Upper control arms

Looking for recommendations on upper control arms, JBA seems to have good reviews, any advice?

 

SPC gets my vote. Not too expensive and do the job. There is a video by Tinkers on this subject. He nails down the math and mechanics of this in a good way.

 

I’ve got JBA’s on my 2021 TRD OR along with a 2” lift using Dobinsons springs and Bilstein 5100’s. I’m able to get a very good alignment with this setup and am very happy with them.

Cheers,
Bob

 

https://youtu.be/InQnp42pfts?si=sdTUifZ4uLc6XKWY

 

I wouldn't recommend SPC personally unless you really need that adjustability. (You probably don't) https://www.4runners.com/threads/spc-uca-failures.31675/page-2

JBA's are great but take proprietary ball joints. I went with Apache Off Road UCA's with OEM sized MOOG ball joints after my SPC's failed in less than a year.

I'd recommend the Dobinsons UCA's. Those also use an OEM sized ball joint for easy replacement. Dobbies stuff is usually very good.

https://exitoffroad.com/product/dob...cruiser-4runner-lexus-gx470-gx460-uca59-002k/

 

Dirt King

 

The SPC's my shop installed are sealed, so no maintenance unlike the previous design. I know a lot of folks had issues with previous SPC's so keep that in mind.

 

For fitting larger tires, Dobinson billet arms are adjustable for camber, so you can crank the LCA cam bolts to maximize caster, then dial in camber with UCAs.

SPC UCAs do the same thing, but the "Xaxis" pivot joints introduced around 2018 wear out fairly quickly (previous design with poly bushings, which I have, lasts a long time).

 

SPCs are made in China and their quality has suffered the last few years. Also harder to find techs who know how to adjust them properly for alignment if they're not familiar with them (unless it's a true off road shop). 2 good reasons to avoid. I run Dirt King tubular steel ones. They're great and take Moog-style replacement ball joints you can get anywhere. Made in San Diego.

 

Are you sure about that?

 

I think both the SPC ball joints and MOOG Problem Solver ball joints are both made in China now...
"Assembled In" doesn't mean much anymore.

@TRDSD brings up a good point though. Most alignment techs are not going to touch any aftermarket components.
Hell, most of them don't even dial in camber or caster properly. Most shops do a "Toe and go" alignment. Very frustrating imo.

Both dirt king's tubular and apache off roads UCA's use the moog joints. They are pretty solid and can be found at most parts stores.
I've abused my apache's with the MOOG joints and they're still rock solid.

I believe the dobinsons tubular arms use Sankei555 joints (Toyota OE supplier)
So if that's a big point of contention for you then go dobinsons tubular.

If you NEED extra adjustment go with the billet dobinsons. But understand that most alignment shops will not touch them.

 

VERY. It's well-known in the industry. See "COUNTRY OF ORIGIN" in the attached.
"Designed, engineered, tested and assembled" is different than where it's actually made. SPC hides it now in careful semantics. Sorry to burst your bubble.

 

We go through the same bs with our equipment at work.

That is their bs way of saying we still get all the shit from other countries but we slap it together here in the USA.


I only have experience with Icon and DO NOT buy. Unless you want constant squealing from the bushings.

 

"Designed, engineered, tested, and assembled". So they drew up the designs in the US. They did some sort of testing - maybe on the prototype, maybe on all, maybe a random sample. And they did some packaging and assembly. But their careful choice of those four words is a clear statement that the product is NOT manufactured in the US.

Which explains why my SPC uppers failed and I ended up replacing them with Bilstein UCAs (which are manufactured by Dirt King I believe).

 

Your not wrong, but this is slightly misleading.

JBA proprietary ball joints are cerakoted high articulation ball joints with 90 degree range of motion - more than a uniball and without the noise and constant maintenance.

However, you can replace them with an off the shelf readily available AC/Delco #45D0062, Raybestos #500-1062, or Moog #K6292 (used on GM trucks from 1988 to 1996) from any parts store and the balljoints don’t require any special tools to replace them.

 

camburg, bilstein or OME

 

I'm satisfied with the jbas and 5100s My 4runner is a pavement princess so depending upon what your doing with it might sway your decision

 

Be the rebel like me, and keep the factory UCA's. I've wheeled with guys that had 5Gen 4R's that were built way more than mine, and bailed at the trails I wanted to do. They were either too hard or too technical for their taste. The factory UCA's are severely under rated. I've been up Hell's Gate twice, and made it to Top of the World. Maybe I'm just too old and have the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude.

 

Some can't get enough out of their alignment with stocks thats the main reason for changing them.

Also since you are already under there makes sense to not need to go back.

 

The strength of the arms is rarely the issue. It’s more the range of motion of the ball joint. There have been plenty of people that have over extended the the ball joint with downtravel resulting in a separation and catastrophic failure.

 

I kept the factory UCAs and the best they could do on alignment left my caster angles just barely out factory specs. It’s fine though…just makes the ride a little more spicy on the highway.

 

4 years / 30k miles later on my SPC, no issues.

 

We went with the JBA's to get the caster adjustment range, plus I like the fact they are serviceable (grease fittings). We do not have a decent lift (suspension), just a spacer kit, but it's looking like Bilsteins are in our future. The JBA's have had some paint peel, other than that, seem to be OK, and gave us some room to adjust caster.

 

That's very good to know! Thanks for the correction.

I'm glad! Testimonials like that is why I gave them a shot. Unfortunately mine failed within a year after a few wheeling trips. SPC would not warranty the ball joints. When I contacted my local shop they suggested Apache or JBA. When I arrived they had a stack of dead SPC's in the corner of the shop. Apparently this was a common occurrence over the last couple of years. This experience is pretty well documented in the thread I cited in post #5 here. Because of this experience I don't recommend SPC to anyone.

Still, I realize that some people have great luck with SPC. Hopefully yours hold up great.

 

New design Dirt King vs. Older design JBA.
The older JBAs had the cup style seal that allowed water and dirt to enter and destroy the joints. JBA required me to run .75 wheel spacers with 17x8.5 with 4.75 BS.

 

Dont always want factory specs.

A lot want as much caster as possible and its not happening with stockers.

 

Hey on the dirt king how often do you have to service or grease the ball? Is it like a EP-2 type standard grease? Any negatives to the dirt king?

 

I’ve heard factory UCAs might be able to reach caster specs with lifts up to about 2inches. Makes sense, because mine was 2.5 in of lift, and my caster fell short about 0.2 degrees. Which isn’t horrible, and drives fine.

Another positive with factory UCAs is that they will make it less likely for upsized 285/70-17 tires to rub on the body mounts. I’ve got no rubbing throughout the suspension range with my 285/70s on the factory OR wheels and stock mudflaps.

 

I would hope not. You’re barely driving it.

 

DK uses a Moog ball joint. I service mine with chassis grease every 5k.