New Product: ARB Old Man Emu Upper Control Arms

[crikeymike]

I had installed Tough Dog suspension with a 2inch lift and Tough dog UCA on my LC200, was happy with the suspension as it performs well and has no issues as of now. But the UCA bushes were replaced almost 3 times within a period of 7 months and it makes squeaky noise badly. I am fed up and planning to replace the tough dog UCA with ARB UCA after a lot of research...TC was another option but considering the price as well I think ARB would be a better choice as it costs only half of TC here...

You might want to take a closer look at both options. It's been a while since I saw the Tough Dog UCA's, but I thought they were made by the same supplier that ARB uses to have theirs (both brands outsource the production of their UCA's). You may end up having the same problems if they're the same product.

 

[brasskey]

delete

 

[CowboyTaco]

I had installed Tough Dog suspension with a 2inch lift and Tough dog UCA on my LC200, was happy with the suspension as it performs well and has no issues as of now. But the UCA bushes were replaced almost 3 times within a period of 7 months and it makes squeaky noise badly. I am fed up and planning to replace the tough dog UCA with ARB UCA after a lot of research...TC was another option but considering the price as well I think ARB would be a better choice as it costs only half of TC here...

In light of what Mike said, another option to consider (though pricey) is BDS. I went with these after learning that they are made by Fox. It has a greaseable sealed ball joint and OEM style rubber bushings. That combination, at least as far as my limited capacity to understand things is concerned, should result in the least likely to squeak.

 

[bloc]

In light of what Mike said, another option to consider (though pricey) is BDS. I went with these after learning that they are made by Fox. It has a greaseable sealed ball joint and OEM style rubber bushings. That combination, at least as far as my limited capacity to understand things is concerned, should result in the least likely to squeak.

Interesting. They don't list a 200-series application on their site.. they make one though? Or are you using a Tundra front end?

 

[CowboyTaco]

Interesting. They don't list a 200-series application on their site.. they make one though? Or are you using a Tundra front end?

Sorry, I put them on my Tacoma. I didn't think to confirm that they made one for the Land Cruiser, and I was not able to find it on their site either. I'm just so used to most items made for other Toyota applications would have a LC application....you know, the flagship and all.

I know someone who works for Fox. I'll shoot him an email and just ask, because the website is rather lacking.

Per the website: 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra and FJ...

 

[bloc]

Sorry, I put them on my Tacoma. I didn't think to confirm that they made one for the Land Cruiser, and I was not able to find it on their site either. I'm just so used to most items made for other Toyota applications would have a LC application....you know, the flagship and all.

I know someone who works for Fox. I'll shoot him an email and just ask, because the website is rather lacking.

Per the website: 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra and FJ...

View attachment 2842781

No worries. I imagine it's economy of scale. We are a very small market compared to the above platforms. It could be that we just don't have their attention.. obviously the crossover from a tundra means some small jig and production adjustments and they have a new product.

They do look interesting though.

 

[CowboyTaco]

No worries. I imagine it's economy of scale. We are a very small market compared to the above platforms. It could be that we just don't have their attention.. obviously the crossover from a tundra means some small jig and production adjustments and they have a new product.

They do look interesting though.

I still haven't gotten a response from the guy. I did ask.

Well, I take that back. I did get a response from the guy I know. He said that he was going to ask the guy in charge of that sort of thing. Apparently that guy has not responded.

I told him that the LC being the Toyota flagship and this crowd wanting to do mods right, that I was surprised they didn't have an offering for the LC.

 

[Moby]

Couple of questions for installing these:

1. Good 22mm tool to get the nut on the thru bolt off? My 22mm wrench doesn't have enough leverage. Before I order a bigger 22mm wrench I thought I'd see if there was a trick or a specific tool that would help. I ordered a 22mm flare crow foot wrench to be able to torque it to spec but it won't be here for a bit.
2. FSM says to torque with the truck on the ground. OME says to torque in the air (or at least implies this). Is this because the OE bushings are a twist type and the OME bushing do not twist?

TIA

 

[bloc]

Couple of questions for installing these:

1. Good 22mm tool to get the nut on the thru bolt off? My 22mm wrench doesn't have enough leverage. Before I order a bigger 22mm wrench I thought I'd see if there was a trick or a specific tool that would help. I ordered a 22mm flare crow foot wrench to be able to torque it to spec but it won't be here for a bit.
2. FSM says to torque with the truck on the ground. OME says to torque in the air (or at least implies this). Is this because the OE bushings are a twist type and the OME bushing do not twist?

TIA

As much as I usually advocate for torquing to spec this is one place it would be very difficult, so I didn’t. Even the passenger side without fuel lines in the way there isn’t enough room to get a good swing of the torque wrench.. so you have to do it one or two ratchet detents at a time. Not the best way to get an accurate torque value. I just went -very- tight.

Yes the inner sleeves can rotate inside the bushing so torquing at ride height isn’t necessary, for the UCA only. Still need to do the LCA at ride height due to their bonded inner sleeves.

