Freedom Off-road UCA

[BlueWeim]

Yep. I got the email as well. I guess I’m not in a hurry so I’ll wait.

 

[rrc swb]

I had finally talked myself into ordering these this morning since I could get them on amazon and use some points to help the price even more but do not see a link for the 100 series UCA’s. Anyone else having this problem?

Still nothing. Only seeing them for the 200 series.

I can't find them now either, you snooze you lose. I wonder how long before they have more and are listed on Amazon again. Seems as though they sold out of their first run.

It's gone from Amazon... I had it on My List and they are no longer available.

I ordered these from the website as well. I'm not in a place to spend tons of money at the moment, and the price was right. Although, it does seem to be back-ordered until at least July at the moment.

At that price and this thread... went fast.

 

[AugustG]

Here are some pics. Ironman Foam cell kit. Freedom UCA. New lower ball joints and new tie rods. Diff drop and extended sway bar link from Trail aTailor. Install was super easy. Everything went together well. Had it aligned and he kicked it out super quick. Drives great. You can see my ball joints and tie rods were destroyed on the right side.

 

[FJ62INTX]

I spoke to a very friendly gent at the Durham location a few weeks back when I wanted to inquire about these arms. He said they use a greasable ball joint that is high quality and made in Taiwan (Yes, I know that Taiwan actually makes very good quality compared to China- especially machine equipment like lathes and mills and precision items). He let me know that they do have replacement ball joints available, and it gave me confidence if a part was needed.

I am going to be checking my ball joints this weekend to see if mine have any wear, and if they do, I will likely look into a set of these upper control arms.

 

[GorditoPro]

Call them this morning about my order. Ordered a week ago. They are out of stock..... no eta on when available. Money will be refunded.

 

[ton504]

At the end of the day, it's not my money so I can't tell you where to send it. You may not need UCAs depending on your lift.

Here's my before and after alignment with STOCK UCAs. AHC delete, mild lift with sway-a-way torsion bar/ome 863/KONI shocks. My friend didn't want to mess with the cam bolts so I took the wheel on this alignment lol. Maxed out cam bolts pretty much border line ok with STOCK UCAs.

I wonder why the caster specs are a little different from the LX to LC.

 

[UnclePorky]

Any longer term feedback on these yet?

Also, do they allow more down travel of the suspension, for use with longer shocks?

 

[UnclePorky]

I emailed Freedom Offroad asking about increase travel, here is the response from Brandon:

"Our arms are the same size and shape as the OEM control arms. They only have a different angle on the ball joint to compensate for 2-4in of lift. They do not provide more travel."

Not sure what to think.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

I emailed Freedom Offroad asking about increase travel, here is the response from Brandon:

"Our arms are the same size and shape as the OEM control arms. They only have a different angle on the ball joint to compensate for 2-4in of lift. They do not provide more travel."

Not sure what to think.

Perhaps semantics, but technically UCAs do not *provide* travel. They can *allow* more travel if longer travel shocks are installed and the ball joint angle is adjusted. On stock OEM UCAs, the ball joint binds and becomes a primary limiter of travel and thus, short shocks are used, which also limit travel.

 

[gregnash]

Well looks like I might be looking for a pair of these or the BlackHawks. Yesterday when I was doing the axles I found that the drivers front upper ball joint just spins in the socket. Ended up having to grab the arm via the boot with a pair of channel locks to be able to get it up to torque, only was able to get the nut halfway on before it would just spin the entire ball.
Seeing as I just spent more than I had anticipated on the axle job, I am gonna have to find a cheaper solution for the UCAs. And I am thinking the squeak that I have been chasing is probably the ball joint.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

And I am thinking the squeak that I have been chasing is probably the ball joint.

Or the control arm bushings. From my experience, bad ball joints typically make a popping noise, whereas bad bushings squeak. Nevertheless, definitely sounds like your ball joint is bad, given the play you described. A cheaper alternative, albeit substantially more work for you, is to buy new 555 ball joints and new UCA bushings and press them in yourself.

 

[gregnash]

Or the control arm bushings. From my experience, bad ball joints typically make a popping noise, whereas bad bushings squeak. Nevertheless, definitely sounds like your ball joint is bad, given the play you described. A cheaper alternative, albeit substantially more work for you, is to buy new 555 ball joints and new UCA bushings and press them in yourself.

Yeah. They are still stock UCAs and seeing as I have 1.5” lift I figure that with it being either of those it would be best to just replace the whole arm to save me some heartache and time. At ~$400 for the Freedom/BlackHawk I figure it would be worth it.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Yeah. They are still stock UCAs and seeing as I have 1.5” lift I figure that with it being either of those it would be best to just replace the whole arm to save me some heartache and time. At ~$400 for the Freedom/BlackHawk I figure it would be worth it.

I thought the BlackHawks were like $7-800?

 

[gregnash]

I thought the BlackHawks were like $7-800?

You are right I had them confused. They are all the same company though aren’t they? Or at least very similar.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

You are right I had them confused. They are all the same company though aren’t they? Or at least very similar.

Different companies and manufacturing locations, but similar designs I think. I have no experience with them tho - I run OEM or SPC on all my vehicles.

 

[implayaz9]

seems like some of you have gotten the freedom ones.., Overall experience?

 

[hickuptruck]

The supposed July delivery date has again been pushed back by Freedom. Could be August, could be 2021.

Also question: these do give additional +" caster over OEM arms right?

If these are same spec as OEM, I'll just replace bushings and BJ as there's no point in getting these. Im lifted 1.5" and could use a bit more caster in my alignment for more steering feel and control. Wont be getting these if they dont give additional caster

 

[gregnash]

The supposed July delivery date has again been pushed back by Freedom. Could be August, could be 2021.

Also question: these do give additional +" caster over OEM arms right?

If these are same spec as OEM, I'll just replace bushings and BJ as there's no point in getting these. Im lifted 1.5" and could use a bit more caster in my alignment for more steering feel and control. Wont be getting these if they dont give additional caster

This is where I am at too..
Would be about equivalent cost for the Freedoms vs. doing all that work myself and getting it aligned afterwards. I am planning on a diff drop bracket from Jason later this year so that may or may not affect things as well.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

The supposed July delivery date has again been pushed back by Freedom. Could be August, could be 2021.

Also question: these do give additional +" caster over OEM arms right?

If these are same spec as OEM, I'll just replace bushings and BJ as there's no point in getting these. Im lifted 1.5" and could use a bit more caster in my alignment for more steering feel and control. Wont be getting these if they dont give additional caster

I’m not sure if they have different caster than OEM but I think they do have 3* positive camber built in to the ball joint angle. To my knowledge, only SPC arms offer adjustable caster, but I could be wrong.

 

[Sargy]

The supposed July delivery date has again been pushed back by Freedom. Could be August, could be 2021.

Also question: these do give additional +" caster over OEM arms right?

If these are same spec as OEM, I'll just replace bushings and BJ as there's no point in getting these. Im lifted 1.5" and could use a bit more caster in my alignment for more steering feel and control. Wont be getting these if they dont give additional caster

Correct. Additional caster over the OEM arms. Non adjustable but it looks like you can get around +2 degrees of caster.