Kittamaru Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 On my way home from work today (BEFORE I got onto the highway thank god), the two bolts holding on the Upper Control Arm on my Right Front wheel gave way. My shock on that side ripped off it's lower mount, tearing into BOTH my CV boots. The shock itself is ruined. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be any other collateral damage... the lower control arm and steering assembly held the wheel on long enough for me to pull off the road. The truck is in the shop now... I should get a call with a quote tomorrow morning. *sighs* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 aww that sucks man sorry to hear. Are you going to fix it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Gave way = broke? Or came loose? If they came loose, no big deal. If they broke, that can be a real pain to fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Uhm... dunno. I think they're stripped - problem is, when the UCA gave way, the tire bent out (I was driving at the time). In the distance it took me to pull over, the UCA reamed my shock absorber, ripping it in half, digging half of it into my LOWER CV boot and the other half into my UPPER CV boot, ripping both to shreds. I'm hoping the lower end of the shock didn't damage the lower end of my CV joint. To top things off, I did not have the means to get it off the street... tried using two jacks (one on the vehicle, one to lift the LCA up after I took off the wheel) to get the thing lined back up with the mounts, but no avail. Had to have it towed. Yes, I will fix it, no matter the cost. Good news that did come of it - that strange noise from my right side - I knwo what it was. One of the &^%*ing lug nuts fell off... yes, you read that right. It was rattling around inside my hub cover. The reason it only made noise at low speed was centrifugal force at high speeds stopped it rolling. I figure that probably caused my slight vibration Which in turn loosened the lower bolt on my shock absorber as well as both bolts of my UCA (and god knows what else) So yeah... At least the shop has nothing in the books tomorrow, so they can start on my truck first thing in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 and people think vibrating wheels (out of balance) is not a major problem... lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Good news that did come of it - that strange noise from my right side - I knwo what it was. One of the &^%*ing lug nuts fell off... yes, you read that right. It was rattling around inside my hub cover. The reason it only made noise at low speed was centrifugal force at high speeds stopped it rolling. So that means you never pulled the front wheels off to check what the noise was? And could have possibly noticed the loose/damage parts before this happened?!?! Lesson for next time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 I didn't pull the wheels off because looking under the truck I was 99.99% sure what the noise was. Turns out I was wrong is all *shrugs*. That and, I don't have a torque wrench *nervous look* I know, I know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I didn't pull the wheels off because looking under the truck I was 99.99% sure what the noise was. Turns out I was wrong is all *shrugs*. That and, I don't have a torque wrench *nervous look* I know, I know... I don't have one either, well thats not true, my grandfather gave me one of his, but I have no sockets for it. I just used the stock tire iron that came with the truck haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 (edited) I bought some longer UCA bolts to ensure that I still had plenty of threads left in the frame for when the shop aligned it after my t-bar crank... If they diddn't have enough treads due to too many alignment shims that may have been a contributing factor. my longer ones were 14x1.5x60mm long metric grade 10.9 stock is 14x1.5x50mm grade metric grade 8.8 Edited April 28, 2009 by MY1PATH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 I had I believe 2 shims in it total. We have another problem - they have the new parts installed, and are trying to get it lined up. The problem is, they just used almost half an inch of shims and it still won't line properly. They are going to try un-cranking my T-bars a little to see if they can't get it right... Thing is, I had the camber AND alignment done when I cranked the t-bars, and there was no problem with it. Granted, it's a different shop (and yes, they are ALL Master ASE Certified... which is why I let them work on it)... but still... they think the lower A-Arm could be bent slightly. Visually, though, they don't see what's causing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 If there is any good news, it's this- I have some major "trail damage" pictures now The obsticals of the urban trail! Just need to get them off my cell phone now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj big shoe Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 I bought some longer UCA bolts to ensure that I still had plenty of threads left in the frame for when the shop aligned it after my t-bar crank... If they diddn't have enough treads due to too many alignment shims that may have been a contributing factor. I believe my longer ones were 14x1.0 and 65 or 70 mm long IIRC. Are you sure they're Grade 8 or better? If not, you might share the same fate as Kittamaru soon. I searched everywhere for longer bolts to fix what I thought was an alignment issue and no one I contacted manufactures a 14mm with a 1.5 pitch in a Grade 8 or better thats longer than stock. Metric bolt shear strength is represented differently than SAE. If your metric bolt has 8.8 stamped on it then that bolt has a shear strength of 116,000-120,000 psi, which equates to a Grade 5. The metric equivalent of a Grade 8 bolt's shear strength would be marked 10.9 and have a shear strength of 150,000 psi. I don't know what the stock bolts are rated, but I'd replace them with the strongest available and certainly wouldn't want to put a bolt in where the stress and loads can be in the tons if it is a weaker one. And a longer bolt makes it even more prone to failure. Also, if you need longer UCA spindle bolts, your t-bars are probably cranked too high. Since the UCAs are shorter than the LCAs, your wheel will actually start to tilt in at the top when you raise it too high. I have the Superlift A-arms and they do the same thing. I had a helluva time with my front end until I called a tech at Superlift and he explained it to me. Once you take a look at the geometry, it makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 That might be my problem... I plan to get calmini UCA's to fix this ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Holy crap, I feel your pain. Glad to hear you're ok. I had that happen right after an alignment at Les Schwab (evil bastards- avoid at all costs!!!). This was about 5 years ago, right after their guy told me he had issues and had to really work and pound on the UCA bolts. F-n sunnovabitch, I made it 1 mile, pulled in and parked at home, then 1 mile in the morning and *toast.