OK, so here's the UCA rebuild I promised. Along with this, I also noticed BOTH front coilover springs are broke. Rusted up and snapped at the top and bottom spring retainers. I will get pics of that later. I pulled both of those out today along with putting the OEM shackles back in to lower the rear. 2" of rake is ridiculous. The Alcan's are 3" lift, 550lbs over stock. Why so much you ask? Because with Vicki and I in the truck it weighs 5680lbs ready to wheel... For those keeping score at home, that's 80lbs OVER GVWR.
Anyway, on with the show.
Here's what we start with (I assume everyone knows how to remove these.)
upload your photoFirst up, break those jam nuts loose and get the heims out. I suggest getting stainless jam nuts if you don't have them. The ones Greg sends are zinc plated and will corrode. One jam nut is still rust welded to the heim from the last time I rebuilt them.
upload your photoOnce those are out, next is the uniball. As you see, the nylon liner has come apart and they're rusty as all hell.
upload your photoFirst you have to get that snap ring out of there. If yours aren't corroded halfway to the minerals they're made from then you can use snap ring pliers to get that out. I broke a pair the last time so get good ones. If they are too corroded for the right way, the Mike way will do. Trusty screw driver and a rubber mallet. Tap the screw driver under the snap ring and work your way around the uniball cup.
upload your photoNow it's time to get that pesky uniball out of there. I HIGHLY recommend getting the 1" uniball (these are Titan UCA's, the Xterra/Frontier OEM heim UCA uses a 7/8" uniball) tool from Kartek or another vendor. These are welded cups that are actually the right size. I tried the old socket method the last time and the uniballs were rusted in the cup. When that rust let go the press jumped 6" off the ground and shot the uniball across the basement. Don't do that. Get the right tools. These welded cups keep pressure in the proper spot and keep it all nice and tight so if it lets go it won't fly out the press.
upload your photoWhen all that rusty corroded garbage is out, this is what you should have.
upload your photoI ground the rust off and painted mine. If yours are in good shape maybe just hit them with some paint or clean them up a bit. Mine needed a bit more work.
upload your photoI like orange...
upload your photoThat's basically it. Put them back together the way they came apart. Scotch Brite the uniball cup and apply copious anti-seize to both the new uniball and the heim's before putting it back together. Snap ring may need some persuasion from the screw driver and mallet to go in the groove on the cup but hopefully not. Bolt them back in the truck, take for a test drive. Chalk the tires to check camber and adjust as necessary.
As for today's adventure...
OEM shackles back in. Should be pretty close to level or maybe 1" rake. Need the new coilover springs to be sure.
upload your photoAnd lastly a picture of all my junk to take the coilovers out. Having a compressor and gun is nice for the wheels. The work table was my first weld something together project. That thing is really useful.
upload your photoIn our next installment I will show how you get a coilover spring off the coilover without killing yourself (hopefully.) They're both broke but I'm hoping my spring compressor will keep me fairly safe should a catastrophic failure occur.
Couple things to note for anyone who has SwayAway coilovers. AFE bought SwayAway. I have found parts are very hard to get and AFE's website is worthless. Remember, at the time these babies were specially made for PRG and they DO NOT use an off the shelf spring. They are 6.5" travel shocks, so they have a 13" spring. Whether or not they use the same shock bodies and shafts I do not know. What I do know, is anyone wanting to Titan Swap, get the Radflo's. They are at least still independent and you can probably get parts. I would love to go Fox, but nothing will fit so far as I know. I do not believe Fox offers a lower spring riser like SAW, Radflo and KING to clear the axle shaft.
If you need parts, contact Ryan at Accutune Offroad. I was able to get two new 13" springs in the original spring rate to replace my busted ones. He was in the office on a Saturday and returned my call same day. I will be back to him with more business for sure.
To be continued...