Just Differentials Deluxe Kit thoughts

[midfat]

Okay, I'm looking to start outfitting the '04 LC. It's rolling bone stock and I've decided on wheels and lift first. I'll worry about bumpers later. I'm still in the middle of the 33" vs 35" debate, though I'd really prefer 35". I'm leaning toward the Just Differentials Deluxe Kit as it comes with everything - control arms and diff drop. I'm not looking at the uber kit with King shocks, I think the Bilstein 5100 shocks will be fine. My issue is that the only real reviews I can find seem to be marketing from Just Differentials.

1) Not that I distrust anybody, but anybody have "real world" feedback on this kit?
2) Is it really worth the $, or am I better off piece-mealing Slee/OME components?
3) Finally, will this kit allow me to run 35" tires free of issue?

As for driving, I do use this as a daily driver, but living in SoCal, I regularly spend time out in the desert exploring.

Sorry if this is a well hashed topic, but I'm rather new to the LC world, and I didn't readily see any threads addressing my questions on the Just Differentials kit.

 

[Duiser Offroad]

Running 35's free of issue is an entirely different "issue". 35's are as big as it gets for a 100. It depends on what you want to do with the vehicle.

If you want to upgrade your suspension their kits are a great option. Bilstein shocks are very nice on the 100. Their control arms solve a lot of issues with a lifted 100 including on road handling. Buying a kit usually saves you money.

 

[hoser]

I have no experience with this kit but regarding the UCA's, I'd wait for Slee's UCA offering with OE style ball joint.

 

[jhfj80]

I agree with hoser. Recently had to replace my upper and lower control arms and ended up sticking with OEM parts due to the seemingly high maintenance of aftermarket UCAs. I'm running 33's though.

Sent from the future to protect John Conner.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

UCA's certainly help with the way the 100 drives with the extra caster, and aids outer edge tyre wear.

5100 Bilsteins tend to be soft, but if the vehicle is lightly loaded, they may be ok depending on use.

I see Fox has just released a 100 shock, in a 2.0 as well which may or may not work well. I have some on the way to test.

The Kings are better, but I would still like to see more low speed compression and rebound in the front of them, and some more rebound in the rear, for a loaded truck, still much better than the others though, having said that.

UCA's that take a factory ball joint will be much nicer long term.

 

[midfat]

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like the Slee UCA with the OE style joints are the way to go. I'm fully on board with the benefits of the the aftermarket UCA angles.

In a perfect world, I'd do Slee UCA with OE style ball joints, OME torsion bars/springs, Fox 2.0 shocks and a Slee Diff Drop. While I have no experience with Fox's shocks on a 100, I have a sweet spot for Fox as a company.

Like I said, I still use this as a regular driver, but I'm fortunate enough not to depend on it as my sole daily driver. I want to have a little fun with it. Hence, leaning toward 35" vs 33" tires.

Any indication as to when Slee's new UCA are going to be available? (I know, search first...)

 

[Bighead]

Any indication as to when Slee's new UCA are going to be available? (I know, search first...)

The last time I talked to him I think he said around the end of summer if not later. What I don't know is if that was for a test unit or a production version.

 

[Letsgomoreplaces]

Complete kit

I typically don't get on here often any more, but we've had lots of inquiries lately.

The kits we offer are complete and have all been installed by us and run on vehicles for the long term. As for long term testing, our very own 100 series has run the uniball UCA's for about 5 or 6 years now and well over 100,000 miles. I am unaware of any other company that offers a complete kit that has been backed by this much testing on their very own company vehicle.

The kit comprises of:
-UCA's
-Diff drop
-Torsion bars & Coils
-Shock options: King 2.5" rem res, Radflo 2.0 or 2.5, Bilstien 5100/4600, and likely Icon soon.

We also offer this as an "upgrade kit" for those that already have aftermarket suspension.

Our 100 series is a family daily driver, dirt road driver, snow driver, everything. It is subjected to all the nasty dirt dust etc. The uniballs do wear faster than the OEM ball joints (1st set saw 60k), however they are readily available, easy to install, and inexpensive. They are also very strong. I have no worry's of a seperated ball joint causing a catestrophic failure if a shock were to fail. As for maintenance. Well I dont touch mine hardly ever. If the bushings are greatsed properly at install, they dont require constant re-greasing and do not squeak. Maybe once every two months of street driving they could use a squirt of Teflon silicone spray to the uniball. This can be done in 2 seconds by reaching into the wheel well, and dont worry, you wont get dirty. I will also say that you will want to do this after each offroad trip to wash out the dust/dirt. It can also be noted that we are only using FK uniballs now. We had been using Aurora early on and they tended to squeak more and last less.

