4x4 / Off-Road TechThis section contains all discussion related to taking the FJ Cruiser in Off-Road situations, 4x4 applications and any armor modifications.
Since you work on these maybe you can answer a question for us. Why is it different to align an FJ with a spacer lift vs coilovers? Haven't the control arms moved the same in both cases (lifts being equal).
Yes you are correct the problem lies in the UCA I will try and get a pic of the upper ball joint on a stock UCA the ball joint looks like its pointed out streched if you will and with the Total chaos is straight down as seen in the pic,
No need for pics, I understand what you are saying about the ball joint.
What I'm wondering is why a spacer kit (Revtech) would cause alignment woes and most of the coilover kits (mine is my only direct experience) are being aligned without issue. Isn't the UCA moving the same in either case?
I'm in a learning phase here so forgive the extra questions.
Well actually the Revtech (spacer kit) and OME (suspension lift) cause the caster to get out of whack, I never checked Jims before raising the front end of his donahoe up or before the UCA install but I am assuming that with the donahoe at stock height everything should be good but when I adjusted the fron end to match the rears 3" lift the alignment would have also been an issue if it were not for the Total chaos UCA.
Well actually the Revtech (spacer kit) and OME (suspension lift) cause the caster to get out of whack, I never checked Jims before raising the front end of his donahoe up or before the UCA install but I am assuming that with the donahoe at stock height everything should be good but when I adjusted the fron end to match the rears 3" lift the alignment would have also been an issue if it were not for the Total chaos UCA.
i was under the impression that the donahoes up front at 2.5" of lift would not require new UCA"s
The Donahoe's with 2.5" of lift basically level the vehicle front to back (in my case the front was ever so slightly higher after the install). So, once you install a rear lift (3-3.5" with OME and others), the Donahoe's will need to be raised to level the vehicle once again, or you revert back to the Nose-down look the FJ ships with by leaving the front lift at 2.5". I myself did not like the nose-down effect, inasmuch as I had trouble seeing stoplights, etc. The visibility is much improved with the front level with the back, IMHO. I'm sure you can get by just fine without the aftermarket UCA's, I was just willing to pay for the improvements they provide.
i was under the impression that the donahoes up front at 2.5" of lift would not require new UCA"s???
That is a correct impression. There are ton's of us running Donahoe's up front without aftermarket UCA's. Sure they probably provide a slight improvement in movement, but at $600, they are usually thought to be a upgrade down later down the road, rather than an upfront upgrade. I will eventually do them I think, but I still have a rear bumper to build, beadlocks to get done, winch, new lights, etc, etc.
The Donahoe's with 2.5" of lift basically level the vehicle front to back (in my case the front was ever so slightly higher after the install). So, once you install a rear lift (3-3.5" with OME and others), the Donahoe's will need to be raised to level the vehicle once again, or you revert back to the Nose-down look the FJ ships with by leaving the front lift at 2.5". I myself did not like the nose-down effect, inasmuch as I had trouble seeing stoplights, etc. The visibility is much improved with the front level with the back, IMHO. I'm sure you can get by just fine without the aftermarket UCA's, I was just willing to pay for the improvements they provide.
Jim
Why not just get a 2.5" lift in the rear? Donahoe will eventually have a 2.5" lift. You can also go with Deaver coils in the rear which are 2.5".
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