TL;DR - the last time I got an alignment, the tech mentioned that the rear passenger side bushing on the upper control arm (UCA) was starting to get a bit loose. After some consideration, I decided to install completely new UCAs, with lifetime joints so I never have to worry about those bushings again. It was more than three years and 120K miles ago that I installed SPC UCAs on the Tacoma. Shortly after installation, SPC came out with an improved design that was a single forged piece of material, with an entirely new type of joint. That joint -…
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TL;DR - My dirver side limit strap in the front broke. I replaced it. When I was up in Canada with Mike, I mentioned one day that it felt like I needed to (finally) adjust my limit straps because my side shock seemed to be bottoming out when I would go into full droop. Of course, that bottoming out is what can cause shock tower destruction - due to the enormous change in force - and was the reason I installed limit straps in the first place. Turns out, adjustment wasn't what was needed. I was surprised to see these…
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TL;DR - I've really liked all of the bump stops from Durobumps, so I've installed a second set on the front lower control arms! Recently, I replaced a lot of the bushings on the front of my truck - the lower control arms (LCAs), steering rack, and front diff. When I did that, I also installed some Durobump bump stops on the LCAs, and an astute reader mentioned to me that I installed them in the wrong position, replacing the front OEM bump stops rather than the rear. Thanks for noticing the screw-up, Andrew! Anyway, while I didn't notice any…
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TL;DR - I'm convinced that switching to extra tight stainless steel spherical bearings is the way to go, and I have numbers to prove it. I've replaced my spherical bearings several times (I put a lot of miles on the truck) and there have been no shortage of posts covering the topic. Now, more than 120,000 miles after putting the first set on the Tacoma, I have what I feel is a conclusion: it is extremely important to use FK branded bearings, and they must have the F1 fit. F1 is the FK designation for an extra-tight fit (details). For…
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TL;DR - All the new bushings I installed recently seem to be doing great. It was a bunch of work, but replacing the LCA bushings, front diff bushings, steering rack bushings, and front bump stops (see Replacing All the Bushings) was definitely worth it. My alignment with the new LCA bushings was much easier, and the front bumps are a lot smoother when I get into them. All the bushings I replaced. The one issue - that may be related - is that my steering rack is now leaking. I don't know if this is just a coincidence - timing…
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TL;DR - The stainless steel bushings seem to be doing a bit better, but I'm not ready to say that they are the right way to go. Yet. So far, I have just over 16K miles on the FKSSX10T-F1 spherical bearings. The passenger side is still "OK," driver side is "OK+" or "Good-". While they definitely not as tight as new - when a bolt/lever is needed to move the sphere, they certainly aren't loose either - there is no space between the ball and retainer. I can move the ball by hand, relatively easily, and more easily on the…
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TL;DR - Like lights, bushings wear out, and I'll be replacing several on the front of the truck. The LCA bushings are likely the cause of my misalignment as well, so I'll get that addressed after I replace the bushings. Over the last few trips, the bushings in my lower control arms have been getting louder and louder. This is understandable - they are after-all, original and 21 years old. Additionally, when I removed the front skid plate to extract and replace the bolts in the rear mounts, I noticed that the front diff bushings are also completely worn, so…
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TL;DR - I'm trying something new. I've installed stainless steel spherical bearings this time, hopefully to prolong their life. So, for anyone following along, my spherical bearings have been an ongoing issue. I've replaced them again, this time with stainless steel versions from FK. Specifically with FKSSX10T-F1 bearings. Time will tell if this fix gives me more than 10-15K miles on a set of bearings. My hope is that I'll get 30K miles or so, since that would mean changing them once a year.
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TL;DR - The spherical bearings were completely shot again. And, it happened after only 10,000 miles this time. I've replaced the spherical bearings several times now, so I'm getting good at it. This time, though they lasted 4 months and 5 trips, they lasted only 10,000 miles. I'd taken a different approach than with previous sets, not directly pressure washing these, but it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference. I've already replaced the bearings, but I've also ordered some stainless steel versions. Obviously I won't get to test those for a few more months, but hopefully after…
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TL;DR - why didn't I install limit straps earlier. These things make the suspension so much more enjoyable. After the trip to Colorado, I installed some Kartek limit straps, to protect my shock towers from the enormous changes in force I knew they were experiencing when my suspension fully unloaded over certain types of terrain. The difference on the trail was more dramatic than I could have imagined - this is perhaps my most favorite suspension upgrade of all time. It used to be that over whoops, or dropping down from large rocks/shelves, I would hear the front suspension unload,…
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TL;DR - I need limit straps to prevent the shocks from over-extending, which can lead to shock tower failure. Ever since I installed the ADS Coilovers, I've liked them. They've been higher maintenance than previous setups I've used, but their performance has outweighed that maintenance in my opinion. One of the things that's been an issue from the beginning is that they seem slightly shorter than the shocks I've had installed previously - like maybe ½-inch shorter. This length issue causes them to fully extend, making a clunking sound, more quickly than other shocks I've run. I initially tried to fix…
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TL;DR - The spherical bearings are doing OK, but I think that's temporary. With a new set of spherical bearings from ADS installed just before the first Owyhee trip, the bearings seemed to do just fine through the two trips. However, after chatting with a few folks, I'm convinced that the current bearings I'm using won't be my long term solution. The current bearings are standard COM10-T bearings - steel with a Teflon liner. The steel rusts, and that rust then acts like sandpaper, quickly destroying the liner. So, I'm going to use up my current stock of COM10-T's and…
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TL;DR - I think I need to replace the spherical bearings again. Already. They are squeaky and I've only put 14K miles on the new set. From the moment we set out on this trip, I could hear the front suspension. In the past, I've thought this might be the springs, but I was educated in Colorado last year that the squeaking is the spherical bearings... and when they stop squeaking, that's when you know things have gotten really bad. Mine are squeaking again after just two trips (and only maybe 300 - 500 offroad miles), which I don't love.…
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TL;DR - Replacing the spherical bearings, misalignment spacers, and lower shock bolts is done and things are working correctly as far as I can tell. Not much to say about this one beyond the write-up I did about the install of the new spherical bearings and related components. Tyler at ADS was great to work with - as always - through the entire process, giving me great pricing on the parts, and looking out for me when I mistakenly ordered too many misalignment spacers.
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TL;DR - it's been about a year and my spherical bearings are getting squeaky; time to replace them. My understanding is that these are COM10T bearings and that I can just look around on the internet and find the cheapest seller. Ugh, a plan like that always worries me a little bit.
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TL;DR - Moving the resis to the top of the frame means there is no more rubbing and I have my turning radius back. It was many months ago that my tires started rubbing on the ADS reservoirs that I'd attached to the frame in the front wheel wells. This was a result of moving from SCS Stealth6 wheels to 4Runner 5-spoke wheels in order to reduce the amount of mud that was flung onto the truck in muddy conditions. Until the trip to Colorado, I believed that my mounting location was the only one that the hose from the…
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TL;DR - I recommend running front suspension with as little pre-load as possible. Having removed about a third of the pre-load from my ADS setup for this trip, the ride was much better and the suspension felt like it was able to work in situations where it was previously hitting full-droop. On the Utah trip (as well as Anza-Borrego), I'd noticed that my new front suspension from ADS didn't seem quite right. When I'd go over the back side of a bump and the wheel had to travel down to meet the lower ground, I was frequently getting a "clunk" sound…
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