SPC Ball Joint Installation

Hello, I've been fighting with my new ball joints for my spc upper control joints for a couple hours now. I can't seem to get the castle nut threaded on far enough for the cotter pin hole to appear. I can barely get one thread to show past the castle nut before it gets tight. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas or suggestions? I emailed spc, but I probably won't hear from them until Monday. Thanks for any help!

 

Have you tried jacking up the lower control arm to raise the spindle closer to the UCA?

 

Yes, I've been trying that in all sorts of different positions with no luck.

 

Hmm alright, do you have gusseted spindles by any chance? I have heard that when using ball joint style UCA's, you need to buy a shorter style castle nut to get around the issue.

Thats my second best guess without seeing pictures to reference what your are dealing with exactly

 

There's no gusset, but a shorter castle nut might work. It's all made for this application, so I'm puzzled as to why it's not working. It's like the diameter of the spindle is to big or something. Maybe I can get away with some locktite on the threads instead of a cotter pin.

 

I would not skip the cotter pin in that application. Could you drill a new hole in the stud?

 

Also double check the ball joint and UCA part # and make sure if for your vehicle

 

You can tighten the ball joint onto the spindle before inserting the other end into the control arm. That may help a bit with aligning the parts. Post a photo of the installation.

These are replacement ball joints you bought to replace an older set? Is the P/N 25001? How do the new ball joints look compared to the old ones? Are the studs the same length?

 

Thanks for the responses. I've tried installing the spindle first, but that didn't work either. There is only one thread showing beyond the nut, so drilling a new hole isn't an option either unfortunately. Pretty sure it's the correct part #.

 

• Pull the boot up a little to expose more of the stud.
• Make sure the tapered hole in the spindle is clean.
• Did you buy these ball joints second-hand? What is the P/N on the packaging?

 

I sanded the spindle, and the hole. They are brand new. Part # is 25002. I stupidly decided to try to torque them down a bit more to see if it would move, and f*$#ed the threads up as you can see in the second picture. fml.

 

Yeah, old one is going back in. I still don't know what to do about the new ones though. Hopefully spc has an answer for me.

 

Well that explains the problem. Correct P/N for Tacomas is 25001: P/N 25002 is meant for 2003+ 4Runners and 2007+ FJs:

 

Hmm, been looking around and it's saying the 25002 is for the 2nd gens, 25001 is for the first gens.

 

Source? Stock 1st gens have the ball joint in the spindle with the stud pointing up. Aftermarket 1st gen UCAs use a slug adapter and move the ball joint or uniball into the UCA. SPC uses the same ball joint P/N 25001 for both 1st gen and 2nd gen (and 3rd gen) Tacomas.

 

https://liftkits4less.com/specialty-products-25002-upgraded-ball-joint-kit

I found a few sites that shows it for the 2nd gen, but after doing some more research, I've been finding sites saying the 25001 is for the 2nd gens. Shit.

 

Lol at "4 less" in the site name, also 04-13 tacoma doesn't even make sense... So many reputable dealers on here should've gone with one