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Unread 04-04-2010, 04:26 PM
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Smithers Smithers is offline
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Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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The mission: replace the stock Tacoma upper control arms with these stronger units that replace the ball joints with much stronger uniballs. Will they give me more travel? I don't know and I don't expect anymore than what the stock lower will allow. I do know that I will need some limit straps to keep them from over-articulating and damaging the uniballs. Also in my case the new setup will allow for some more breathing room for my headers. Things are pretty tight where the control arm bolt washers are located nearly touching the header. I knew I would be changing things in the location and coming across these billet UCA's was just the thing I needed to allow for some more room.



The hardest part of the whole installation of these upper control arms is to remove the factory UCA's. DO NOT attempt to remove these without the proper tools. It's just not too smart to attempt to remove the ball joints thinking you can just get big hammers and go for it. They feel like they are welded into the spindles unless you have the right tools which make life easy for you.

Here we are with this fork tool that you just hammer in between the stock UCA and the ball joint to force them apart. It doesn't take too much force to pop it out with this tool. Of course you destroy the rubber boot and mark up the ball joint to it is no longer usable... well it would be dumb to use it again since they aren't much money to buy a perfectly good new one.



Later, I'll list out the tools I used so if anyone wants to try this in their driveway it will give you an idea of what it takes. I have a friend who happens to have a ball joint removal kit of tools that is made by OTC tools. He also had the socket type adapter tools that Total Chaos makes specifically for Tacoma ball joints and let me tell you they work GREAT.
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