Toytec lift what ucas?

I recently purchased a 21 4Runner with a toytec aluma 2.5 lift. It has Spc control arms but the bushings and ball joints are toast on the ucas. Looking at jba or freedom Offroad ucas. I don’t go Offroad much at all but need something reliable without spending much. Tire size is 287/70/17 on stock trd pro wheels.

 

Stock will be fine for 2.5", and stock is about the least maintenance intensive unit there is. Find a set of takeoffs would be my suggestion.

 

Can't you just order new bushing and ball joints for the SPC's for cheaper than a new set of UCA's?

 

The lift is 3” the 2.5 is the diameter of the shocks. So I think stock ucas won’t work.

 

It is about $400 to order new bushings and ball joints. Plus I have to put the bushings in which is a fair amount of work. It sounds like the spcs have issues for a lot of people so looking to go with something more reliable but in the $400-$600 range.

 

Gotcha.


You're pretty close with 3". I'd be inclined to try stock anyway and see if you can get a good alignment guy to dial it in. Assuming you source the stock UCAs for next to nothing you'd be out very little if you couldn't get alignment dialed in.

 

Ah yeah that math don't math to mess with the SPC's. I have the JBA's. Alignments good and they're red. They UCA with the best of em'.

 

Welcome to the world of SPC and Toytec crap. I had the Aluma 2.5 on my Tundra and the bushings were shot at 60K miles. The ball joints last less than that. All of that junk has been removed.

 

Will I have any alignment issues with the jbas and toytec lift? Im leaning towards those at this point.

 

The JBA's (and by extension all UCA's meant to correct alignment after adding a lift, specifically by adding caster) are meant to ensure there is plenty of adjustment to achieve a good alignment. JBA calls for specific alignment numbers that you are to provide to your tech. I like that because JBA book has numbers, tech reads book, tech makes numbers on screen for alignment. Kinda idiot proof.

 

We have JBA's, had them for a little over 4 1/2 years, they are doing their job. Caster is very attainable with them. I installed them in about 2 hrs. Good luck.

 

+1 for JBA. Only downside is the ball joint cup is pretty large so depending on your coilovers and wheel offset you could run into clearance issues.

Next choice would be Dobinsons. These use factory rubber bushings and ball joints. Maintenance free and plenty strong. Plus no clearance issues.

I've been running Apache Off Road UCA's for a couple years and they're holding up great. Very similar to Dobinsons, but they use a MOOG ball joint. It's a greasable joint that has held up well for me. I do find they get noisy if I don't grease them though.

There are ton of threads here about SPC's failing. I ran them for a bit and toasted them in 6 months with some off roading... warranty denied.
Not a fan.

TLDR;
1. JBA (unless you're worried about clearance)
2. Dobinsons tubular
3. Apache Off Road

SPC is junk

 

Don't off-road much to warrant cam-deletes? Then non-adjustable UCAs will be fine. Least expensive name brand is ARB:

$612 OME UCA0004 Upper Control Arms for Toyota Prado 120 Series and 150 series by Old Man Emu…

https://www.amazon.com/UCA0004-Upper-Control-Toyota-Prado/dp/B08F98LGN6/

 

Get you some apaches for cheap. They're running a sale. $570
https://apacheoffroad.com/product/a...-VWms0eciSWxVL85MdN9iq4zjOyno1RtbOtH6l7ESVj5q

 

I ended up ordering jba ucas so I will give those a try. Thanks for all the input.

 

Typo OR the sale ended? looks like $670



@
jmiller_81 I see you already chose the JBA
https://jbaoffroad.com/jba-std-high-caster-upper-a-arms-for-toyota-4runner-2003-and-up
at $600 it is a decent choice.. here is to hoping they stick around for the 10+ years of vehicle ownership for their ball joints.
maybe buy some now and sit them on the shelf? https://jbaoffroad.com/jba-max-90-upper-ball-joint

for future readers ... there are about 55 UCA manufactures out there ... and about triple the amount of forum posts about which ones are the "best" ... I'd suggest a solution that uses the OEM style ball joint, your local auto parts store will sell one if you need one same day.