As for the reasons we chose to do the uniball arms vs. oe ball joint type:
-Readily available components
-Proven, strong components
-Easily servicable, each component stocked seperately.
-Can utilize fabricated arm, allows product to be manufactured in the USA and in reasonable time frame.
-Tubular design offers more clearance for shocks and/or larger tires
-Strong

As you can see our shop 100 series has no expenses spared, and I hate squeaks myself. I agree on the arguments for pro's of the OE joints, but there are a few more things to consider.
-Strength
-We all say "the OE joints lasted 200k" but often times the lasted on a stock truck that was driven on the highway. How long will the new one's last on a lifted truck that also sees a great deal of offroad use? Still quite a while I agree, but likely not as long.
-If you have driven a 100 series with longer shocks and UCA's on a dirt road you will know. it is a great experience.

That said, I think it's great that SPC is coming out with a new product for the 100 series and this should be a good option for some people. I've also got a set of prototype ball joint arms on my truck now, not because I feel they are needed, but they are wanted to overcome the objection that the 100 series crowd has to non-oe type parts.

http://www.justdifferentials.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=JTOUCA-TLC100

 

[Nottajeep]

Nice product
Premium price

Do you expect cost to come down in the future?

Would a group buy get the price in the <$500 range?

 

[Krazytoy]

Can you upgrade the King's to a 2 tube or 3 tube bypass?

 

[OregonLC]

As a data point, I only have about 2k on my TC UCAs and 2.5 RR Long Radflos (not a DD) but half of that has been off road. They're great. No noise, no click, increased travel, chicks dig 'em. I agree with Carl's posed about the spherical bearing; easy to maintain, easy to replace, very rugged. And the 2.5" Radflos are extremely beefy devices. I fully expect these to last the life of the vehicle and they're rebuildable if needed. The only negative I would have to say is that the Radflos are just a bit firm around town. The valving, however, swallows up big hits like nothing. Very happy with the setup.

 

[AimCOtaco]

Yeah, I have 2 sets of TC UCA's and not a peep in 10's of thousands of miles on and off road in dusty summers and real chemically enhanced winters. I love my uni-balls and just hit them with a little teflon lube once a year or so. I'm sure I would be just as happy with the JT arms as well.

That said, i think the SPC's may be better still. They use an OE style booted ball joint but it's not the LC OE ball joint so it could be much larger and more durable.

I also agree with Carl above when he says the small increase in down travel is a major improvement in front end handling.

 

[2000UZJ]

Any of you having CV boot issues with the TC arms and a longer shock? I keep ripping boots due to the axle running at such a steep angle at full droop.
I run the TC UCA's and ProFenders up front and quiet as can be!

 

[FlammableFishie]

Any of you having CV boot issues with the TC arms and a longer shock? I keep ripping boots due to the axle running at such a steep angle at full droop.
I run the TC UCA's and ProFenders up front and quiet as can be!

You should think about a diff drop!

 

[bluecruiser]

Limiting straps. Pretty easy to add.

 

[spressomon]

The negative performance issue regarding using limit straps on the front of the 100 suspension is how close, relatively, the strap is mounted to the pivot point of the control arms. The result: Straps keep stretching.

A better way to limit down travel in front based upon my experience is to determine where you want your down travel limit to be and then use a delrin spacer (simple machine operation on a lathe) mounted to the inside of the shock (Radflo, Fox, King, etc.)...on the shaft...to limit down travel. I also use limit straps to slow the suspension droop so the stop is somewhat slowed/buffered. This way the strap isn't taking the full hit...

But when I just used the limit straps for droop out stop...they just kept stretching longer...no bueno. Yes...even triple layer quality straps!

FWIW.

 

[Letsgomoreplaces]

Kit

Again, it all comes down to a KIT! we offer a KIT it comes with parts that work together! I only hear about these problems when people source shocks, uca's etc from different sources. We spec the lengths to the shock MFG's so they work. I've got well over 100k miles on mine with extended length shocks and uca's and have never torn a cv boot. In fact the only boots I've torn were when the truck had about 70k miles and had just regular OME suspension with Diff drop.