Total Chaos Installation Thread

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2000UZJ

2000UZJ

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I recently found that my OEM upper ball joints were about to fall out (I am not exaggerating). I picked up a set of the Total Chaos upper control arms and decided to take some photographs along the way and do a quick write up.

Overall the removal, preparation, and installation took 1 Hour and 30 Minutes. This is probably one of the easiest things you can do on the 100 Series. Please note this is a write up, this thread should not be used for a professional installation, I am not liable for any damage you do on your vehicle, if you have never turned a wrench, I suggest taking it to a shop, if you are confident, you can do this.

As always, use proper jack stands (12T for me), and check for stability (tires on, shake truck to verify it won't fall off when your yanking on stuff).


1: Jack vehicle off the ground and remove the side you are working on.
2: It is very difficult to unseat the knuckle from the UCA with it at full droop, take the OEM bottle jack and raise the front suspension to ride height.
**Please Note - you can lift the vehicle off the jack stands, make sure you are keeping the vehicle on the jack stands**

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Step 3-5:

3: The UCA bolt is a 19MM. Remove the cotter pin and throw away (you will not need it with the TC)

4: Loosen the UCA bolt, do not remove it completely. You can either use a hammer to loosen the UCA and the knuckle, I found a ball joint puller was much easier and more civilized. I also did not alert the entire neighborhood that I was working on my vehicle.

5: Once the UCA and knuckle are separated, push the UCA up and pull the knuckle down and away from the vehicle.

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Step 5-8

5: The cam (camber) bolts are 19MM and the inner are 21MM. You do not need to touch the inner cam bolt, remove the 19MM outer cam bolt and slide out. Once the cam bolts are removed, set them aside and clean them up if they are dirty. They do not appear to be side specific, however I would not recommend mixing them up.

6: Remove the UCA and begin to prepare the Total Chaos. The zerk fittings need to be pointed towards the wheel, only way to access them. You will need a 3/8" open end wrench.

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Steps 8-11:

8: Once the OEM UCA is removed, you should clean up the insides of the mounts, mine were caked with junk, some water and a old shop rag cleaned them up nicely. It will take a bit of wiggling, rubber mallet strikes, and some 4 letter words along the way. I found that having somebody tap the top from the engine bay for the rear mount, and a pry bar for the front mount helped squeeze them in easier. They are a tight fit!

9: Wipe down the knuckle area and insert the tapered adapter for the Total Chaos UCA.

10: Install the cam bolts (you may have to wiggle the UCA) and torque to 72 ft.lb.

11: Insert the fittings, and torque the UCA/Knuckle bolt to 100 ft.lb and you're set! The bottom nut is 21MM, the top bolt is 22MM.

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11: Zip tie the ABS line to the UCA with some zip ties, verify torque by re-torqing, throw your wheel back on and move to the next side!

Drive to the nearest tire shop and get an alignment, you will need one!


-Nick

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Great write up. Feelings with the new gear? what are the benefits?
 
More downtravel, rebuildable, and serviceable. The truck does not feel any different on the street, going over speed bumps fast does give you a more planted feel. At the cost of OEM, I figured I would give these a run for their money and see how they do.
 
As I stated before, I was not exaggerating. A ball joint should be stiff, with 0 play. Not loose and wondering around with 1/4" of play. I did Black Bear Pass on that :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
Nice write up Nick. I'll be referencing this thread when I go to install Slee's new UCA in the near future (when he finally starts selling them..)
 
SanDiegoCruiser said:
Nice write up Nick. I'll be referencing this thread when I go to install Slee's new UCA in the near future (when he finally starts selling them..)
Click to expand...

I really wanted to wait for the SPC's. I ran out of time though. I'm tired of tearing UCA boots and having to rebuild them. With the longer shocks, it just extends the boot past its capacity and rips. Ditching the boot style UCA is nice for the added comfort, however I'm sure they will squeak and require lubricating. My truck squeaks so badly that I gave up last year.
 
Nice, glad y o u got them installed, looking forward to hearing how they feel off-road.
 
hey, thanks for the shout out douche bag!
 
:clap: Good work Nick. You are definitely taking care of business as I would want you to be.

:clap:

Next, timing belt, water pump and the whole she-bang, and the next thing you know you will be a professional 100 series mechanic.

:flipoff2:

;)

See you in a couple of weeks.

:)
 
As I found out by calling TC the zerks fit a standard 1/4-28 thread.
I had to run out and buy a tap as mine were all full of powder coat and had to be re-cut for installation.

I like the TC arms just fine, own two sets and have no squeaking, superlube for the inners, Tri-Flow spray for the outers. Now you can use a wrench instead of a puller and a hammer to sep the upper and change CV's on the trail!
 
AimCOtaco said:
As I found out by calling TC the zerks fit a standard 1/4-28 thread.
I had to run out and buy a tap as mine were all full of powder coat and had to be re-cut for installation.

I like the TC arms just fine, own two sets and have no squeaking, superlube for the inners, Tri-Flow spray for the outers. Now you can use a wrench instead of a puller and a hammer to sep the upper and change CV's on the trail!
Click to expand...

Yep, same here. Had a buddy do a set on a 4G4R before me so we already had the tap ready at the time of install.

The one thing to add about this is to remember to loosen the main bolts before you re-grease. Otherwise you'll just be creating a hydraulic cylinder and risk pushing out and/or tearing the bushings. Just make sure to mark their position in case they rotate so you won't lose your alignment.
 
^ what's limiting your up/compression travel Nick?
 
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