Maintenance schedule for suspension needed

Kodachrome

Observer
OK, while I try to gain awareness as to odd lack of any written documentation from the manufacturers in regards to suspension component maintenance and make some industry changes, I want to get a maintenance plan in place for my suspension, allow some of the more experienced users of this gear the chance to give input.

So I want to set up a couple scenarios so that this thread is less self serving:

1. Light duty use, weekend off road trips, some mud, some dust and maybe depending on location, some exposure to corrosive elements, usually washed and or garaged after trips. More than likely "California" freeway style bling rather than actual use.

2. Medium duty use, lots of time unwashed, spends half the time on dirt roads, half that time is in 4WD, half is in 2WD. Probable exposure to corrosive elements. Might be used on a ranch or in rural area. Components still only purchased for recreational use as in above.

3. Heavy duty if not professional use. Truck spends over 40% of it's time in 4WD, 70% on dirt or off road. Truck is used for ranching, remote access, often in steep mountainous terrain with various weather elements in play. Might be for storm chasing, expedition use. Rarely washed if at work, corrosion from road salts / magnesium chloride likely.

The way I use my truck is in between 2 & 3, I still do a lot of miles on paved roads, but only to access more remote areas. A lot of time in snow, ice, on dirt. If the bed is empty and the expedition module is off, I will do trails rated as high as 6, if the module is on, up to a 4. The max weight of my vehicle loaded is just over 5K.

The truck is a 2005 Tacoma access cab, TRD. The components are Camburg 2.5 Coilovers in front with Icon UCA's. ICON reservoir shocks in back with a leaf pack upgrade to handle the weight of the expedition module.

I keep a close eye on things on this rig, the one mistake being in never removing the top protective cap on my Icon UCA's. So I am replacing the uniballs soon, will do so once I design a lower protective boot. The upper cap on the Icon Billet UCA's don't really offer any form of protection as in practice, they trap in the elements that work up through the bottom of the uniball, would be better served if I removed it so I could clean it out easier.

So here we go:

A. Front shocks, besides washing off mud and residue and checking for corrosion, what is needed in terms of maintenance and re-building, what intervals based on the list above?

B. Upper control arms, what is used to clean the highly exposed uniballs and hiem mounts and what is the best course of action in preventing corrosion?

C. Rear shocks and reservoirs, besides washing off mud and residue and checking for corrosion, what is needed in terms of maintenance and re-building, what intervals based on the list above?

Feel free to chime in, but please.....try to keep it mature, intelligible and pertinent, help make this useful for everyone.
 

keezer36

Adventurer
I have the ICON UCAs and while I do not intend to do any maintenance on them, one item you may be interested in is that two of the eight twelve point bolts on the arms snapped in half last winter. Luckily I was able to screw them out the bottom. I replaced them all with ARP stainless steel header bolts from Summit. Wish I could find the receipt with the part #, alas it is somewhere in my filing system. I have one file: "P" for Papers.
Looking at the photo, the tapered shoulder of the header bolt is .03" smaller in diameter than the original (.525" vs .555") and you cannot use the washers provided (.625"). But in that they are stainless steel in the aluminum arms, I was comfortable using them.

Image018.jpg
 

PHXtaco

Adventurer
I will give you some feed back that might help to answer your questions for your use as I have thought about a similar MX plan for my truck. Coming from an aviation background that replaces things at set intervals, and not willing to be stranded in the middle of nowhere, I try to keep everything in good shape and replace it before it breaks or is significantly worn out. I probably do about the same type of driving as you do from your description, though my truck is seeing less “expeditions” now that I am in CA, but it is also seeing less street driving now that I also have a daily driver. First I will echo the comments about "it will vary", even though we both might drive between your 2 and 3, I will probably see less snow than you will, and my driving habits are probably faster than most on two tracks as I have limited time and usually in a hurry to get somewhere—i.e. If I were to slow down I bet my suspension would last a lot longer!

By the way, the lack of recommended mx from manufactures does not surprise me as much as the lack on installation directions I have received from some.

I have almost the same set up except camburg arms and my truck is the previous generation Tacoma, but I am also about 5000lbs when loaded with camping gear.

