Media Post your wheeling damage pics

[prharper]

Took a few good hits on LCA at Windrock, TN. Bent the @turbo8 LCA brace and arm. Truck drives fine but I will replace LCA soon, hoping for another good Toyota parts sale.

 

[JohnJB]

Could never get the Bud Built LCA skid to sit flush on driver side like the passenger side. Took a beating at Windrock, TN. Once the 2 screws were ripped off it bent downwards and became a rock catcher. Took off before by next trail event. I won't be replacing and didn't see them listed on Bud Built site anymore.

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Aren’t those Trail Tailor pieces? I don’t believe Bud ever finalized a LCA skid for the public. His prototypes don’t use screws as an attachment method.

 

[linuxgod]

Could never get the Bud Built LCA skid to sit flush on driver side like the passenger side. Took a beating at Windrock, TN. Once the 2 screws were ripped off it bent downwards and became a rock catcher. Took off before by next trail event. I won't be replacing and didn't see them listed on Bud Built site anymore.

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I have the Trail Tailor RLCA skids. I put them on after I chewed up the bottom of one of mine a bit, and figured the extra protection would be wise since those mounts can only be welded on if damaged. They were a PITA to install - I needed to use the jack and a BFH to bash them into place. They seem to be the same size/design and mount the same way.

I do think there's value in these but I don't love either design. If I was designing these myself I'd make the wider than the factory mount and use a spacer/shim to help with fitment. I'd also extend the front/angled part up to the frame and have a lip on either side so you're bolting to the side of the frame, not the bottom of the mount which can (obviously) catch.

That said, the best solution is just to put your tires ON the rocks instead of your RLCA mounts on them

 

[linuxgod]

Took a few good hits on LCA at Windrock, TN. Bent the @turbo8 LCA brace and arm. Truck drives fine but I will replace LCA soon, hoping for another good Toyota parts sale.

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When lifting you typically will end up with your rear axle slightly cocked, so ironically this might actually straighten your steering

 

[prharper]

Aren’t those Trail Tailor pieces? I don’t believe Bud ever finalized a LCA skid for the public. His prototypes don’t use screws as an attachment method.

You are correct John, thanks. edited post. I sometimes have a hard time keeping track of all my aftermarket parts and vendors.

 

[hoser]

Took a few good hits on LCA at Windrock, TN. Bent the @turbo8 LCA brace and arm. Truck drives fine but I will replace LCA soon, hoping for another good Toyota parts sale.

I'd re-sleeve the OE arms. Should be able to straighten them enough. And I'd prefer it to the adjustable aftermarket options for the 200.

Bent Rear Lower Control Arm - Any Recommendations?

Update 100215: Straightened and sleeved. They should withstand some banging and retained the OEM bushing. See bottom post for pics. Update 091515: Now looking to straighten/sleeve or trus OEMs. Orig Post: Bent up my rear lower control arm - any recommendations on heavy duty replacement. Looks...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[turbo8]

Took a few good hits on LCA at Windrock, TN. Bent the @turbo8 LCA brace and arm. Truck drives fine but I will replace LCA soon, hoping for another good Toyota parts sale.

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Do you want something stronger?

 

[prharper]

Do you want something stronger?

Factory OEM are pretty stout.
What’s a stronger option that’s an easy replacement ?

 

[turbo8]

Factory OEM are pretty stout.
What’s a stronger option that’s an easy replacement ?

After seeing Toyota make some aluminum ones with oem style bushings, I went ahead and designed some and will machine them out of 6061-t6 aluminum. I can't get oem bushings but Febest makes replacement ones that I'll use.

Toyota Surf SEMA build

My Prototype

 

[linuxgod]

I like the SEMA ones which are thicker/reinforced in the center, but I still don't think this is an upgrade for our trucks. Yes aluminum is lighter but I don't think it has a significant impact on handling or performance.

My concern with aluminum is that it's less resilient to impact. I've known people (*cough* @laserturbo91 *cough*) to break (not bend, but break!) the Icon rear arms, which are made out of 6061. IIRC it broke closer to the mount. Personally I'd rather have one bend and mess up my alignment temporarily (but still be driveable) than to break and leave my rear end wobbling around.

 

[laserturbo91]

I like the SEMA ones which are thicker/reinforced in the center, but I still don't think this is an upgrade for our trucks. Yes aluminum is lighter but I don't think it has a significant impact on handling or performance.

My concern with aluminum is that it's less resilient to impact. I've known people (*cough* @laserturbo91 *cough*) to break (not bend, but break!) the Icon rear arms, which are made out of 6061. IIRC it broke closer to the mount. Personally I'd rather have one bend and mess up my alignment temporarily (but still be driveable) than to break and leave my rear end wobbling around.

Icon was responsive and promptly replaced them without any issues.

 

[turbo8]

Icon was responsive and promptly replaced them without any issues. View attachment 3770612View attachment 3770613View attachment 3770614

It looks like a contributing factor was the links binding on the mounting points.

 

[laserturbo91]

It looks like a contributing factor was the links binding on the mounting points.

. If you’re saying it was over torqued, I’ll blame that on Mr T. I was in a time crunch so had a local dealership install the whole setup prior to a trip. If it bound up due to design, I’ve got nothing for that.

 

[turbo8]

. If you’re saying it was over torqued, I’ll blame that on Mr T. I was in a time crunch so had a local dealership install the whole setup prior to a trip. If it bound up due to design, I’ve got nothing for that.

Not over torqued. You can see the indents into the links. The links were bottoming out on the frame mounts before the bumps engaged. This would put a huge amount of stress on the bushing end. I would say this is an icon design problem, unless your frame mounting points were modified.

 

[laserturbo91]

Not over torqued. You can see the indents into the links. The links were bottoming out on the frame mounts before the bumps engaged. This would put a huge amount of stress on the bushing end. I would say this is an icon design problem, unless your frame mounting points were modified.

View attachment 3770670

Good observation! And negative, no frame mounting point modifications.

 

[TeCKis300]

It looks like a contributing factor was the links binding on the mounting points.

Good eye. I would agree given the matching witness marks.

I saw a similar thing on my buddies 3rd gen Raptor with "upgraded" links. But instead of the arm destroying itself, it literally ripped off the brackets on the axle.

There was another factor going on with his in that the aftermarket bushings didn't provide enough torsional compliance when articulating the axle.

 

[turbo8]

Good observation! And negative, no frame mounting point modifications.

Unfortunately, it looks like your links were installed backwards. The instructions also call for trimming the factory mounts.

 

[laserturbo91]

Unfortunately, it looks like your links were installed backwards. The instructions also call for trimming the factory mounts.

View attachment 3770731

Man, great catch!

 

[turbo8]

Man, great catch!

I assume they broke when going slow? That could have been very deadly mistake if those broke at speed.

 

[laserturbo91]

Oh, I was at speed. The truck above 40mph or so would start bouncing, oscillating around in the rear corner. Felt like driving without a shock in that corner. When applying the brakes, the truck would sway side to side, almost pushing me into the other lane.