SPC UCAs- Arms are shifting on their mounts. Any others have this problem? (1 Viewer)

[MongooseGA]

I had my SPC UCAs installed at the same time as my lift back in January-ish. Until a few weeks ago they'd been great and have about a dozen or so pretty decent trails days on them.

During a trip to Uwharrie which included some higher-speed bombing around the trails, I managed to knock the two arms of the DS UCA from their correct position, in toward the engine. Effectively, giving the FDS tire lots of camber. Easy enough fix, just took it in for an alignment and all was well.

Fast forward 2-3 weeks to this past weekend. Took it pretty easy on a rocky trail on Sunday as we were running solo and only there for the scenery, not to show off. Pulling off the trail, I noticed the same thing happened again. Made for a weird drive home holding the wheel to the side.. Pfft.

I called my indy who furnished and installed the arms and he's never had a problem with this product. First thought is, they weren't torqued enough. Thing is... they were fine for so long, and just now this comes up. Has anyone else had this problem before?

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Not on my Cruiser, but on one of my 4runners (identical design SPC arm) the arm’s mounting bolts loosened up ~8 months after I installed them. Caused just enough slop that the camber had become practically dynamic, shifting an unknown but noticeable number of decimal degrees *while driving*. This seemed to be a relatively common issue among the 4Runner and Taco guys using SPC arms. To remedy the issue, I applied some blue locktite to the arm mounting bolts before torquing the nuts back to spec. No issues in the 18 months since.

 

[BamaCruzer]

I’ve had mine on my 100 for about 16 months and no issues. This does make me want to go back and blue Loctite them and ensure correct torque.

 

[MongooseGA]

Not on my Cruiser, but on one of my 4runners (identical design SPC arm) the arm’s mounting bolts loosened up ~8 months after I installed them. Caused just enough slop that the camber had become practically dynamic, shifting an unknown but noticeable number of decimal degrees *while driving*. This seemed to be a relatively common issue among the 4Runner and Taco guys using SPC arms. To remedy the issue, I applied some blue locktite to the arm mounting bolts before torquing the nuts back to spec. No issues in the 18 months since.

Thanks. I was thinking some loctite might be in order. I'll mention it when I'm having it realigned tomorrow.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Here’s a thread dating back to 2013 on the topic: Toyota-4Runner.org

Note that Light Racing = SPC.

 

[MongooseGA]

Sent to my indy. Thank you!

I'm not sure how the arms on mine (newer style as they have a grease zerk) compare to the parts in the thread, but looks like a combo of upgraded hardware and/or the loctite solved for most people.

 

[hoser]

From SPC:

Mine hasn't moved since going to 175ft-lbs but if it does, I will scrape the paint from the mounting surface... and also take a paint marker and mark the alignment position so it can be returned back to normal on the trail.

 

[MongooseGA]

This is just for the BJ, correct?

The BJ on mine seems to be fine (at least, it was the last time this happened). The arms on either side of the shock mount are where I'm experiencing movement.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Sent to my indy. Thank you!

I'm not sure how the arms on mine (newer style as they have a grease zerk) compare to the parts in the thread, but looks like a combo of upgraded hardware and/or the loctite solved for most people.

I have the updated design (bought them in 2017 with redesigned ball joint), which is what I encountered the problem with loosening arm bolts on.

 

[MongooseGA]

Sweet. I'll be sure to bring my blue with me in the morning.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Sweet. I'll be sure to bring my blue with me in the morning.

One thing I forgot to mention is, per SPC’s instructions, re-torque them while the suspension is fully loaded.

 

[hoser]

This is just for the BJ, correct?

The BJ on mine seems to be fine (at least, it was the last time this happened). The arms on either side of the shock mount are where I'm experiencing movement.

Oh, gotcha, that's different. Mine have never shifted at those inner adjustment bolts.