I installed the aftermarket suspension at 25,000 miles 4 years ago and rebuilt the entire front end at 105,000 miles last month. I had just replaced the inner and outer tie rods 10,000 miles ago, so I did not replace those, but replaced lower control arms and ball joints, replaced the uniballs, replaced the bushings in upper control arms where it mounts to the frame, had the Icon coilovers rebuild by Icon, and while not suspension, also replaced wheel bearings, seals, and cv shafts.

I had to replace the uniballs once before due to wear. As far as mx on them, I let them tell me when they need it—basically as soon as they start squeaking. When I was in the desert and the truck was regularly seeing dry dusty roads it was weekly, driving on pavement in CA it is every 1 to 2 months. All I do is spray them out good with water while the truck is sitting on the ground, then I jack the truck up and let front tires droop and spray the uniballs again. I have followed a lot of threads and have learned that you do not want to lube the uniballs (one Air Force mechanic said all they do is the high-pressure water treatment to uniballs on aircraft) as the lube will attract dirt if it leaves any residue behind, and anything petroleum based will attack the Teflon. You can use Teflon based lubes (if they do not leave a residue that will attract dirt) since the uniball is impregnated with Teflon to begin with. I am currently using DuPont Teflon Multi-Use dry wax Lubricant (http://www.amazon.com/FINISH-TECHNOL-DM1204101-Dupont-Multi/sim/B00030BFEM/2 ) and it seems to work well. It also comes in a spay can, but I found it does not go on well from the can or seep in as good as the liquid. I had previously tried dry graphite powder, but it takes about half a dozen applications to get the graphite to work in, and by that time there is just as much dirt that has worked in, it is time to wash out the unballs with a hose again--- way to much work.

Also I initially had Bilsteins shocks in the rear, but upgraded to the Icon remote reservoir shocks about 10,000 miles ago. The first few sets of Icons shocks I received were “flat” --no nitrogen in them, it had leaked out. Unless you have a high-pressure nitrogen system handy, there is no way to check the shocks without pulling them off the vehicle and compressing them by hand. Even if you have a high pressure air gage (off the top of my head I think they are supposed to be 250 psi) just checking the pressure will lower the charge in the shock too much. Personally, even with my highspeed washboard driving in desert I did not notice a difference—maybe if I was doing the Baja 1000, but for the money, next time I am going back to Bilsteins. Plus I always have that nagging question of if the nitrogen has leaked out gain from my Icons.

Since my truck is now seeing less miles per year and a higher percentage of the miles it will see will be more off road, I do not expect to reach another 80,000 miles before rebuild. In another 50,000 I will give it a good inspection and decided then if I am going to do it then or wait another 10,000. Also I totally expect to replace the uniball sometime before that, but that will be a matter of as soon as it starts to show any play.

Besides keeping the uniball and the outside of the other components clean there is not much maintenance you can do—just inspection. Almost forgot—and lube the zerks for the upper control arm bushings. (I do a detailed inspection every 5000 miles or before/after a hard trip).

Hope this helps for your plan. Currently I am wondering how far I can go before the u-joints or center bearing needs replacing.
 

Kodachrome

Observer
I have the ICON UCAs and while I do not intend to do any maintenance on them, one item you may be interested in is that two of the eight twelve point bolts on the arms snapped in half last winter. Luckily I was able to screw them out the bottom. I replaced them all with ARP stainless steel header bolts from Summit. Wish I could find the receipt with the part #, alas it is somewhere in my filing system. I have one file: "P" for Papers.
Looking at the photo, the tapered shoulder of the header bolt is .03" smaller in diameter than the original (.525" vs .555") and you cannot use the washers provided (.625"). But in that they are stainless steel in the aluminum arms, I was comfortable using them.

Image018.jpg

Yikes, time for an inspection. I have to replace my Uniballs this week, so I might just try to replace the hardware too...
 

Kodachrome

Observer
Killer write up, thanks!!

I am going to have to figure out which local car wash I can bring a jack to, LOL!

