Lower Control Arm

I need to replace my passenger side lower control. It's getting pretty rough looking. What brand is a good quality arm to go with and what do I stay away from? Thanks

 

I would personally stick with OEM

 

These appear to be a PITA to replace, especially if you're in a road salt area and need to cut them out. Just for that reason I would stick with OEM as the longest lasting, or one alternative to that I would trust would be Superpro.

I actually bought the Super pros for mine, though I haven't installed them yet. Supposedly they have more adjustment to get your alignment back in spec after a lift, so I'm hoping they'll help me avoid changing the UCAs. They also appear to have high quality bushings and the cam bolt design looks to be improved, hopefully it is less prone to seizing.

 

Seizing is what I'm experiencing. Plus I'm 1.5 degree out of spec on that side. Which is not much but I would like to have both sides in spec not just one side.

 

I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure mine will be seized. That's why I ended up buying the new ones in the first place. And when I say I haven't installed them yet, what I really mean is I haven't gotten around to paying someone to install them yet. I have no desire to take on this job.

I also have a lift to go on, which I can't do until we get the control arms done, because I know they're not going to be able to align it.

 

I have 2.5 lift and they got mine in spec. It's just the one is seized up and they think that is why it wouldn't go in spec.

 

My buddy has an FJ with a 2.5 in lift, he was telling me that they were able to get it in spec with out UCA's. I asked him about the cams, and he said one of them seemed to be frozen, but it was an old school tech who just put a 4-ft pipe on it and said anything will move if you use a big enough wrench. Lol. So there's always that.

 

i replaced my 2 lowers on my 2011 SR5 with Moog brand when the originals wore out at 156,000. I cut the cam bolts out and replaced all cam bolts with SPC and made sure to lube them up well with anti-seize. Went pretty smooth.

 

I had to replace my lowers in a pinch while on a road trip a few years back (had a blown lower ball joint). I ordered some random brand from Rock Auto because I could get them next day air. They were the KDSS ones as well and made identical to stock, and only about $280 for the pair at the time. They started rusting after about 6 months just a little bit, but for the price, I could replace them every few years if needed and still stay under the OEM price. Just be sure to grease up all the bolts when assembling it. The vehicle was sold a year after putting them on, but I'm sure they're doing fine still.

 

So question....when I did my lift kit I just loosen the two bolts on the bottom under the ball joint and lower the the control arm. Ball joint stayed in tack. But when I'm looking the new control arms the ball joint is fixed to the control arm. Am I missing something here?

 

The ball joint is on the lower control arm, and you move your bracket over that has the 2 bolts

 

I made a video when I did it the last time.
https://youtu.be/j9au1-eh8VE

 

Oh now I see how it worked...great video. Thanks for clearing that up for me

 

All the aftermarket UCAs are pretty much the same - the ball joint won't last as long as OEM, but you can replace the ball joint a few years later in-situ if needed.

Aftermarket cam bolts (sold under multiple brands SPC/Moog/Mevotech) are no bueno. They're designed differently from OEM - the bolt is separate from the cam discs. To prevent the bolt from spinning in the cam disc, the hole in the cam disc is D-shaped. In practice, the hole rounds out after a short time and alignment begins to drift. OEM cam bolts are one-piece forged, which contributes to their high price. So go with either OEM, or octagonal-shaped cams like these: https://bisonoffroad.com/product/stop-cam-alignment-kit-toyota-tacoma-05-15-4runner-03-09/

 

Interesting stuff. I like the bison kit alot. Thanks for sharing this