Upper Ball joints and Lift (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter ohuj100
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Yes and yes if you are looking 2-inches (and up) higher than what it was originally set at.
- Thread starter
- #3
The part I am confused about in an otherwise stock setup (sway links, uca, lca): Is travel the same when height is greater than stock? I'm probably mistaken which is why I'm asking. I don't understand how, or where the added element of wear is introduced with a lift. I mean simple answer is "not stock" but that not really what am asking.
JunkCrzr89
Competent Ignoramoose
Travel with a “lift” is identical to stock - you’ve only changed the static ride height with a “lift”.
- Thread starter
- #5
That's my crux here. If the suspension isn't traveling any more than stock, how or where is component wear increased? Is the static height a factor?
It’s the added angle on the boots that gets prematurely worn when it’s lifted. Next is the way the ball joint (upper and lower) is designed to catch the weight in the middle (at least close to the middle) of the forces of the vertical suspension travel. Moving the geometry ( when it becomes lifted 2”) a few millimeters to the already small surface area of that ball joint is exponential.
4” vertical travel up or down for a stock or a 2-inch lifted LC is the same, but it’s the angle where the ball joint sits that significantly affects its lifespan.
4” vertical travel up or down for a stock or a 2-inch lifted LC is the same, but it’s the angle where the ball joint sits that significantly affects its lifespan.
Yes.
Your cv will have increased wear due to a higher angle.
Your upper ball joint will also wear quicker. Since there's no increased travel, when you bottom out, usually it's you upper ball joint that binds and limits further travel. That is a cause for premature BJ failure.
Stock - you have about 4 inches down travel and 3.5 inches up travel. When you lift 2 inches, you get 2 inches or so of downtravel, and 5.5 inches of uptravel. Well, it's not hard to max out the downtravel, and cause more wear on your BJ
Your cv will have increased wear due to a higher angle.
Your upper ball joint will also wear quicker. Since there's no increased travel, when you bottom out, usually it's you upper ball joint that binds and limits further travel. That is a cause for premature BJ failure.
Stock - you have about 4 inches down travel and 3.5 inches up travel. When you lift 2 inches, you get 2 inches or so of downtravel, and 5.5 inches of uptravel. Well, it's not hard to max out the downtravel, and cause more wear on your BJ
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- Thread starter
- #8
Got it. Good explanation here.
When you say "bottom out" you mean reach full compression in the front right? Would aftermarket bump stops prevent the bottoming out, or have no impact?
JunkCrzr89
Competent Ignoramoose
He’s talking about bottoming out the downtravel, which, on this torsion bar IFS bull$hit, translates to either the shock hitting full extension or the upper ball joint binding as the UCA moves down.
- Thread starter
- #10
Ohhhhh I get you know.
So the wear on these components can not really be prevented in a lifted application unless an aftermarket arm is used?
In applications less than 2 inches over stock, are the issues the same?
JunkCrzr89
Competent Ignoramoose
I don’t think aftermarket UCAs are worth the expense, regardless of how much “lift” you have up front.
Here’s the deal: A lot of people here are running 2”-2.5” lift up front with stock UCAs. Sure, the upper ball joint probably wears faster than it would without the “lift”. But a new 555 ball joint is only like $50. If you wear one out with factory UCAs, then go rent a ball joint press from O’Reily’s or Autozone for a fully refundable $20 and buy a new $50 ball joint. That’s way cheaper than aftermarket UCAs, which provide nominal improvement relative to their cost.
^^my thoughts too on running OEM UCAs, the maintenance cost of the factory ones for me just cannot outweigh the $700+ aftermarket UCAs.