* I went round and round and round with them locally, regionally, headquarters... where they basically told me to go to hell and hung up on me. They told me it was MY.... MY!!!!!!!!! fault as the truck must have COME IN like that. They just plain ignored everything. Riiiiiiiiight. F- Schwab. The muthafukas, it just worked out better to fix mine and tell everyone I know. *F* that damn company. Les Schwab can F'n DIE!!! *steps off the soap box* Definately look into longer bolts. A bolt supplier can hook you up. Some guys have found a source by searching the web for bolt and nut suppliers, and just asking if they had/could fab them. Its been 5 years on new bolts and heli-coils, then a set of aftermarket UCA's, and lots of wheeling along with probably 10 alignments since then, and no issues. Knock on wood. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 (edited) Are you sure they're Grade 8 or better? If not, you might share the same fate as Kittamaru soon. I went to a specialty bolt shop called TACOMA SCREW with my OEM bolt. They measured it and got me longer ones 10.9 under $20. when you ask for a bolt there they ask for "hardened" or "not hardend" the hardened being "grade 8 equivalent or higer" and not hardened being grade 5 or "close equivalent". I guess if you wanted specific grades like grade 3 you could order them but why when grade 5 is @ their fingertips. Edited April 28, 2009 by MY1PATH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 (edited) More bad news - went in to see the truck this morning... He showed me the old compression rod... compression arm... I dunno... compression some-@!*%... it wore clean thru the bushing and into the metal - it was less than half an inch thick at the point of connection. - they showed me the part they pulled, so I know they aren't BS'ing me. They had to replace the axel - the ball joint had pulled out and damaged. The current situation is this: ||---o---\\ Would be great to push the left side out like that... then I'd have a baja buggy! //---o---\\ Not so great for an on-the-road daily driver, much less any other non-baja vehicle. Meh Anyone know where to get LOWERControl arms decently cheap so I can fix this beast? I'm going to check out Harry's U Pull It in Hazletown this weekend if I get the chance... Edited October 23, 2008 by Kittamaru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 Great news - the mechanic called back about 5 min ago. They re-indexed my torsion bars down a notch and were able to get it aligned. Apparently when I raised it up, I put it a little (... okay... fine... a LOT) further up than it should have been. They replaced all four shocks, my right front balljoint/axel assembly (whatver it's called... I know the part not the name), rotated my tires to compensate for the wear of my camber being off for so many miles, and checked over my steering and suspension system. I'm going to request a list of parts from them that need replaced ASAP, and will probably have them do anything I can't manage. MAH TRUCK! SHE LIIIIIIVES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 Final Update and Tally 4x Shocks - ~ $137 Bolts and Washers (to replace damaged / missing parts) ~ $30 Right Front CS Assembly / Axel - ~$137 Right Front A-Arm Bushing + Rod - ~$65 Labor - ~$342 (8 hours) Tow - ~$70 Front End Alignment - ~$60 Numbers are rounded for simplicities sake Final Tally w/ Tax - $891.85 Having a full check on the underside of the truck that pointed out developing problems / wear that I didn't know before - invaluable. I also have a spare set of parts, dunno what they are, because one of the parts they ordered came in a LF / RF pair. I must do my other side ASAP - if the A-Arm bushing + compression rod is as FUBAR as my right side one was... yeah. Both front and rear Anti-Sway bars are broken. And they had to un-do some of my front end lift to get it to align right, so I need to do a real lift kit this time. Overall, not bad I guess... could have been a LOT worse for what happened. Mods, if you will, this topic has served it's purpose so if, after a day, you will lock it I would be much obliged. I will add the new repairs that I need to the other topic to track their progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Final Update and Tally 4x Shocks - ~ $137 Bolts and Washers (to replace damaged / missing parts) ~ $30 Right Front CS Assembly / Axel - ~$137 Right Front A-Arm Bushing + Rod - ~$65 Labor - ~$342 (8 hours) Tow - ~$70 Front End Alignment - ~$60 Numbers are rounded for simplicities sake Final Tally w/ Tax - $891.85 Having a full check on the underside of the truck that pointed out developing problems / wear that I didn't know before - invaluable. I also have a spare set of parts, dunno what they are, because one of the parts they ordered came in a LF / RF pair. I must do my other side ASAP - if the A-Arm bushing + compression rod is as FUBAR as my right side one was... yeah. Both front and rear Anti-Sway bars are broken. And they had to un-do some of my front end lift to get it to align right, so I need to do a real lift kit this time. Overall, not bad I guess... could have been a LOT worse for what happened. Mods, if you will, this topic has served it's purpose so if, after a day, you will lock it I would be much obliged. I will add the new repairs that I need to the other topic to track their progress. What's the name of the shop you took it to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 Same place that towed it - Danny's Tire and Auto. They are, literally, a 5 minute walk from my house. I was a little wary at first and asked to see the mechanics certifications, which they gladly provided (or rather, pointed that it was hanging on the wall... I felt a little stupid after that but lol). Only one man is not ASE certified... and he just does accounting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj big shoe Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 I went to a specialty bolt shop called TACOMA SCREW with my OEM bolt. They measured it and got me longer ones 10.9 about $40. Wow, after going to three or four fastener specialty places, two tractor/farm equipment supply warehouses and umpteen sites on the web I figured they didn't exist. Good to know you can find them if the need arises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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