SPC UCA Leak?

Anybody else with SPC UCA’s have this happen? Doesn’t really look like leaking, and I know any extra grease that was pumped in during install should be able to leave the boot as it is not a tight seal. Just checking in to make sure, they only have 10k on them and don’t want them going out any time soon! Most of the spindle is stained from the grease.
First pic is passenger side, second is drivers side.

 

I have SPC and probably right around 13k on them, Ill take a look when I can.

 

I posted on tacomaworld and people on there stated that it’s normal for them to look like this. Theyre going to need some maintenance soon anyways so I’ll take a closer look at them too.

 

Had all the renditions on my Tacoma from the first one that cracked at the mount to newer axis ones all my ball joints leaked like that after around 5-7k. I never had one run fully dry though.

 

I just installed a pair on my ride. I’ll have to keep and eye on them.

 

Going to be greasing the UCA’s today, and was wondering for those who have done it do you jack it up and grease to relieve pressure or do it as the vehicle sits?

 

Tag - I have SPC UCA's on order.

 

So far no issues with mine

 

So I just did it while it was parked, didn’t take off anything. They did feel pretty dry, I squeezed the boot and couldn’t feel any grease. Did about 15 pumps of grease into them, will check them again soon after a trail run. One thing I did notice was before I greased them today, they would make a thud/clunk noise over bumps over bumps and now they’re quiet again. I did run them about 13k miles with plenty of dusty and off-road conditions so that definitely could’ve led to the ball joint boot losing most of its grease.

 

Developed an incredibly annoying creaking noise whenever I would brake and get a little bit of nose dive over the week that comes and goes. Today it got so bad I finally decided to crawl under and track it down. Ended up finding the source which is coming from the drivers side UCA ball joint.
at first I thought the joint itself maybe was dry so I greased it but that hasn’t remedied it. It is pretty dirty so I’ll be pressure washing it soon, but has anyone just sprayed in some WD-40 and called it a day? Everything is tight and not wiggly or lose, so I’m not too worried about it but it is annoying hearing it creak. Although, if I grab onto the uca itself while it’s creaking it stops it but I can still feel it vibrate in my hand.

 

Ironman UCAs ... maintenance free

 

They don’t provide the adjustment that SPC does, and they appear to not be as heavy duty.

 

I’ve had zero issues getting my camber to 4 degrees. As for the beefiness - overkill for sure

 

I’m not gentle on my rig when I’m off-roading, so I went with SPC because it’s tried and true, and steel. Aluminum components in areas like that aren’t my cup of tea, but if they work for you then they work for you!

 

I have noticed one side has grease leaking out the bottom.

 

It’s normal from what I’ve taken, the grease has to eventually go somewhere after the ball joint moves around all the time. Just pump grease in the boot and wipe off the old stuff!

 

All of the creaking I would always get out of mine was from the bushings. I pulled mine off at one point and removed the metal sleeve and regreased them.(remedied it for about 6 months) it wasn’t the factory grease though. So I bit the bullet and ordered new bushings from them. They should be in tomorrow when I get home from work. My squeak was when I hit speed bumps or dips, never really noticed it on breaking.

 

Ahhhh, sucks. I was hoping it wouldn’t be the bushings inside. It’s not crazy annoying, just whenever it goes happen it’s obvious that it’s creaking. Mine does it when if it dips from braking. I suppose it’s better than the lower control arm ball joint going bad which was my fear, never want to experience that breaking while driving

 

I agree with the -“ ...if they work for you...” but, as for tried and true - and failure rate - lol a simple search with MANY user experiences would say otherwise.
But hey, if they work for you

 

All of my noises from mine came from the upper bushings as well. They switched out the bushings to a new atlas design I think because of the failure rate from the others. Mine the creaking came from the grease drying up and the metal sleeve inside the bushing binding to the rubber and then ripping it.

 

Exactly. I wonder if the ones they sent me are the new design or not. Do you know if there were any physical/visual differences. Mine arrived yesterday when I was at work so I just opened the box and don’t know what would look different

 

If you wanted to try to see if that’s where the noise is coming from you could always loosen the bolts for the UCA slide the shims back a little and try spraying lube in them. That would sometimes work for a week or 2 for me. At least you will know where the noise is then

 

I use home depot silicone spray .. works perfectly .. I spray it on all the rubber bushings,grease boots,tires ,window rubber seals .. no problems no grease leaks boots/window seals/tires looks like new...no squeaks //.
my 2000 snow blower looks new .. spray it on the impellers blows perfectly ..

 

They look significantly different than the old poly/rubber bushings.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/identify-old-style-spc-light-racing-uca.554567/


did a quick search on tacomaworld, and I definitely have the new style. The entire control arm is completely different than the older style ones. I’ll try spraying in some lube to see if that remedies it, if it it’s easy enough to pop new components in. I should probably try cleaning them first though, they’re absolutely caked in clay like mud so I’m sure that’s a great part in why they’re squeaking.

 

Ok just check. They are called AXIS bushings not atlas like I previously mentioned. And these are what they look like.

 

Where do you buy these?

 

You can get them direct from SPC. I believe Toytec carry them also. I got mine from Amazon but the company say that they are not authorized to sell them and will void the warranty. I haven’t had a issue with mine.

 

I got mine for $500 from headstrong off road. Tell them you’re a forum member for a discount. Just be advised they are under new ownership and the gal by the name of Marie (super helpful) no longer works there for service is up in the air at this point.

 

I did also got a new ball joints from SPC under warranty, so hopefully the creaking and squeaking in my current ball joints is remedied by this! I gotta say that SPC has AMAZING customer service and are super helpful. Made the whole process a breeze in eliminating other possible culprits and then getting the new joints. Will update when I get these installed.