nukegoat
Should have bought a Jeep
What the heck is going on there? Adding mass for no reason?
SPC UCA failure
- Thread starter D_Web
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Yea, I wanted to add mass.... But, No.
I welded c-channel on to the upper control arm so I can locate/position and install my AHC sensor bracket. This is just some R&D and it was the easiest way to give myself more mounting options before I settle on the final product. Once I have it located, I'll take dimensions and modify accordingly.
My time and welding resources are extremely limited. This was the easiest way to make the most use of both.
Just some c-channel welded to the upper control arm so I can try and mount my AHC braket to maintain my AHC system and run these upper control arms. It's a little heavier than I wanted, but it's all I had at the time that would work.
nukegoat
Should have bought a Jeep
Weird
Thanks. That's exactly what I was going for.
nukegoat
Should have bought a Jeep
Well, it's not good
I’m tracking down the same clunk from the drivers front when braking and when accelerating after braking as well as hitting pot holes (it’s different from the clunk you can get from the front diff bushing and driveshafts-mine are all new, trust me), and I have a new rack, bushings, uca, shocks, inspected lower ball joints and they are fine, new extended end links, checked bearing preload and inspected flanges etc.., and all good. My bet is on the diff mount arm where it bolts to the diff cross member. I’ll report back once I figure it out. The first thing I’ve developed a clunk from with the spc’s is the ball joints. Have someone bounce the front end with your hand on the ball joint.
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I was with him on that trail that day. Just to add to this, this guy drives calmer than anyone i was with at hih, so i can almost guarantee it wasn't abuse that caused it.
Luckily for all of us he was able to drive back to camp AND find another spc arm for sale by someone there.
What i learned are two things. One, don't ever buy spc, especially after their response, i remember you telling me you hope they do the right thing, and obviously that isn't the case, and never was ,looking through multiple interactions with spc by others.
And two, blast them online on social media. They earned it.
Now time to save up for some trail tailor arms before they go up in price, God only knows uca's keep going up in price.
Another unhappy customer
I had the old style ball joint without the grease zerk. It failed.
Called SPC and the customer rep said yeah we had a lot of failures with the old design but now we have a new design.
I asked if they’d warranty the joint for new ones. They said no and offered new ball joint replacement for $195 plus shipping.
I ordered them from Summit racing with a coupon code for $90 and free shipping - AND THEY WERE DROP SHIPPED FROM SPC.
Those guys are turds.
I had the old style ball joint without the grease zerk. It failed.
Called SPC and the customer rep said yeah we had a lot of failures with the old design but now we have a new design.
I asked if they’d warranty the joint for new ones. They said no and offered new ball joint replacement for $195 plus shipping.
I ordered them from Summit racing with a coupon code for $90 and free shipping - AND THEY WERE DROP SHIPPED FROM SPC.
Those guys are turds.
Somebodyelse5
16124-75030
knowing what we know now, I would definitely not buy the SPC's again... my money would go to Total Chaos... race proven, good folks, and they looks killer.
I’ve had the new design wear out in under 20k on multiple vehicles.
This is timely, I meant to post about it but I've been too busy - had similar issue. SPC ball joints wore out after about 20K miles, got super creaky/squeaky (turning heads everywhere i drove haha), and the boots tore. Bought some ball joints to replace them but as I was about to install them I realized that the bushings had failed as well.
No warranty, and no individual replacement bushings - had to replace both arms. I got some new SPC arms locally because I had a trip planned for the next day and couldn't wait for Blackhawk, etc. Now I'm just planning on buying another brand when these wear out. $700, ugh
No warranty, and no individual replacement bushings - had to replace both arms. I got some new SPC arms locally because I had a trip planned for the next day and couldn't wait for Blackhawk, etc. Now I'm just planning on buying another brand when these wear out. $700, ugh
So are mine (the ones that failed) only with more miles than yours
I contacted JBA offroad to see if they had any plans on making UCAs for out 100 series, and the said they have them on the R&D list. This is possibly a new entry into the UCA market for the 100s.
sleeoffroad
Supporting Vendor
I am amazed at the mob mentality that people have to crucify a company without knowing all the facts or ignoring some. We are a SPC dealer and this kind of breakage is an exception based on the numbers of these arms we sell.
Armchair diagnoses of a weld and immediately blaming that on a material defect is common, however here are a couple of things to keep in mind.
Also, crucifying a company because they do not have a huge social media presence is also very strange. That is certainly the companies prerogative on how they conduct business. The bulk of their business is smaller replacement alignment parts used in automotive/alignment shops and sold at retailers like O'Reily's etc, hardly something that you need an IG page for with followers and "influencers".
1. SPC states "Warranty applies to the original consumer purchase from an authorized distributor and only on the original vehicle on which it was installed. This limited lifetime warranty is in effect only when the product is installed by a professional technician. "
So was this the case? Is the OP the original purchaser and who installed it?