I will give you some feed back that might help to answer your questions for your use as I have thought about a similar MX plan for my truck. Coming from an aviation background that replaces things at set intervals, and not willing to be stranded in the middle of nowhere, I try to keep everything in good shape and replace it before it breaks or is significantly worn out. I probably do about the same type of driving as you do from your description, though my truck is seeing less “expeditions” now that I am in CA, but it is also seeing less street driving now that I also have a daily driver. First I will echo the comments about "it will vary", even though we both might drive between your 2 and 3, I will probably see less snow than you will, and my driving habits are probably faster than most on two tracks as I have limited time and usually in a hurry to get somewhere—i.e. If I were to slow down I bet my suspension would last a lot longer!

By the way, the lack of recommended mx from manufactures does not surprise me as much as the lack on installation directions I have received from some.

I have almost the same set up except camburg arms and my truck is the previous generation Tacoma, but I am also about 5000lbs when loaded with camping gear.

I installed the aftermarket suspension at 25,000 miles 4 years ago and rebuilt the entire front end at 105,000 miles last month. I had just replaced the inner and outer tie rods 10,000 miles ago, so I did not replace those, but replaced lower control arms and ball joints, replaced the uniballs, replaced the bushings in upper control arms where it mounts to the frame, had the Icon coilovers rebuild by Icon, and while not suspension, also replaced wheel bearings, seals, and cv shafts.

I had to replace the uniballs once before due to wear. As far as mx on them, I let them tell me when they need it—basically as soon as they start squeaking. When I was in the desert and the truck was regularly seeing dry dusty roads it was weekly, driving on pavement in CA it is every 1 to 2 months. All I do is spray them out good with water while the truck is sitting on the ground, then I jack the truck up and let front tires droop and spray the uniballs again. I have followed a lot of threads and have learned that you do not want to lube the uniballs (one Air Force mechanic said all they do is the high-pressure water treatment to uniballs on aircraft) as the lube will attract dirt if it leaves any residue behind, and anything petroleum based will attack the Teflon. You can use Teflon based lubes (if they do not leave a residue that will attract dirt) since the uniball is impregnated with Teflon to begin with. I am currently using DuPont Teflon Multi-Use dry wax Lubricant (http://www.amazon.com/FINISH-TECHNOL-DM1204101-Dupont-Multi/sim/B00030BFEM/2 ) and it seems to work well. It also comes in a spay can, but I found it does not go on well from the can or seep in as good as the liquid. I had previously tried dry graphite powder, but it takes about half a dozen applications to get the graphite to work in, and by that time there is just as much dirt that has worked in, it is time to wash out the unballs with a hose again--- way to much work.

Also I initially had Bilsteins shocks in the rear, but upgraded to the Icon remote reservoir shocks about 10,000 miles ago. The first few sets of Icons shocks I received were “flat” --no nitrogen in them, it had leaked out. Unless you have a high-pressure nitrogen system handy, there is no way to check the shocks without pulling them off the vehicle and compressing them by hand. Even if you have a high pressure air gage (off the top of my head I think they are supposed to be 250 psi) just checking the pressure will lower the charge in the shock too much. Personally, even with my highspeed washboard driving in desert I did not notice a difference—maybe if I was doing the Baja 1000, but for the money, next time I am going back to Bilsteins. Plus I always have that nagging question of if the nitrogen has leaked out gain from my Icons.

Since my truck is now seeing less miles per year and a higher percentage of the miles it will see will be more off road, I do not expect to reach another 80,000 miles before rebuild. In another 50,000 I will give it a good inspection and decided then if I am going to do it then or wait another 10,000. Also I totally expect to replace the uniball sometime before that, but that will be a matter of as soon as it starts to show any play.

Besides keeping the uniball and the outside of the other components clean there is not much maintenance you can do—just inspection. Almost forgot—and lube the zerks for the upper control arm bushings. (I do a detailed inspection every 5000 miles or before/after a hard trip).

Hope this helps for your plan. Currently I am wondering how far I can go before the u-joints or center bearing needs replacing.
 

Remote

Observer
Kodachrome

Much better response here than Toddler Territory don't you think? Stick to the adult forums.
 

