Alignment issue

Hello, I'm new to the group. I recently bought a 2015 4runner SR5 2WD. It came bone stock. It seemed to drive ok when I first got it. I wanted the off road look but didn't want the actual 4WD as I will rarely need it. So I added the Bilstein 5100 shocks up front. Put the max hight to 2.5 inches to get rid of the stink bug look stance. I then added the TRD oem 17x7 black wheels along with Bridgestone KO2 285/70/17's. I love the way it looks now. I then took it to BigO tire for a alignment. They made the adjustments but said the caster could not be adjusted due to the limits of the hardware on the truck. It drives ok at lower speeds but when I get on the freeway it feels like I'm driving in a wind storm. I'd like to fix the way it tracks at high speeds. It's very taxing to hold a lane. I also would like it if it handled flatter while cornering (new sway bars??). Has anyone been down this road? No pun intended.

Regards,
Scott

 

Welcome to the forum, and i would say UCA’s are what you need to get back into spec.

 

Ok, I guess I will be looking at YouTube to see what's involved with replacing UCA's. Does anyone have any suggestions on what UCA I should buy? And thank you for your help John.

 

SPC UCA’s from Headstrong Off-Road

 

I've heard a lot of good things about JBA UCA's. They have a ton of caster adjustment and will get you beyond 4 degrees without maxing out your cams. They also use a standard GM 1/2 ton ball joint that is easy to find, should you need a new one at some point.

Take a look at those and compare them to a few others. Read some reviews. Most importantly, make sure they fit your wheel/tire specs so you don't rub on them.

 

I recently was in the market for UCA. For my style of driving (mainly mall) style and costs .. SPC and JBA came to mind. But I was sold on the 4 bolt system which JBA uses and they are also a bit cheaper. I have a 2.75” lift and the Oem UCA gave me green caster and toe. But my camber was in the + red. So after market UCA’s was needed for my setup.

here’s a comparison picture, Oem vs std high caster jba

 

So did JBA send you the Jesus pamphlet or was that your own addition to the picture?

 

It’s actually a Jesus dvd. Yes JBA included it.

 

Well that's an interesting addition to offroad parts.

 

Welcome to the forum!

There are lots of great options for upper control arms. I would recommend a ball joint UCA over a uni-ball type. I went with BDS.

 

Wow, this is a great forum! Thank you all for the feedback. Thus far I like the JBA option. I'm never going to do much off road. So this might be my best choice. Looking on YouTube it appears not too hard to replace the UCA's myself. Any tips?

 

Every JBA order comes with a Jesus dvd. Small businesses cans be kinda odd like that at times lol.

I love my JBA arms.

 

Hey there Scott!

Definitely sounds like you would benefit from aftermarket control arms to get your alignment into a more ideal spec. I do have SPC arms, which is a great budget option which is forged steel construction and uses a high quality balljoint! Also another recommendation would be Icon tubular arms with the delta joint, all the benefits of a uniball and a ball joint combined into one!

Shoot me a PM for special forum pricing and free shipping!

 

You’ll never see a vendor a recommend them, because with zero authorized retailers, they can’t profit off of you going with JBA, but JBA control arms are the best way to go in my opinion. There’s no holiday sales, no Black Friday deals, no group buys, it’s just a great product at a fair everyday price. They are stout, proven reliable, high quality arms with caster built in. They have a cerakoted high articulation ball joint (90 degree range of motion, more than a uniball but without the noise and constant maintenance). They are low maintenance, they don’t make noise, easily greased, and the ball joints BOLT in. They are caster corrected, I had no problem getting 4.5+ degrees of caster on both sides with the rest of the alignment angles exactly where they should be. I’ve never heard of one of their ball joints failing, but IF something did happen to go wrong and you break a ball joint on a trail it’s nice to not need a press and a specialty part to get it going again, in a pinch you can replace it with an off the shelf readily available Moog K6292 (used on GM trucksfrom 1988 to 1996) from any parts store while you order the proper JBA replacement. I don’t think there’s an easier more convenient setup for when things go wrong, and you won’t find better customer service anywhere.

