Looking at UCAs and need some help from those who have been through it (1 Viewer)

[BobinBend]

I put the new tires on (285/70/17 KO2s on stock wheels with 1.25” SpyderTrax spacers). I have the Radflo2.5 lift and have some rubbing when turning sharp and some minor handling issues at highway speeds. Mostly just reacts easier to crosswind or ruts in the road and not as stable. So now I guess I “need” to buy some UCAs.
I’m looking at several, but keep going back to the JBA standards. Talking with them, they were very helpful on the phone and said I would need 4.5” of space from back of wheel to the hub (I think).
So the real question is will these work with the stock wheels for now or will I have to buy new TRD pro wheels immediately. (I know, I know). Can anyone help me understand if these will work on stock wheels and if the measurement is less than 4.5”?
Also would love to know if anyone has used the JBAs and how involved/expensive they were to install. I have never worked on the front suspension so it is a little above my experience level. I will probably be paying a shop in my area (north of Seattle)

As always, Thanks for any help or advice

 

[fastlane1000]

I put the new tires on (285/70/17 KO2s on stock wheels with 1.25” SpyderTrax spacers). I have the Radflo2.5 lift and have some rubbing when turning sharp and some minor handling issues at highway speeds. Mostly just reacts easier to crosswind or ruts in the road and not as stable. So now I guess I “need” to buy some UCAs.
I’m looking at several, but keep going back to the JBA standards. Talking with them, they were very helpful on the phone and said I would need 4.5” of space from back of wheel to the hub (I think).
So the real question is will these work with the stock wheels for now or will I have to buy new TRD pro wheels immediately. (I know, I know). Can anyone help me understand if these will work on stock wheels and if the measurement is less than 4.5”?
Also would love to know if anyone has used the JBAs and how involved/expensive they were to install. I have never worked on the front suspension so it is a little above my experience level. I will probably be paying a shop in my area (north of Seattle)

As always, Thanks for any help or advice

You will be fine with stock wheels since you have the 1.25" Spacers. I am running the JBA std. high caster arms on my lifted GX. I have the the camber and caster adjustments on the lower control arms set to 0 (centered). My caster is like 3.6* on one side and 3.7* on the other. It drives great but I am going to have my alignment shop add more caster (around 5*) since I am rubbing the body mount a little at full lock in reverse. Adding caster will move the wheel forward in the wheel well. I installed mine myself. It is not a hard job but if you aren't comfortable researching and tackling the job then you may want to pay a shop. I would have whoever is going to do your alignment install the UCAs.

 

[BobinBend]

Thank you... that helps. Did you notice any differences or improvements in driving feel?

 

[fastlane1000]

Thank you... that helps. Did you notice any differences or improvements in driving feel?

I installed mine when I did the lift but I am very impressed with how it drives. The instability that you are feeling at highway speeds is from the lack of caster. Caster is easier to understand if you compare it to motorcycles. A sportbike has more twitchy and responsive handling due to the forks being more upright. A cruiser is slower to steer because the forks are raked out. When you lift our vehicles your caster goes from 3-4* down to 1-2*. By installing the JBA arms you are getting the caster back into factory specs. They will for sure fix the highway instability you are talking about.

 

[mercedeezel]

I'm a fan of the JBA's - beefy construction, reasonable cost, simplicity, rubber bushings with sealed/fixed/greasable ball joints. What's not to like!?

I installed JBA's on our GX along with new lower control arms almost a year ago. GX rides great. I'd say the steering feels "heavy" now. Now light and darty when it was 1st lifted. Stock wheels and no spacers - slight rubbing at full lock with 255/80's

 

[BobinBend]

That’s good feedback. I’m feeling better about the JBAs. I will do a little more research (of course) and then find someone to do the install and an alignment

 

[James C]

Another with JBA's here. @fastlane1000 let us know how you like the ride with caster at 5*. My local shop was reluctant but said they would do it if I really wanted to. No rubbing right now at 3.5* with 33's, a bmc and hammered-in pinch weld but I'd like more space to move up to larger tires.

