at 2.5'' , AAL rear,5100's rear, TC UCA, leer topper, bruteforce rear bumper, ARB rear locker.
    the only negative thing i have to say about tc uca's is that they squeak. cant get them to stop squeaking
     
  4. Aug 27, 2009 at 10:56 AM
    #24
    sonjay

    sonjay Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2008
    Member:
    #9834
    Messages:
    681
    Gender:
    Male
    Thanks for the great write up! I've been contemplating which UCA to get and you've just concreted my decision for the Light Racing arms. $200 is $200, and I'm pretty sure a uni-ball would be pretty noisy with the road conditions I regularly see here. I don't live in a desert, 8 months of the year the roads are wet and 4 months of the year covered with salt, sand, snow and ice! Thanks again, now if our Canadian dollar would jump up to $0.95 US or so I could order a set!
     
  5. Aug 27, 2009 at 12:44 PM
    #25
    BeachBoy

    BeachBoy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15819
    Messages:
    975
    Gender:
    Male
    VT & QC
    Vehicle:
    '09 DC LB Sport+Leather
    Icon Extended COs / Camburg UCA / ATX Predator Teflon / Mickey Thompson MTZ / Color-Matched emblems / All-Pro Bumper & skids / Stubbs HD-SKO / Alcans custom leafs / U-Bolt flip / Icon rear resi shocks / Rear Bumper
    just WD40 the uniballs

    takes 30 seconds, noise goies away.. I had only to do it once yet

    and allpro will also get noisy, just wd40 the balls.
     
  6. Aug 27, 2009 at 12:51 PM
    #26
    BeachBoy

    BeachBoy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15819
    Messages:
    975
    Gender:
    Male
    VT & QC
    Vehicle:
    '09 DC LB Sport+Leather
    Icon Extended COs / Camburg UCA / ATX Predator Teflon / Mickey Thompson MTZ / Color-Matched emblems / All-Pro Bumper & skids / Stubbs HD-SKO / Alcans custom leafs / U-Bolt flip / Icon rear resi shocks / Rear Bumper
    if you move the front arm in and the rear arm out, the wheel will move forward... that's likely what he meant.

    and I'll also keep my camburg 1.25 thankyou.
     
  7. Aug 27, 2009 at 12:53 PM
    #27
    NicksRig

    NicksRig Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2008
    Member:
    #9966
    Messages:
    710
    Gender:
    Male
    Kenora, Ontario
    Vehicle:
    07 Tacoma DC TRD Sport
    Blacked out Skid plate, block heater, bug deflector, blacked out headlights, tinted fronts, OME 3" lift, Toytec AAL, Revenge-Fab Sliders, K&N Air Filter
    Well now I am really considering a set of Light Racing uca's. Was going to head the TC route, but who knows.
     
  8. Aug 27, 2009 at 4:12 PM
    #28
    DrRabbitFurHead

    DrRabbitFurHead [OP] Yeah, there's a TSB for that!

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2009
    Member:
    #18625
    Messages:
    1,058
    Gender:
    Male
    Salem, VA
    Vehicle:
    X-treme Off Road Edition (4x4)
    Icon Extended Travel Coil Overs, Fox Rear Resi 8-Way Adjustable Shocks, Light Racing UCA's, OME Rear Leafs, M/T Classic Locks 17x9, Nitto T/G (285/70/R17), 5mm Billet Aluminum Spacers, Demello Sliders, All Pro Front Plate Bumper & IFS Skid Plate, PIAA 510's, Doug Thorley Long Tube Headers, O2 sims, Rear Timbren's & U-Bolt Flip Kit , 3* Rear Axel Shims, Extended Rear Brake Lines, 48" Hi-Lift with a ton of accessories, Wet Okoles, TRD bed mat, Borla Air Filter, Garmin Nuvi 765T, Viper 5901 remote start, 50% tint.

    Most likely... What I typed above is what I told the service advisor. What the tech did was a little beyond what they explained to me. The net result if I have just over 1.5 inches of additional "air gap" between the wheel and the back side of the fender, the pinch weld and the cab mount than I had before the alignment.