Remote

Observer
As far as the protective boot thing, for me it has worked out very well. I don't use/need aftermarket upper arms but there are hiems in my shocks (SAW). I have been running them for about 8 years and 180K. They were the first or second set sold. When they first arrived I was living in the rust belt and the truck saw more "salt bars" than sand bars. The exposed nature of the hiems concerned me so I whipped up some shields/seals from a spare shock bushing. I did initially fill the voids with moly fortified grease not for a lube but to hinder the accumulation of water. The seals also act to keep the shock inline with the mounts for what ever that is worth. I really don't want to debate the lube, no lube thing but do read on.
The first set of hiems lasted 80K and that is considered extremely good given the conditions. By that time, shop talk with buddies was turning up the Teflon vs. lube issue. The second set was packed with silicone plumber’s grease, made to not affect o-rings and such. I don't know for sure but I'll bet it still has a petro base of some sort. Anyway, they lasted about the same 80K. The third set was still going strong when the shocks were slated for back up duty. Last year I picked up an altogether new set of SAWs and promptly did my seal trick. Below are some shots.
And just FYI while a few folks have had issues with rear Billie 5100s it seems the exception not the rule. Mine are still, as they say "tight as a clams crack" holding both pressure and fluid after all these years. I did replace the poly bushings once. Additionally when the shock hiems go it is in no way catastrophic. The Teflon just wears thru and you get metal on metal with a little rattle and a heck of a squeak. A quick shot of some spray lube will silence that for a few days. Replace them when you can't stand the noise or you'r scaring the wildlife. I get replacements from McMaster Carr for (last time) about $14.
One last thing to keep in mind, Summit Racing is now selling almost identical seals for hiem type rod ends. Darn Pirates.

DSC_0005.jpg


Photo002.jpg


DSC_0004.jpg


DSC_0003.jpg
 

Remote

Observer
One more thing, Keezers post about the stainless fasteners jogged my memory. I'm not really up on the 05+ shock mounting (front) but I replaced all the bolts with stainless right down to the little set screw in the adjustment collar. Generous use of anti-seize compound on the collar threads is a must. The early Tacoma front shocks use an eye type mount at each end. I replaced the upper one (goes thru the shock eye and threads into an aluminum adapter plate) with stainless also. I was able to find a longer bolt that had a much longer non threaded shank (just the right length) than the bolt that came with the shock. This allows for all the shear forces to be focused on the thicker non threaded shank of the bolt instead of in the valleys of the threads. It may be overkill but it was one of those "cheap and forever" things. It may or may not work in your set up.
 

MotoDave

Explorer
Guys a word of warning, MOST stainless bolts are only about equivalent to SAE Grade 5 or Metric 8.8 bolts. For suspension parts I prefer to use SAE Grade 8 or Metric 10.9 rated bolts, both of which exceed the tensile stength of any commonly available stainless alternatives.

If the usual gold zinc plated Grade 8 hardware corrodes too fast, I would look for something with an e-coating or similar automotive grade corosion protective coating before I would go to stainless.
 

Remote

Observer
Guys a word of warning, MOST stainless bolts are only about equivalent to SAE Grade 5 or Metric 8.8 bolts. For suspension parts I prefer to use SAE Grade 8 or Metric 10.9 rated bolts, both of which exceed the tensile stength of any commonly available stainless alternatives.

If the usual gold zinc plated Grade 8 hardware corrodes too fast, I would look for something with an e-coating or similar automotive grade corosion protective coating before I would go to stainless.

Truly a valid and good point for folks to keep in mind. I should have mentioned it, to defer any blind wholesale bolt swapping.
It is the reason why I increased the effective trunion bolt diameter from 3/8" to 1/2" by placing the shear points on the full diameter of the smooth shank, free of any stress risers. There is no tension in this application and that was the only fastener that will see any real stress. The rest of the hardware was grade 5 to start with.
Now, steering, lower ball joint bolts, leaf spring eyes/shackles, recovery points, bumpers, cages, rod ends and winches, then by all means.
 

maclean216

Observer
I think part of the problem and why you aren't getting a reply, is that the answer is what no one wants to hear. Suspension components are ultimately a consumable item.

Your maintenance schedule should reflect your budget and performance needs.
 

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