SPC UCA Bushing issues Angola Africa

[Climbingnut]

I also took a built Land Cruiser (100 series) from CONUS to Angola a few years back… a couple years there was plenty. Beautiful, but Angola is not for the faint of heart.

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No sir it’s not. Whereabouts were you living? Fala português?

 

[Lester did that]

I went into the UCA market with the opinion that SPC’s were the gold standard. They certainly made a difference post lift install. While I’m a bit disappointed in the bushings, I’m still glad they work, and will continue to use them unless a better option comes along. I hope this thread and my experience will be of help for others.

Iv'e been running SPC's UCA for years and have had no issues. But yes there is a little maintenance. In your environment your going to be doing 3x the maintenance.

SPC is used by almost every reputable 4x4 installer here in the US, AU and eastern Europe. So despite personal negative reviews about the brand there must be a reason they use them for commercial heavy duty use globally? If they where poor quality Exon or Glencore would not upgrade to SPC when they are modifying their work fleets?

Easy maintenance, extremely adjustable, long life. The constant maintenance of any 4x4 that is used in a tough environment can be a drag. It is what it is.

This might be an over step but you can grease the outside of joints with any red tacky. just a touch when there is sand or mung daily. Wipe it off every 4 weeks and regrease. The grease captures the sand and silt

 

[Sverige]

I also took a built Land Cruiser (100 series) from CONUS to Angola a few years back… a couple years there was plenty. Beautiful, but Angola is not for the faint of heart.

No sir it’s not. Whereabouts were you living? Fala português?

Luanda. Been to Pedras Negras? There’s a coffee plantation there that was a fun weekend trip from the city. Lots of off-road adventure to get there, and a comfy place to eat & stay the night.

Y sim falo bem, embora já faça muito tempo! Depois aprendi outra língua e esqueci a maior parte do português.

 

[Climbingnut]

I hear you Lester, and I’ll run them through this next part of their lifespan. And while I more than most understand what is involved with constant maintenance of a 4x4 in a harsh environment, I’m always looking for things that can make things easier for me. For example, @bjowett makes a great oil filter cap with fumoto valve for draining. Made my life easier on maintenence. An externally serviceable UCA bushing or OEM rubber bushing that doesn’t require me to remove the whole damn arm every time it needs greasing or servicing would make life much easier for me. So, while I’m not bashing SPC, I’m not going to ignore something that I believe can be done better.

Iv'e been running SPC's UCA for years and have had no issues. But yes there is a little maintenance. In your environment your going to be doing 3x the maintenance.

SPC is used by almost every reputable 4x4 installer here in the US, AU and eastern Europe. So despite personal negative reviews about the brand there must be a reason they use them for commercial heavy duty use globally? If they where poor quality Exon or Glencore would not upgrade to SPC when they are modifying their work fleets?

Easy maintenance, extremely adjustable, long life. The constant maintenance of any 4x4 that is used in a tough environment can be a drag. It is what it is.

This might be an over step but you can grease the outside of joints with any red tacky. just a touch when there is sand or mung daily. Wipe it off every 4 weeks and regrease. The grease captures the sand and silt

 

[Climbingnut]

Luanda. Been to Pedras Negras? There’s a coffee plantation there that was a fun weekend trip from the city. Lots of off-road adventure to get there, and a comfy place to eat & stay the night.

Y sim falo bem, embora já faça muito tempo! Depois aprendi outra língua e esqueci a maior parte do português.

Não moro em Luanda, felizmente. Eu estou no Namibe onde tudo é mas tranquilo. Most of my off-road driving is in the south of the country. I’m in the bush weekly, in fact leaving for a 3 day trip here in a few minutes. I’ve explored a lot of Moxico and Cuando Cubango off-road though, and travelled through the heart of Huambo from Kuito to Huambo along the Cuvango River. It’s a stunning country.

 

[Lester did that]

I hear you Lester, and I’ll run them through this next part of their lifespan. And while I more than most understand what is involved with constant maintenance of a 4x4 in a harsh environment, I’m always looking for things that can make things easier for me. For example, @bjowett makes a great oil filter cap with fumoto valve for draining. Made my life easier on maintenence. An externally serviceable UCA bushing or OEM rubber bushing that doesn’t require me to remove the whole damn arm every time it needs greasing or servicing would make life much easier for me. So, while I’m not bashing SPC, I’m not going to ignore something that I believe can be done better.

I totally agree. Serviceable bushings would be brilliant. Probably a multi million dollar idea if someone could figure it out and it worked. Any oil filter cap upgrade is better than that plastic OEM. The OEM is such a pain in the butt. That was the first thing I "modded" heh. Didn't have the truck for a week. But that oil filter cap looks very slick. I always replace the filter when I am changing the oil. They are cheap and I feel like changing the oil is like taking a shower. Not changing the filter is like putting your old sweaty socks back on after a fresh bath. That's just me

 

[Climbingnut]

I totally agree. Serviceable bushings would be brilliant. Probably a multi million dollar idea if someone could figure it out and it worked.