    Again, I made it a point to not say one bad thing about any other UCA and am stoked that your Camburg's provide you exactly what you are looking for in a UCA... I've just had a hard time finding really positive posts about the LR UCA's and thought I'd share my experience since it was very positive. I have also yet to find a post with back up data that shows any manufacturers adjustment ranges for caster other than LR. IMO this is a major deal because caster adjustment is a really big issue with our trucks. I mean really, how many people cut, box and weld the cab mounts just to get wheels to clear? Tons of people do on here and TTORA, including some of the people who have replied in this thread thus far if I’m not mistaken.


    If I had it to do all over again, I'd buy the bumper first and then get the wheels, tires, spacers, UCA's and the suspension installed all at the same time. This way I would be able to get the alignment at the installation and I would not have had to cut as much plastic as I did and *maybe* I could have avoided cutting, boxing and welding the cab mounts. (THAT'S A BIG MAYBE, but it might have saved me $420 ).

    Also, for those of you contemplating doing this, please... DO NOT have the front wheel moved this far forward with a stock bumper set up because you won't even be able to drive straight w/o rubbing the front of the bumper and fender an insane amount. The All Pro bumper removes tons of plastic where the OEM bumper was and allows the wheel to 'effectively' move forward without touching anything. Just check my sig pic to see what I mean.

    VERY TRUE!!! Unfortunately on TN they have a wheel thread with a ton of different wheels that are supposed to fit our trucks. I wanted an aluminum wheel (not black or chrome) for my truck and I thought that I wanted a 17" because the 285/70/17 has a smaller OD than the 286/75/16's do. I thought this would HELP me with clearance issues, but quickly learned that the difference is insignificant. My M/T's are listed on that thread with no mention of trimming the caliper. I did a ton of research, realized that there are different calipers and *thought* I'd figured out that the TRD O/R calipers fit behind these wheels without having to grind the calipers. M/T told me the wheels would fit, the shop I bought them from told me they'd fit, internet geeks told me they'd fit... so I bought them. Once I had them, they were MINE and they didn't fit! So I followed the advice of internet geeks and grinded my calipers... and similar to Jed Clampett I struck gold (really brake fluid), so I blew ~$350 and bought a new one, rented a bleeding kit and did the job myself. Needless to say, I really like this wheel, and since I owned it I thought that I could figure this out with some help from the people on this forum. The end result is key… the wheels CAN fit with a little work AND THEY CAN CLEAR!!! IMO they look great and I've got to learn a bunch about my truck in the process which I think is fun.

    With all of the mixed up posts, confusion and at times, bad advise I've gotten on the various forums... I wanted to take the time to share my experience in the hopes that others would benefit from my dumb mistakes...

    Still stoked and lovin' my truck!!!
     
  9. Aug 27, 2009 at 4:19 PM
    #29
    Brunes

    Brunes abides.

    Joined:
    May 31, 2008
    Member:
    #7011
    Messages:
    17,562
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Rotorhead
    Around
    Vehicle:
    08 Red/Graphite and Satin Black
    Inside: Tint, Wet Okole 1/2 Piped Red/Black Covers, Black Weathertech Digital Fit Mats, URD Short Throw w/ TWM Weighted Knob, USA Spec iPod adapter. Outside: 4300K Retro w/ Angel Eyes and Red Shrouds, 5000K Blazer Fog Light Retrofit, Debadge, Bed Locking Handle, Satin Black Rims Performance: TRD/Steigmeier Blower w/ 2.7 Pulley. 668 Injectors and 320 LPH AEM Fuel pump. URD UCON and 7th Injector. DTLT Headers, URD Y-Pipe, Wicked Flow Muffler. Suspension: Both: OME Shocks Front: 886X's and TC UCAs Rear: Dakars Armor: Relentless Front Bumper Relentless High Clearance Rear w/ Tire/Rotopax Swing Out Relentless Front, Mid, and TCase skids BAMF Diff Skid Recovery and Spares: Fullsize Spare Tire 2x2 gal Rotopax 1x1 gal Rotopax 1x1 gal Water Rotopax Warn 9.5XP-S Winch Hi-Lift Extreme 60" Ironman Off-Road Recovery Kit
    Not WD-40...It will attract and carry dirt and junk into the ball joint. Use a silcone or teflon (TriFlow) type lube. Cleaner and better for the joint...

