Uniball vs standard ball joints

Hey guys,

I am getting UCA's and really want to get the total chaos arms but in my climate in MN I am wondering if these are a bad idea and should I go with the ball joint style so they are enclosed? I am looking at the total chaos arms with uni and the camburg arms with ball joint instead however I would prefer the total chaos but not if they are going to squeak and need replacing every year or something like that.

Thanks for the advice

 

Bottom line is, Uniballs squeek. they make noise when they dry out. Are they better and stronger? of course, but they require more to maintain them.

If your ball joints are in good shape, then that is deff the route you want to go. If youre not going to abuse the truck and want a quieter truck, then i would deff suggest the ball joint arms. they do exactly what a uniball arm does.

The problem with ball joint arms comes when its time to replace the ball joint. Toyota will no sell you a factory ball joint, you have to buy the entire arm. Tracking the ball joints down can be a real pain sometimes.

My advice would be if your factory ball joints are still in good shape, youre not gonna beat the crap out of your truck and you wanna save some money, go with the BJ arms. If you plan on putting the truck to use, need new ball joints and can deal with a little noise or squeeking when its time to maintain/replace the uniball then go with the uniball arms.

we sell them both and we also run a bigger 1.25" uniball vs the standard 1" stuff. we also give a 10% tacomaworld discount to all TW members.

Carlos

 

The Total Chaos UCAs do come with Stainless Steel Uni-Balls, so they won't rust or pit. But they still have the potential for the squeek if they don't get lubed.

 

squeaking can be eliminated by using a DRY lubricant. BUT, they do scream like banshees unless maintained haha

 

First set of TC UCA's I got from Wheelers didn't make it past 9 months....that's no fault of Wheelers...at the time TC used crappy chrome uniballs because it's harder than stainless. Prob is us salt belt guys would blow through them due to rust pitting.

Now that I put FK stainless uniballs in I have had zero issues in years.

Luckily for you TC realized the error of their ways and now they only sell them with FK stainless balls.

If your looking to beat your truck or just build it stronger uniballs are stronger than OE type ball joints. Also swapping out uniballs is SOOOOOOOO much easier than a OE BJ.

 

Thanks guys I ended up going with the camburg UCA with the ball joints installed by wheelers. I figured its probably my best bet with the weather condtions in my area and what I am going to be using the truck for. I also dont want to deal with the squeeks I hate that

 

Either choice is good.

Just some facts though so others reading this aren't turned off by the issues some have stated.

Ive had my stainless balls squeak maybe twice in over 2 years. The people with squeaks aren't properly maintaining them. One blast of lube every so often and a cleaning here and there does wonders.

Some of the west coast guys have gone years with zero maintenance and no squeaks.

 

exactly.

my truck has 1" uniballs on the lower arms at the frame pivots, 1.5" uniball on the lower at the spindle. 3/4" heims on the upper arms at the frame pivots and 1" uniball on the spindle where it hooks up to the upper arm. a total of 12 bearings that need to be lubricated on the front of my truck and i have 0 squeeking issues.

 

Damn I was told by wheelers that in my climate the unis would not be a smart idea so I went with that, had I known that with just a little lube I could have stronger joints I would have stuck with my first choice. Also I was unaware that they are stainless steal now which would have made up my mind as well with the salted roads exposure. Oh well I guess they shipped last night so not much I can do now.