[PanoFJ]

My 08' FJ makes a clunking noise and its coming from the front drivers LCA. Had my mechanic look at it and he could see the LCA move as i hit the brake. I did a search on here and saw that it might just need tightening? He said it has to be replaced...

My FJ is still under warranty but i have a lift and the Light racing UCA's and i feel the dealer won't cover it since i've modified the suspension. What do you guys suggest?

 

[Capt Sensible]

Every dealer is different. Your lift isn't crazy, and your tires are only slightly larger than stock. Do you beat the sh!t out of the underside offroad? Personally I'd go for it. Just make sure you remember the one act that I forget the name. I'll post it up in a minute with I find out what it is. Point is, it is the dealers responsibility to prove that the problem with you FJ is a direct result from the mods that you've done. I'd take it in.

 

[Capt Sensible]

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

 

[fjrohrs]

Are your alignment tabs bent?

 

[bc_indiana]

PM member Landy. He has the same issue, worn LCA bushings on his DrSide LCA. He just took it to Toyota of Dallas and they are going to warranty it. He had to have one of them get out to see it move as u described. He has lift/ tires/ LR UCA as well with 30k-ish miles on his rig.

Curious to know what is causing this premature failure.

 

[PanoFJ]

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

Nice, thanks. I remember seeing this before.

Are your alignment tabs bent?

Not sure..Where exactly are the tabs?

PM member Landy. He has the same issue, worn LCA bushings on his DrSide LCA. He just took it to Toyota of Dallas and they are going to warranty it. He had to have one of them get out to see it move as u described. He has lift/ tires/ LR UCA as well with 30k-ish miles on his rig.

Curious to know what is causing this premature failure.

Good to know. Not sure what is causing this but i only have 28.5k miles on my FJ and i did the lift at round 18k. I also barely ever wheeled the thing sad to say and never abused it. I plan on taking it in this week and see what happens.

 

[landy]

As Brian mentioned, you are likely having the same issue I was. When you turn tight it pops/clunks. You can also replicate it by driving forward and back while hitting the brakes pretty firmly. If you can see the arm moving back and forth from the inner pivot bolts, your bushings are probably going. I was able to get Toyota to warranty it and I have no more clunking issues!

 

[Fjamming]

Landy, do they replace the entire arm or just the bushings?

 

[Apexbasher]

I had this very same problem after our Day Long Safari last summer in Moab. The rear bushing on my passenger side LCA was trashed. I too have the Light Racing upper. Here is what I told them:

1) The front end was realigned three times (by them) at my expense after adding the lift to compensate for settling of the new suspension, therefore the rubber bushings were not already 'twisted' when under normal suspension sag.
2) The LCA has the same, if not less, range of motion causing the momentary 'twist' of the bushings as the suspension moves up and down to be less then the stock suspension.
3) If my modifcations were to blame for the bushing failure I'd expect to see the same issue on the driverside LCA. Which has not occurred. In fact, the driverside LCA bushings look pristine.

They took care of it and will continue to get my :bigthumb: of approval. Keith Pierson Toyota. Good folks.

 

[Apexbasher]

Landy, do they replace the entire arm or just the bushings?

Entire arm gets replaced.

 

[Fjamming]

Thanks Matt.

 

[PanoFJ]

I dropped my FJ off at my local dealer. Lets see what happens..the service guy couldn't guarantee it would be covered until it was looked at. I have a feeling they're going to give me crap.

 

[football751]

As Brian mentioned, you are likely having the same issue I was. When you turn tight it pops/clunks. You can also replicate it by driving forward and back while hitting the brakes pretty firmly. If you can see the arm moving back and forth from the inner pivot bolts, your bushings are probably going. I was able to get Toyota to warranty it and I have no more clunking issues!

Hmm, I had this same issue, but Brad at Ricochet and I determined it was my LCA skid causing the issue. Took it off and there were some definite wear spots on it, need to modify it a little and reinstall to see what happens. But I'll have to get down and look at the bushings. Is it obvious when looking at them if they're trashed?

 

[PanoFJ]

OK..so i got a call from the service tech and he told me the problem is my "upper ball joints are very loose and they cant be replaced with toyota parts because i have aftermarket parts"...he couldnt really explain it but he said the mechanic will explain what exactly the problem is when i go pick it up later...

Is he refering to the light racing UCA's??

 

[football751]

OK..so i got a call from the service tech and he told me the problem is my "upper ball joints are very loose and they cant be replaced with toyota parts because i have aftermarket parts"...he couldnt really explain it but he said the mechanic will explain what exactly the problem is when i go pick it up later...

Is he refering to the light racing UCA's??

My best bet is yes, though I've never heard of this issue before.

 

[PanoFJ]

Thats what i'm thinking. It would make sense if it was the factory UCA's but aftermarket seems odd. Especially since its been about a year since i installed them and have about 8-9k miles on them..I'll see what the mechanic says.

 

[cnckart]

I would doubt ball joints. Especially with that low of miles. The LR is a unique set up with how the ball joint mounts in the arm. Maybe that's what's loose. Before I switched to aftermarket UCAs my passenger upper ball joint was toast. It was so loose the joint just spun when I tried to remove the castle nut. I ended up having to cut it off. I didn't have any clunk or noticable play with a joint that was severly worn.

 

[PanoFJ]

I would doubt ball joints. Especially with that low of miles. The LR is a unique set up with how the ball joint mounts in the arm. Maybe that's what's loose. Before I switched to aftermarket UCAs my passenger upper ball joint was toast. It was so loose the joint just spun when I tried to remove the castle nut. I ended up having to cut it off. I didn't have any clunk or noticable play with a joint that was severly worn.

It seems thats what the service rep was saying and the my huge wheels and tires caused it :boohoo: The mechanic wasn't around so i took the FJ and left.

The report reads:"Found both upper ball joints loose. Passenger side ball joint very loose. Both ball joints are aftermarket and need to be replaced"

Does this mean the ball joints HAVE to be replaced or just tightened? I find it hard to believe they need to be replaced after 8-9k miles and barely any off roading.

 

[cnckart]

It's tough to say without seeing it. If the joints themselves are loose. Then yes you have to replace them. If they are just mounted loose in the UCA then you can tighten them down. I would get a second opinion.:cheers:

 

[PanoFJ]

It's tough to say without seeing it. If the joints themselves are loose. Then yes you have to replace them. If they are just mounted loose in the UCA then you can tighten them down. I would get a second opinion.:cheers:

Thanks. I'm taking it to my mechanic tomorrow who installed my lift and the UCA's.