    my TC's have see about all the abuse you can put on them (except snow/salt) and they haven't made a peep... I don't know where all this "they make SOOO much noise and need SOOO much work" comes from...
     
  10. Aug 27, 2009 at 4:22 PM
    #30
    SC4333

    SC4333 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2008
    Member:
    #11412
    Messages:
    2,887
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Grant
    FL
    Vehicle:
    SOLD - 2016 TRD Off-Road 4x4 DCSB
    Has anyone tried a dry graphite spray (typically used for ball bearings) ? The stuff works wonders in quite a few bearing applications.
     
  11. Aug 27, 2009 at 4:24 PM
    #31
    DrRabbitFurHead

    DrRabbitFurHead [OP] Yeah, there's a TSB for that!

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2009
    Member:
    #18625
    Messages:
    1,058
    Gender:
    Male
    Salem, VA
    Vehicle:
    X-treme Off Road Edition (4x4)
    Icon Extended Travel Coil Overs, Fox Rear Resi 8-Way Adjustable Shocks, Light Racing UCA's, OME Rear Leafs, M/T Classic Locks 17x9, Nitto T/G (285/70/R17), 5mm Billet Aluminum Spacers, Demello Sliders, All Pro Front Plate Bumper & IFS Skid Plate, PIAA 510's, Doug Thorley Long Tube Headers, O2 sims, Rear Timbren's & U-Bolt Flip Kit , 3* Rear Axel Shims, Extended Rear Brake Lines, 48" Hi-Lift with a ton of accessories, Wet Okoles, TRD bed mat, Borla Air Filter, Garmin Nuvi 765T, Viper 5901 remote start, 50% tint.
    This is one example of advise that is VERY WELL INTENDED but may not be ideal. A quick search took me to this thread... http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/26879-greasin-my-zerks.html where Chris 4x4 advises against using petroleum lubricants on Zerk fittings (like WD40). Makes sense to me...


    Interesting info on Zerk fittings... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_fitting

    damnit... fast posters beat me to it... :D
     
  12. Aug 27, 2009 at 4:24 PM
    #32
    MyToyTaco

    MyToyTaco ╒╪╕

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2008
    Member:
    #9417
    Messages:
    4,386
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Nick
    wenatchee, wa
    Vehicle:
    09 DCLB 4x4
    for the record, my TC's are super quiet. like ninja. like sneak up on foools and kick ass quiet.
     
  13. Aug 27, 2009 at 5:04 PM
    #33
    SpaceMonkey

    SpaceMonkey Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2009
    Member:
    #15886
    Messages:
    600
    Gender:
    Male
    Houston, Tx
    Vehicle:
    06 PreRunner
    I completely agree about not using WD40. Very bad.
     
  14. Aug 27, 2009 at 8:49 PM
    #34
    toku58

    toku58 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2008
    Member:
    #9882
    Messages:
    2,534
    Gender:
    Male
    On a Rock in the middle of the Pacific
    Vehicle:
    Mall Crawler!
    21' TRD OffRoad 2" 887 OME on Bilstein 5100's. 285/70R17 General Grabbers G3 17x8.5" Icon TRD wheels (Gun metal gray) 4.75" BS
    I would definitely disagree with your assumptions.

    The LCA mounting points can't move forward, that you are correct! BUT! The front tire by adding caster can be moved forward. because of how the LCA's can be adjusted. So he is correct that they moved his tire forward as much as possible.

    As for your "common knowledge" about uniballs? That is only true if you are comparing them to the STOCK ball joint.