So it does look like @TRAIL TAILOR makes UCA’s with serviceable bushings. I would assume he’s not sold numbers on par with what SPC or TC has, but it will be interesting to watch. Having a UCA with greaseable bushings, that were designed to be greased as opposed to modified by me to be greased, is a major pro for me. The only thing I’d add is a greaseable upper ball joint. I know my SPC’s are leaking there, but I also expect that to some degree under the conditions I work in. Continually being able to pump grease in there instead of changing them out every couple of years is nice. Still, I imagine that for production and replacement purposes, manufacturers other than SPC and those using a uniball design, are using 555 ball joints or the like which are produced to a high standard and are readily available through most automotive sources.

 

[Angelo1]

Iv'e been running SPC's UCA for years and have had no issues. But yes there is a little maintenance. In your environment your going to be doing 3x the maintenance.

SPC is used by almost every reputable 4x4 installer here in the US, AU and eastern Europe. So despite personal negative reviews about the brand there must be a reason they use them for commercial heavy duty use globally? If they where poor quality Exon or Glencore would not upgrade to SPC when they are modifying their work fleets?

Easy maintenance, extremely adjustable, long life. The constant maintenance of any 4x4 that is used in a tough environment can be a drag. It is what it is.

This might be an over step but you can grease the outside of joints with any red tacky. just a touch when there is sand or mung daily. Wipe it off every 4 weeks and regrease. The grease captures the sand and silt

Having worked for a couple international companies on the finance end, it comes down to cost savings every single time. I seriously doubt they are going to invest $1,200+ for UCA for each vehicle. I wouldn’t put a lot of weight on what inter or national companies do. The top heads could careless if the vehicle squeaks or needs maintenance. The fleet managers are also about saving money for the company as it helps them look good. Huge source discount purchasing is the name of the game…period.

 

[Climbingnut]

Looking to order some replacement upper & lower spherical bushings for my BP-51’s. Anyone know of a vendor selling them in the USA?

 

[kcjaz]

Wierd SPC UCA issue at COTR. After getting over the “Wall” on Poughkeepsie, one of the 200s had their SPC passenger UCA break at the arm to rear bushing connection. After examining it, the metal bushing sleeve that the arm is welded to had completely broken off and had essentially become a flat piece of metal. Looking it, it appears that the UCA had not been completely welded to the bushing sleeve. It look like it had only been tacked together in 4 points. A pretty clear manufacturing error. I which I had some pictures. @Oakleyguy, @linuxgod, did you get any picks? I inspected mine and the arm to bushing welds have a full weld bead around the circumference of the arm, as they should.

The SPC arm was about 6 years old an had its ball joint replaced with the new one. It’s amazing it held together that long. I guess that there isn’t a normally huge load on that connection.

 

[bloc]

Wierd SPC UCA issue at COTR. After getting over the “Wall” on Poughkeepsie, one of the 200s had their SPC passenger UCA break at the arm to rear bushing connection. After examining it, the metal bushing sleeve that the arm is welded to had completely broken off and had essentially become a flat piece of metal. Looking it, it appears that the UCA had not been completely welded to the bushing sleeve. It look like it had only been tacked together in 4 points. A pretty clear manufacturing error. I which I had some pictures. @Oakleyguy, @linuxgod, odd you get any picks? I inspected mine and the arm to bushing welds have a full weld bead around the circumference of the arm, as they should.

The SPC arm was about 6 years old an had its ball joint replaced with the new one. It’s amazing it held together that long. I guess that there isn’t a normally huge load on that connection.

Lack of weld penetration is a pretty bad sign for overall attention to build quality. Can’t say it’s surprising with the other SPC issues documented in this section over the years.

That joint would be under compression during braking, which is when you’d typically see the most force on the joint. Also with the arm being asymmetric and the rear “leg” being longer the geometry would put the rear joint at an advantage. If the same issue had been present on the front bushing weld I could see it failing much sooner.

 

[Oakleyguy]

It was definitely a cold/under-penetrated weld that cracked a while ago except for the initial tack welds on the fore/aft of the weldment. I know the driver, Matt, took photos; but I don't have his Mud handle. I found a video of his truck going up the wall and I will almost bet money you can actually hear the sound of the arm tearing away as his truck slams down.

A dye penetrant test would probably be the only way to identify a crack unless the bushing sleeve has already started to deform. The dye test would be telling especially for folks with the older arms and 35" tires. .

I will be looking to replace mine soon. A large pothole at 80mph would be a nightmare scenario.

 

[linuxgod]

I’d check mine but my truck is about 1000 miles from here

 

[bloc]

It was definitely a cold/under-penetrated weld that cracked a while except for the initial tack welds on the fore/aft of the weldment. I know the driver, Matt, took photos; but I don't have his Mud handle. I found a video of his truck going up the wall and I will almost bet money you can actually hear the sound of the arm tearing away as his truck slams down.

A dye penetrant test would probably be the only way to identify a crack unless the bushing sleeve has already started to deform. The dye test would be telling especially for folks with the older arms and 35" tires. .

I will be looking to replace mine soon. A large pothole at 80mph would be a nightmare scenario.

Would paint/powder need to be removed for the dye test?

 

[Oakleyguy]

Would paint/powder need to be removed for the dye test?

Very likely, although if the weld is cracked, then the coating may be cracked as well. That said, typically the surface should be bare and to do a proper inspection the arms will need to be off the truck.

Edit: grammar and clarification