@BobinLaconner - the trickiest part of the install was feeding the long bolt in and out through the engine bay, and the most annoying part was separating the old UCA from the knuckle (aggressive hammering!)

 

[fastlane1000]

Another with JBA's here. @fastlane1000 let us know how you like the ride with caster at 5*. My local shop was reluctant but said they would do it if I really wanted to. No rubbing right now at 3.5* with 33's, a bmc and hammered-in pinch weld but I'd like more space to move up to larger tires.

@BobinLaconner - the trickiest part of the install was feeding the long bolt in and out through the engine bay, and the most annoying part was separating the old UCA from the knuckle (aggressive hammering!)

I just picked up the GX from the alignment shop. I'm using Firestone since they have the lifetime alignment option. I have attached the report. I tried it out full lock in reverse which is where I had rubbing before on the body mount. I now have a good half inch of clearance, maybe more. The funny thing is I'm now rubbing the sway bar slightly at full lock going forward. It is slight and I'm not worried about it but perhaps the ideal caster with JBA arms is somewhere in the low 4s. A slight toe adjustment might fix it as well since I am toed in a hair now. I got it up on the highway and everything feels solid. The only negative if any I feel is slightly heavier steering. I don't think most would notice a difference. I like it personally. When I installed the JBA arms with my 3" lift (more like 4" in reality) I also had new bushings installed in the LCAs. When I reinstalled the LCA I had the adjustment cams zeroed out. They are marked and have match marks on the mounts. This gave me 3.5* caster on one side and 3.6* on the other. I checked the adjustments after my first alignment and they had not been touched. They only set the toe the first time around. Now, as you can see, the Caster is at 4.7* on the left side and 4.6* on the other. Any more and the camber was gonna go positive. Which we don't want. My testing is on flat ground mind you so under compression may be a different story but given the clearance I have now I should be good.

 

[joabmc]

@fastlane1000 Did you install a swaybar relocation kit with your lift? If not, that may help prevent rubbing. I used Toytecs and have no contact on the swaybar.

 

[fastlane1000]

Yes, I did use the Toytec sway bar relocate. It moved the bar forward a little and kept it off the spring but it would need to go in to help in this case. I'll take a closer look at everything tonight when I double check my alignment bolts being tight and reinstall the skid plate.

 

[fastlane1000]

I'm happy with the body mount clearance and the way it drives at the current alignment settings so I drilled and tapped two little 6mm holes in the steering stop on the LCAs and screwed in some little button head bolts with loctite to adjust the steering stop a hair. No more rubbing on the sway bar. No noticeable difference in turning radius. I can still do a u turn on a two lane street at an intersection. I'll update with pics later. Here's a link to my build thread for tire, wheel, lift specs, etc.
Builds - New GX Owner here / Build Thread

 

[vwynn]

i have JBA high caster with Radflo 2.5 (front and rear) with resi and the car drives fine... caster at 3.5 however im probably going to have it higher once i get a realignment.

 

[Mr mmg]

Hi there,

I had the Total Chaos UCAs in front with 33s and a 2jnch lift. Wheels are mickey thompsons with 0 offset and there's a slight rub at full lock. I've recently done a 4 inch lift and there's still a very slight rub. I think choice of tyre plays a part here. I'm running Maxxis Razr MT which have quite an aggressive tread block that's causing the slight rub. My alignment is within spec and the prado drives beautifully.

 

[BobinBend]

ok, it is decided, I am ordering the JBAs... Any other components I should look at replacing while in there...? I have replaced lower control arms with stock but thinking about other bushings or components that I should replace.

 

[NomzMatter]

There's nothing else really connected to the UCAs, only thing that would be in the same ball park while changing UCAs would be if your sway bar end link bushings are worn, and since you're getting an alignment anyways, maybe tie rod ends if they haven't been done.

 

[Tak555]

yah, i did swaybar endlinks and steering tie-rods (inner and outer, both sides).... made a pretty big difference.

There's nothing else really connected to the UCAs, only thing that would be in the same ball park while changing UCAs would be if your sway bar end link bushings are worn, and since you're getting an alignment anyways, maybe tie rod ends if they haven't been done.