    LR UCA's have a ball joint that is designed to articulate much more than the stock ones.
    And because of the reason I stated above. The LR UCA's have far more range of articulation than the Uniball design. (I know this for a FACT I have done the testing on both)

    The main reason or limiting factor with the uniball design, isn't the uniball. (That is great) But it is because of the preloaded angle that the UCA's sit at rest. That is what makes them have a limited down travel. But it is better than stock. But NOT better than the LR's.

    Number don't lie! The LR's have more clearance and they sit level. so They will have greater range of articulation.

    Sorry this a FACT! I can prove it!

    The LR's design flaw (if there is one) is the rubber bushing that they use.

    I think it would be better if they made the UCA's with the poly bushings like the other UCA's out there.
     
  15. Aug 27, 2009 at 9:58 PM
    #35
    Zombie Runner

    Zombie Runner Are these black helicopters for me?

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2008
    Member:
    #5246
    Messages:
    15,074
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Kevin
    Wichita Falls, TX
    Vehicle:
    2011 taco, sport 4x4
    oil change...
    every time you post something I have to sit and watch your sig for about 5 mins!

    great original post, after I installed my spidertrax spacers I had HUGE rubbing problems. I trimmed a ton off of my front fender and the rear fender including some metal. It was undrivable for a few days. its a little better now, parking lots and drive throughs suck ass....haha But I will for sure be looking into getting some of these. they are WAY more affordable than the competition as well
     
  16. Aug 28, 2009 at 11:41 AM
    #36
    sonjay

    sonjay Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2008
    Member:
    #9834
    Messages:
    681
    Gender:
    Male
    Its not alot of money your right, $33 if our dollar were $0.95US. I was quoted $195 for shipping and duties and such. I would think a good portion of that is duties? Good old "free trade" eh! I should just do it and not worry I hate the sounds coming out of my front end, but I'm not working much at all right now and might not be for a while.
     
  17. Aug 28, 2009 at 1:04 PM
    #37
    sonjay

    sonjay Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2008
    Member:
    #9834
    Messages:
    681
    Gender:
    Male
    Yeah thats very true. I just found a retailer for Light Racing in Canada! Emailed them to see how much they would be!
     
  18. Aug 31, 2009 at 6:07 AM
    #38
    NwiTACO

    NwiTACO Big tars, little/no bed.

    Joined:
    May 19, 2009
    Member:
    #17416
    Messages:
    4,427
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Mark
    Indiana
    Vehicle:
    05 TRD Sport
    Custom Everything, 1 Ton Axles F & R

    You keep saying you can prove it, but you never do.

    I know the LR's sit level, great, that just limits the uptravel.

    Aint no Ball joint in the world that can articulate more than a uniball, thats a fact, not common sense.
     
  19. Aug 31, 2009 at 9:50 AM
    #39
    BeachBoy

    BeachBoy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15819
    Messages:
    975
    Gender:
    Male
    VT & QC
    Vehicle:
    '09 DC LB Sport+Leather
    Icon Extended COs / Camburg UCA / ATX Predator Teflon / Mickey Thompson MTZ / Color-Matched emblems / All-Pro Bumper & skids / Stubbs HD-SKO / Alcans custom leafs / U-Bolt flip / Icon rear resi shocks / Rear Bumper
    I got the WD-40 directions from camburg

    it's not for the zerk, there are zerk fitting for grease there, but on the top of the uniball.

    If camburg told me to put WD-40, well if they crap out because of that they'll hear from me, I still have the email;)
     
  20. Aug 31, 2009 at 10:47 AM
    #40
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2008
    Member:
    #6497
    Messages:
    112,751,503
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    FlimFlubberJAM
    Tenoe, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2019 Rubicon 4 Door,
    4.10 gears, sliders, and lots of buttons.
    I have to agree here, Toku. A guy on TTORA compared the LR UCA's against a couple Uniball UCA's, and the Uni's had more travel. He had some pics up showing where the LR's would stop, vs. the Uni UCA's.
     

Products Discussed in

To Top