 

I had Total Chaos, JBA, and Dobinson UCAs, Dobinson is my favorite. The least amount of maintenance out of the 3 brands. Still uses ball joint like factory, gusseted, 3+ degrees of positive castor built in, and rubber bushings like factory. It comes with a cover for the ball joint BTW I just didn't install until after the picture was taken.

 

You should try a different alignment shop. Do you have a print out of your spec sheet?

 

These look very similar to my BDS UCA's. It doesn't appear that your ball joints have grease fittings, though.

 

It doesn't have grease fittings. it's just like the factory ball joints...minimal maintenance

 

Yeah, I'll probably forget to grease them anyway. But, it's nice to have the option. Either way, ball joint is better for a daily driver, especially here in the salt belt.

 

So I decided to go with the JBA UCA's. Looks like a quality product and I'm impressed with the company so far (ordered this morning and already being shipped. The guy emailed me a vid on installation!). I think/hope the new UCAs will fix my alignment issue. Now my next adventure will be fixing the spongy front end. I did the Bilstein 5100 shocks (set at 2.5 in lift) w 285/70/17 tires. Any suggestions on what I should do to stiffen up the front end? I'm happy with the stance but want it to ride with less body roll and nose dive. Would a set of those OME coils work? I've been hearing good things about them. I posted a couple of pics of the truck below. Tweaking a 4runner gets addicting!!! Once again thanks for all your advice. Scott

 

Did you use the OEM springs in front? Or, did you get aftermarket springs?

The shocks should have helped with the spongey ride. If they haven't, springs are the next step. Otherwise, different shocks or coilovers are another option.

Many people will use lift coils with the 5100's. Bilstein, OME, and others have options for front coil springs. They are available in different heights and load ratings.

You could use heavier coils to stiffen it up, but this could also cause a harsher ride, especially if you aren't adding any weight in front (steel bumper, winch, etc).

You might want to get in touch with Marie at @HeadStrong Off-Road for more information. She knows more about this stuff than most of us.

Good luck!

 

Right now I have the oem springs up front. The Bilstein 5100 shocks does seem to help but not enough for my liking. I will check out Headstrong Off-Road. Thank you Bass Guy

 

One thing I don't like about the JBA is the rubber covering the ball joint slips off easily spilling the grease out of it. It's a poorly designed ball joint IMHO.

 

dose it still leak with two washers in place ?

 

Yes it does. I like ever thing else on the JBA but the ball joint rubber boot design.

 

Has this issue been addressed with JBA ? I thought the 2nd washers suppose to stop the leak ?

 

Not sure. I didn't wait to find out. A couple members on T4R and TW had the Dobinson UCA on their 4Runner and Tacos with no issues. Also got a chance to talk to @Crikeymike last year at the Overland Expo West about the Dobinson UCA, he pretty much sealed the deal for me to get them

 

Thank you so much for the recommendation @Thatbassguy !!

I personally had the 5100's set at the 0 notch setting with our lift coils on my 2019 SR5 and it helped a lot with the sloshy feeling from the front end. The only thing that can be an issue is that most lift coils out there provide nearly 3" on the 4Runners so a lot of people looking for a mild lift may not have this option. Something like the performance Bilstein 6112's can get them a similar feel but it will cost more the the 5100/lift coil combinations.

This is what mine looked like.

 

Hmm. Your ride looks nice HS! So that set up put you at a 3" lift up front. Wonder what the TRD springs would do for my ride with the Bilstein 5100 shocks I have now. I added 2.5" lift in the front and I like where the stance is now. I have not done anything to the rear and the truck sits pretty level now. Are the TRD springs different than my stock 2WD SR5 springs?

 

Thank you so much I like it.

Correct I was at 3.25" actually before setteling. I could't really speak to the stock swap arounds since we don't sell OE parts and I haven't run them on mine.