Stock UCA fail!!

While changing rotors and pads and having vehicle jacked up, the f’ing upper ball joint completely separated from UCA!

Judging from the rusty ball and lack of grease, this has been an issue. However, nowhere can I find where the ball has slipped out of the UCA.

I have been hunting down a knocking/rattle for a while now.

 

Wow ..don't think there is any zerk to grease them either ?!

 

Nope. No zerk fittings on stock.

 

Was the boot ripped prior to it falling apart? How many miles on it?

 

I would absolutely think it was. The grease inside was like paste. Orange from rust. Not sure how I didn’t notice a tear before. Was no evidence of a leak. I walked over to find what you see in the picture. Minus the zip tie I used for support.

52k miles

You can see where the knuckle/ball joint was rubbing on coil.

 

52K seems premature for a ball joint. I wonder if the boot was damaged somehow, causing the issue.

This is a good reminder that we should be inspecting our suspension periodically. It's very lucky that ball joint didn't come apart on a trail, or hitting a pothole.

Are you going to replace with an OEM ball joint?

 

You ain’t kidding. Thank god my wife and kid didn’t have to experience this on the road. Could have been tragic.

I ordered a new one through toyota. Will be in on Monday. Considered after market but felt more comfortable with oem. (I guess)

 

Lol! Hopefully just a fluke. How does the other boot look?

 

From what I can tell, it looks good. Also, passenger side has no rubbing on coil. I’m going to jack up that side tmrw and inspect when it has more of a load on it.

Although I find myself to be pretty mechanical, I’m no expert on vehicle suspensions.

Any insight as to what’s causing the rub? The vehicle doesn’t have suspension mods. I am however running 285/70 ko2 tires. Worx wheels and can’t remember offset but have no tire rub.

Could this be an alignment issue? Running too big of tires?

 

That seems unusual. I’m curious, do you do many/any water crossing?
Definitely looks like water intrusion. Factory ball joints are sealed and should last the life of the vehicle provided the rubber boot isn’t compromised.
Glad you found it before it endangered your family.

 

On a few occasions I have. Not much tho. I’m assuming the rubber boot was destroyed from rubbing the coil for however long and allowed water/salt to take over. Eventually causing what you see.

I have seen ball joints fail but I haven’t seen where the ball leaves the UCA and remains in tact with the steering knuckle. I guess it just beat the tar out of it and popped out when jacking up the vehicle.

 

I guess I didn’t look hard enough. I’m now seeing other examples of this

 

You have a spacer lift. Case closed. Those add a TON of extra force on ball joints. You made the coilover longer than stock by using a spacer.

The rust all over the place doesn't help either. Where do you live that a 2018 has that much rust?

 

This may be my ignorance as I purchased this in 2020 used with 25k miles. I’ve had leveling kits/spacers on previous trucks I’ve owned but they were the “hockey puck” style. I guess I overlooked this?

I live in PA where everything rusts

 

I would replace both sides, just to be cautious.

 

I’m wondering now if I should go with aftermarket UCA’s. To avoid the contact with the coilovers and allow more articulation.

I already have the wheels off and drivers side UCA removed. Was pretty simple.

Any advice from you guys is greatly appreciated.

 

That spacer looks like it’s at least for a 3 in lift. The coil may have contacted the UCA at full extension. How close was it to touching the UCA on the other side when you inspected it?

 

Aftermarket ucas yes, especially if you want alignment to spec. No guarantee there wont be interference though, so I would verify it doesnt touch at full droop after the alignment

 

Toyota 4Runner Upper Control Arms / A Arms | JBA Offroad

My fav choice if ever going to lift !

 

So they both touch at full droop. However the passenger side coilover and boot aren’t damaged. I will replace both sides especially if I cancel the oem UCA and go aftermarket.

My drivers side outer tie rod boot has a small leak with clean grease coming from it. I will replace both outers as well.

I don’t want to dump a ton of money into this thing but I want it to perform and be safe for the wife. My stupidity on not noticing the spacer ‍♂️ Now the wear makes a lot more sense

 

Didn't see it either and still don't really from the picture

 

I didnt see it either until it was mentioned. The top nut of the top hat should not be below the shock mount. It was a good catch!

 

Toy33..I thought the guy who commented on it was just making an assumption but after a little research, it looks like it could be a pro comp spacer? Doesn’t look like any spacer I’ve ever seen and I assumed was stock. Here’s a better pic..

 

Yup .. lol plain as day now, thanks !

edit: I know you don't want to spend a grip, but if you like height I would still take spacer out and grab some billys on mid or top setting with the jbas ... or go back all oem. I really don't care for spacers.

These are $$ but have for stock height (wish made for 2.5gen Tundra) .. Stock geometry UCAs (jbaoffroad.com)

 

So now I’m really considering taking out the spacers and doing it the right way.

What setup would I need to keep running my 285 ko2s? They’re virtually brand new.

I will have to go look at the rear and see what the previous owner had installed. Assuming there are spacers in the rear as well, can I just do a new coilover setup in the front with new UCA’s? Keeping the rear spacers and current ride height?

I know it has been discussed numerous times but I don’t want to deal with these issues down the road again.

I work on giant CAT engines and compressor packages daily. I don’t work on vehicle suspensions. I really appreciate the help thus far guys

 

Your situation is alarming. I’m in the same boat with a spacer lift. The only difference is I don’t have to contend with rust.

From what I’ve seen, the stock UCA geometry would be the same with a legit lift as compared to our spacer lift.
My take away from the IFS video that has have posted is that it’s important that the shock bottoms out (fully extends) before the ball joints get into a bind.

Certainly possible that the lift was a contributing factor to your ball joint failure but I believe the corrosion played a part too. You must live in a very harsh environment to get that must rust in just a few years.

 

So, I was incorrect. The passenger side does not touch on full droop. Although it’s extremely close, No damage to boot or spring. Can someone explain how the drivers side made harsh contact and destroyed the boot and ball joint but passenger side is good? Here’s a pic

 

Slopemaster, I live in Pittsburgh so it’s kind of normal for us lol. Once I get this all figured out, I will be going to a local fluid film shop to get it descaled and coated in lanolin.

 

Could be manufacturing tolerances, or perhaps the alignment. I'm not an expert on this either, but I believe that the eccentric bolts on the lower control arms can move them in or out, which would change the angle of the coil, and moving that angle out could cause it to contact the upper control arm.

Personally, I think I would just replace your front struts with Bilstein 5100s, set them at no more than 2 in of lift, and call it a day. Obviously you need to replace the ball joints, and I would probably do both sides at once, so they're at an even wear and you know you don't need to worry about the other one anytime soon. I don't think that you would need replacement upper control arms with this setup.

 

For suspension and UCAs to not break the bank I went with Eibach and JBA. Have had zero issues.