 

Twas a Black Friday sale my friend

 

A 15% discount is nothing to sneeze at, I ~may~ have considered it at that price point.

Back to the budget option:

$110 Front Upper Control Arms for 2003-2024 Toyota 4Runner

https://www.amazon.com/2003-2024-2007-2014-2003-2009-2010-2023-Replacement/dp/B0CYP585PP
or
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/18C8F966-CCDA-46C5-AF30-6DBECAE5442D/search?terms=4runner
or

$429 RSO Suspension Control Arms Front Upper 2-4" Lift Tubular Steel Compatible with 2003-2024 4Runner/FJ Cruiser and 2003-2023 GX

https://www.amazon.com/Suspension-Control-Tubular-2003-2023-4Runner/dp/B0BS75Y3M5
or
https://cartrimhome.com/Front-Upper-Control-Arms-For-Toyota-4Runner
or
https://flasharkracing.com/products...lifted-front-upper-control-arms-2-inch-4-inch

 

Literally none of those…
Cheap polyurethane axis bushings. Probably cheap ball joints. I wouldn’t trust my life with any of those.

If you just need budget replacements find someone who has upgraded and buy their old oem UCA’s.

If you need aftermarket ones for additional caster, refer to post #12

 

@Oscar
The cheapest I would go is freedom off road. But I’m not recommending these for the record. They do not disclose who makes their ball joints… but at least they use rubber axis bushings.
https://freedomoffroadusa.com/front...2SgpSwkbgivFejDUDYoaAk6yEALw_wcB#gad_source_1

if you buy these I’d count on replacing the ball joints soon

 

The JBA arms accept an off-the-shelf OEM ball joint from a 1988-2000 GM 3/4-ton pickup: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=202936&cc=0&pt=10070&jsn=14
That means emergency parts store availability is better than with a Toyota OEM ball joint.

Two guys in my local 4Runner groups off-road their rigs with BSSP/CarTrimHome billet adjustable UCAs. One of them is on 34" tires, the other on 37"s. If I was in the market for UCAs, I would run these

$289 BST BSSP Pair Front Upper Control Arms for 2003-2022 Toyota 4Runner FJ Cruiser 2-4" Lift Kit CNC 6061 Forged Billet Aluminum Lifted Suspension UCA for 2003-2016 Lexus GX460 GX470

https://www.amazon.com/BSSP-Upper-Control-Arms-Toyota/dp/B0CGLZLHJZ/
The adjustability at the UCA means you can run LCA cam deletes from 333 Fabrication, so your alignment won't drift every time you hit a difficult obstacle.

 

This is great additional information on the ball joints used in the JBA, I added a note next to their entry. The 333 Fabrication solution was added to the knowledge sharing doc.
The Bison Offroad solution is another for those looking: https://bisonoffroad.com/product/le...-tacoma-16-22-4runner-2010-2023-stop-cam-kit/
And Opt Offroad has one: https://optoffroad.com/products/alignment-cam-eliminator-plates?variant=31659541069871
And KP OffRoad Alignment Cam & Cam Tab Upgrade Kit https://kpoffroad.com/product/best-alignment-cam-upgrade-kit-cam-eliminator

Then of course you will want the cam tab reinforcements:
https://www.chaosfab.com/product/20...-Lower-Control-Arm-Cam-Tab-Gussets-59860-10FJ
or
DirtKing https://dirtking.com/collections/4runner/products/toyota-alignment-cam-gussets
or
Trail Gear Weld-on Lower Control Arm Cam Tab Gussets https://trail-gear.com/weld-on-lower-control-arm-cam-tab-gussets.html

or heck even more reinforcement:
https://www.marlincrawler.com/produ...unner-fj-cruiser-lexus-gx460/#tab-description definitely in the buy once cry once camp on this solution.

or
JD Fabrication:
https://jdfabrication.com/collectio.../products/copy-of-fj-cruiser-lower-arm-pivots

if in SanDiego CA
https://sdtruckshop.com/ This rabbit hole gets deeper and deeper.