UCA recommendations

^^
I though it was this way:
Increase Caster with UCA brings wheel back.
Increase Caster with LCA pushes wheel forward.

 

I could be wrong. I only know how to install parts and what’s needed. Definitely not a qualified mechanic. If you have questions about what does what I’d recommend others.

 

Look up tinkerer designs on YouTube he explaines it very well

 

https://youtu.be/huMztKaHsUE?si=dxxaVmIxV26pD5-b

https://youtu.be/InQnp42pfts?si=ZINRwc_-0ZrNXMRt

 

Anyone replace their own UCA’s? Coming from a 3rd gen Tacoma, I had to cut the UCA bolt in order to remove the old one and reinstall the new one backwards.

Is that a thing with the 4Runners?

I know the Tacoma had them installed frame off at the factory. I figured it was easier to cut then beat the body/fender liner to get it out. Lots of others opt to do the same with the Tacoma.

If the parts show up this weekend I’ll be installing the Bilstein 6112/5160 with SPC UCA’s.

Thanks in advance for the answers.

 

Hello. New to this forum. I thought I'd post my slightly unorthodox and budget friendly UCA recommendation here. I recently swapped to aftermarket UCA's on my GX470, which should be the same as the 4Runner. My GX is lifted about 2.5 inches in front and my objective was to find a reasonably priced way to restore geometry and to have a high quality, OEM comparable ball joint that was readily available at parts stores. I ended up ordering a couple different sets of UCA's from Amazon. There's quite a range of options in the $100-$200 range that all look very similar. I ordered 2 that were from the highest volume sellers and seemed to have the best reviews. When they arrived I looked over both of them and found no discernible difference between the 2 brands. Both looked and felt quite robust. Even the various SKU and product numbers on the outside of the cartons matched. From examining online pics, both looked like a duplicate of the Freedom Offroad UCA's, the ball joints likely being the only difference. The units i ended up keeping are sold by "Philtop" https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BQW1ZYS2?ie=UTF8&th=1 I pressed out the included ball joints and replaced them with moog 6694 ball joints, which I'd read in a few places are a direct replacement for the ball joints that come in the Freedom Off road UCA's. The Philtop ball joints i removed had a nylon insert in the socket and ended up being about 2.5 hundredths smaller OD than the Moogs I wanted to install. The Philtop ball joints were about 1 hundredth larger OD than the mounting hole of the Philtop UCA they came out of. I imagine this is standard disparity for a press fit, so I planned on maintaining that same disparity when enlarging the mounting hole to accommodate the Moogs. I enlarged the mounting hole on the philtop UCA using a 2" diameter by 1" wide 40 grit abrasive flap wheel. The 2" wheel compressed enough to fit the 1.78" ball joint mounting hole with enough pressure to press firmly against the inside of the bore and remove material effectively. It took around 5 minutes and 2 wheels per arm to bore it out to the needed 1.805" to firmly hold the 1.815" Moog 6694 ball joint. The top flange of the 6694 also had to have a few hundredths shaved off it's diameter to fit into the larger upper bore of the UCA mounting hole where the snap ring grooves reside. This was easily done by turning the ball joint against the grinding wheel of a high speed bench grinder. I thoroughly wrapped the boot and stud of the ball joint with masking tape to keep any metal filings out. The Moogs pressed in perfectly after this, and the arms bolted on to the GX with no issues. It was easier than it probably sounds, once i found the right means of boring out the ball joint mounting hole. I tried a few other things beforehand that weren't removing enough metal. I also used a small sanding drum to remove a bit of material from the top of the ball joint stud mounting hole on top of the steering knuckle. The taper of the 6694 stud is practically identical to the factory ball joint, but i could discern a slight bit of movement near where the ball joint stud exited the bottom of the tapered knuckle mounting hole. Anyhow, hope this makes sense. Sorry for the detail, but I didn't think to take pictures while I was doing the work. I had a couple different front end noises that went away after installing these arms and the shop was able to get the camber fully back into spec.

 

Dobinsons tubular are good to go.
Dobinsons billet are pricey but if you need the extra adjustability they're a great option (and are better than SPC in just about every way imo)

I went with Apache UCA's. They use MOOG joints and are very solid for the price. I don't hear much about Apache online, but the owner is local to me; After talking to him I decided to give them a shot. They are till working great, no issues yet and I'm not exactly easy on my equipment.