2. Was the install correct? We have seen this ON one other truck and in that case the arm was installed in such a way that the bushing was so pre-loaded (due to washer left out) that the arm was not able to rotate freely on the center sleeve of the busing, but the eyelet actually had to rotate around the bushing. This caused the eyelet to break. Kind alike taking a piece of metal and repeatedly bending it until it breaks.
I am not saying this is the case, but I would have like to know if they arm was able to freely rotate up and down. Also to see what shape the washers and inside sleeve looked like when removed.
3. What was SPC's official response to this and why did they deny the warrantee?
4. For the record, the arms are welded and fabricated in the US in Colorado. The forging for the ball joint mount is offshore and those bushings would have been from Australia.
One other thing for people to realize that now want to blanketly condemn a product is that those arms are not the current version being sold. The current version has X-Axis bushing in the frame side.
So before one condemns a company and a product, it might be worth looking at the technical aspects first and then have that be the guiding for responses. Trying to bully a company into getting results by "Post that s*** on their twitter/instagram page and see if SPC has a change of heart..." is hardly the right thing to do without knowing all the details.
Anything can break and will, nothing against Trail Taylor or anyone else making arms, but I doubt anyone puts as much into QC and engineering as SPC for alignment products. Would the same reaction happen if another brand of arm breaks? Yes one can just throw parts at any warrantee claim and create good "customer service" but at some point companies have to set policies and adhere to them as well.
Armchair diagnoses of a weld and immediately blaming that on a material defect is common, however here are a couple of things to keep in mind.
Also, crucifying a company because they do not have a huge social media presence is also very strange. That is certainly the companies prerogative on how they conduct business. The bulk of their business is smaller replacement alignment parts used in automotive/alignment shops and sold at retailers like O'Reily's etc, hardly something that you need an IG page for with followers and "influencers".
1. SPC states "Warranty applies to the original consumer purchase from an authorized distributor and only on the original vehicle on which it was installed. This limited lifetime warranty is in effect only when the product is installed by a professional technician. "
So was this the case? Is the OP the original purchaser and who installed it?
2. Was the install correct? We have seen this ON one other truck and in that case the arm was installed in such a way that the bushing was so pre-loaded (due to washer left out) that the arm was not able to rotate freely on the center sleeve of the busing, but the eyelet actually had to rotate around the bushing. This caused the eyelet to break. Kind alike taking a piece of metal and repeatedly bending it until it breaks.
I am not saying this is the case, but I would have like to know if they arm was able to freely rotate up and down. Also to see what shape the washers and inside sleeve looked like when removed.
3. What was SPC's official response to this and why did they deny the warrantee?
4. For the record, the arms are welded and fabricated in the US in Colorado. The forging for the ball joint mount is offshore and those bushings would have been from Australia.
One other thing for people to realize that now want to blanketly condemn a product is that those arms are not the current version being sold. The current version has X-Axis bushing in the frame side.
So before one condemns a company and a product, it might be worth looking at the technical aspects first and then have that be the guiding for responses. Trying to bully a company into getting results by "Post that s*** on their twitter/instagram page and see if SPC has a change of heart..." is hardly the right thing to do without knowing all the details.
Anything can break and will, nothing against Trail Taylor or anyone else making arms, but I doubt anyone puts as much into QC and engineering as SPC for alignment products. Would the same reaction happen if another brand of arm breaks? Yes one can just throw parts at any warrantee claim and create good "customer service" but at some point companies have to set policies and adhere to them as well.
I'm not crucifying them for their lack of social media, their build location etc. In fact I won't Crucify them at all. I'm sure they make a great product, but it seems like their customer service isn't good at all from what I'm seeing from this situation and the others from the web. Granted they could have all installed them with a jack hammer.
You're a SPC dealer, how many failures have you seen in contrast to the amount you sell? I bet it's a small percentage. Seems like the right thing to do short of damage from blatantly wrong installation would be to replace the arm that's broken.
I understand an unhappy customer is way more likely to talk about their bad experience than a happy customer is to talk about their good ones.
Im giving OP the benefit of a doubt, that his install has been done right. That's all I'm doing, nothing more. If his is done right and they told him to pound sand, I think that's the wrong way to handle it.
Also, what constitutes a professional?
sleeoffroad
Supporting Vendor
AFAIK, the OP was not the original purchaser. The arms were on his truck when he got it. So for that alone the warrantee does not apply. That is not uncommon in the aftermarket world that the warrantee does not transfer.
I just wanted to illustrate some points that people should be aware off. The OP did not give the reason why they declined the warrantee claim.
I also wanted to point out that these arms can be installed incorrectly and in that case, it could lead to these failures. I would bet that a similar failure could happen on any welded arm if the bushing is pinched to a degree that the arm does not rotate on the sleeve in the bushing.
I just wanted to illustrate some points that people should be aware off. The OP did not give the reason why they declined the warrantee claim.
I also wanted to point out that these arms can be installed incorrectly and in that case, it could lead to these failures. I would bet that a similar failure could happen on any welded arm if the bushing is pinched to a degree that the arm does not rotate on the sleeve in the bushing.
