Whose UCA are these?

Hello,

I just had new upper and lower control arms installed at a local shop. I specifically requested SPC UCAs (part number 25470). Here are the ones that are installed:


1) These do not appear to be adjustable
2) They seem to be another brand entirely.

This is what I believe they are: https://www.mevotech.com/part//CMS861040

Now I am going to have to call them back tomorrow and deal with this...

 

Those appear to be an aftermarket oem replacement, certainly not SPC adjustable ones.

 

Yeah this is what was installed:

$84 Mevotech Supreme Control Arm & Ball Joint Assembly CMS861040

https://www.amazon.com/Mevotech-CMS861040/dp/B01N51WSKD when

$696 SPC Specialty Products 25470 Upper Control Arm for Toyota Tacoma - Pair

https://www.amazon.com/Specialty-Products-Company-25470-Control/dp/B001DC1U4O is what I ordered and paid for through the shop.

I really, really hope this is an honest mistake and they will not cause trouble to rectify this situation...

 

Yikes. I’d love to hear an explanation of this could be an accident. I mean do they do a lot of Toyotas that they could have somehow had those UCAs laying around and put them on by mistake? Seems unlikely that this wasn’t intentional.

 

Yea def and OEM replacement. Id have words with the installer. Did he charge you for SPC's?

 

They also removed, and did not replace the splash guard. I can see the dust shadow.

 

Sigh. This is why you have to do everything yourself if you want it done right. Such a shame that it's the truth.

 

Yeah...the only thing I can think of for this being an accident is that 4wheelparts.com sent them the wrong stuff and they didn't realize it. They do Tacomas, and specifically have with the SPC UCAs before. However, they are like 90% a Jeep shop - so the grand majority of their time is spent on Jeeps. They're a very well rated shop and always busy 2+ weeks out, so I really hope they'll take care of this situation tomorrow.

Yes...they did. I wish I would have looked closely before leaving the shop.

Yeah, that part annoys me a bit, too. It was falling apart so I wasn't going to push on that issue.

 

Looking at the witness orange dots, they didnt even torque the UCA main bolt at ride height like you are supposed to with the bonded rubber style bushings found in the arms installed.

 

Just got off the phone with the shop. They said it appears the parts company (4wheelparts) sent the wrong stuff and it unfortunately wasn't noticed by the tech installing it. They're going to take care of it for me in about 2.5 weeks and replace with the correct parts.

 

lol diy. All these shops cut corners. im sure thers an honest shop, just never seen one.

 

$2k to replace contoll arms...ouch!

Why are you replacing the lowers?

 

Right. also "50% off" alignment but still cost 112 bucks.... holy crap, find another shop. Also they didnt order those arms from 4wp... it literally says orileys on there.

 

lol this shop is full of it and theyre doubling down!!!!! lol and op is just saying “ok thank you” meanwhile theyre bending him over. I would write review. they know what theyre doing.

 

Yeah...but it was lower than another shop. I was replacing the lowers due to 160k miles and worn-out ball joints with a lot of play. It appears as though shops prefer to replace the arm assembly rather than just the ball joints, at least for Tacomas. This way I was also getting all new bushings, etc. - which were also worn out. I could have pieced it all together but decided for $225 it was worth it to just replace the whole arm assembly with all new components.

I decided to take this opportunity to replace the uppers with an adjustable control arm since when I got a lift about 50k miles ago they were barely able to get it within alignment with the stock UCAs.

For me - I decided the $480 in labor was worth it since I don't have a second vehicle or a place to really do this kind of work (can't do it at apartment). They charged me pretty much what I'd pay for the control arms if I bought them myself.

This shop has been around since 2015, has 4.7/5 star reviews - only bad reviews have to do with people being upset about timeliness and communication, not the actual quality of work. They did a phenomenal job on my lift (only other thing I had them do) and so this situation really surprised me.

 

The guy apologized and is going to make it right - if they don't, I'll start escalating it. They still have to work on my truck to fix the problem.

 

really 3 weeks to correct ther “mistake” id be pissed, like give me my money back pissed

 

Yeah I did think the alignment cost was a little high (they outsource to a shop across the street)...but I got a lower labor quote than another shop so I wasn't going to push it.

I did know the lowers were aftermarket OEM replacements through O'Reilly's and was okay with that - but the 25470 SPC Uppers were supposed to be through 4wp.

 

Brutal man I can't believe they straight up scammed you for $500 on the SPCs

 

I’d also wonder what your alignment specs are. Either you don’t actually need SPC to achieve spec or your alignment is not perfect at the moment