 

[Moby]

Got lucky. I was able to successfully hit 130 ft/lbs on the driver's side with the 22mm crow foot flare adapter. 130 after running the numbers through a torque offset calculator to account for the crow foot (136 spec, 21" torque wrench, 1" offset from head to center of wrench). But it was a slow job, 2-3 clicks at a time. I snuck up on the final torque 30 ft/lbs at a time to try and compensate for a less than ideal swing of the wrench. I would not want to do this with a regular crow foot. Even with the flare I was super careful around the fuel lines that are in the way of a standard socket.

 

[crikeymike]

Got lucky. I was able to successfully hit 130 ft/lbs on the driver's side with the 22mm crow foot flare adapter. 130 after running the numbers through a torque offset calculator to account for the crow foot (136 spec, 21" torque wrench, 1" offset from head to center of wrench). But it was a slow job, 2-3 clicks at a time. I snuck up on the final torque 30 ft/lbs at a time to try and compensate for a less than ideal swing of the wrench. I would not want to do this with a regular crow foot. Even with the flare I was super careful around the fuel lines that are in the way of a standard socket.

I hope all your knuckles survived!!

I guess Toyota torques them before the body is even put on, much easier access!!

 

[linuxgod]

@Moby if you don't have enough leverage to break a bolt loose, use a cheater bar. I have a 4' black iron gas pipe from Home Depot in my garage that I slip over the end of my socket wrench to convert it from 12" to 48". Physics makes breaking stuff loose a breeze.

As far as tightening goes, if the instructions say to do it on the ground but you don't have enough clearance, I would tighten a bit in the air so that it's not loose but the bushings etc can still shift (20#/lbs or whatever), put it on the ground and torque as best you can(~100 ft/lbs), then get it back into the air where you have clearance and re-torque to spec. Goal would be to set the bushings with it on the ground with sufficient torque to hold them, then back in the air when it's easily accessible torque further (to spec) so they don't move under normal driving abuse

 

[Moby]

@linuxgod that is a great suggestion for the torque on the ground clearance issue! The OME's can be torqued off the ground as they aren't a twist bushing but I'll definitely remember this for the LCA cam bolts when the time comes.

 

[linuxgod]

@linuxgod that is a great suggestion for the torque on the ground clearance issue! The OME's can be torqued off the ground as they aren't a twist bushing but I'll definitely remember this for the LCA cam bolts when the time comes.

Thanks. It's how I did my SPC UCAs. I can't recall if they're designed to be torqued on the ground or in the air but after 55k mine still don't squeak so I guess it worked

 

[Zsolt]

Are the ball joint replacable on the ome upper arms? Part number.. Many thanks

 

[bloc]

I pulled my arms after about 35k miles and figured I'd post the pivot bushing condition. Basically, they are doing great. Not a peep out of them in the time I owned them, no grease needed. It does seem that some of the plastic was transferring to the inner sleeve but no binding or slop so far. I do think after say 100k the bushings may need replacement, but that's totally a guess.

Ball joints were doing well, though them being bare steel suggests they may corrode quicker in that environment. To the above post, they are replaceable, but I have no idea what the part number is.

 

[Wafflroo]

Is there a tab for LX AHC Mount?

There is a tab for the AHC sensor. I know your question is from years ago, but wasn’t sure if any LX owners had fitted these. Just installed some on my LX on Tuesday to get a little more positive caster.

 

[grhill5]

Hey, I wasn't sure where to post this question, so I'll add it here. I have a 2021 LC that I bought from a dealer that had a full OME suspension rebuild on it including the UCAs. Fast forward about two years, the car has been transplanted and my new mechanic is telling me the ball joints in my OME UCAs are shot. I inspected the boots on both, and found no tears. I detect no play while driving in the steering, though I do seem to have squeeks all over the place that are a result of having the OME front and rear bumpers with tire rack, plus a roof rack, so I haven't been able to isolate the squeaks. My question is what are the odds my mechanic (not a specialist) doesn't know what he's looking at? The LC has less than 35K miles on it. It's never been abused offroad or seen much challenging terrain besides snow and some light trail driving. Just strikes me as very off that these would fail before 40K, and there seems nothing observable from the outside to give it away. Would love any suggestions to test at home.

 

[82SC]

Take if for a second opinion. Preferably a place that deals with off-road vehicles.

 

[bloc]

Hey, I wasn't sure where to post this question, so I'll add it here. I have a 2021 LC that I bought from a dealer that had a full OME suspension rebuild on it including the UCAs. Fast forward about two years, the car has been transplanted and my new mechanic is telling me the ball joints in my OME UCAs are shot. I inspected the boots on both, and found no tears. I detect no play while driving in the steering, though I do seem to have squeeks all over the place that are a result of having the OME front and rear bumpers with tire rack, plus a roof rack, so I haven't been able to isolate the squeaks. My question is what are the odds my mechanic (not a specialist) doesn't know what he's looking at? The LC has less than 35K miles on it. It's never been abused offroad or seen much challenging terrain besides snow and some light trail driving. Just strikes me as very off that these would fail before 40K, and there seems nothing observable from the outside to give it away. Would love any suggestions to test at home.

How many miles on them? These bushings are different than factory and it's possible if they somehow got some play in them a mechanic could interpret that play as ball joint slop when the top of the knuckle can move around.