The Mamba Gets a Facelift

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A bit more of the review of the All Pro items.

5. Skid Plates: I have had no issue with these and they have worked. I have no intention on replacing them. They have been tested and survived.

6. Front UCA's: I have made certain comments on them in my above post. It seems like most of the tube UCA's have the same design, which is a bit different from the AP UCA's I had. Plus some have zerk fittings. I understand that there is some contentions that some use a different, better, bigger, etc uni ball. I can't comment on the uni ball. I decided that I wanted the most adjustments and an enclosed joint to avoid the lube/dirt/grime issue. I will also say that the AP UCA's were very noisy. They squeeked something terrible if they were not lubed and I got tired of digging out the gunk in the top of the ball. The icons seem to fix these issues and this is why I choose to change them. Plus the above issues--clearance, hitting the coils and res line.

7. Fox 2.0 shock set up, Front: This is a special fox set up for All Pro. They can only be purchased through AP, or so I was told by fox. I have never been happy with the reservoir set up. To me it is an additional wear item and violates the KISS approach. Originally they were mounted on top of the shocks. The line for the res was always a concern and the uca hit them. Plus they seemed a bit loose. The forums had threads on this issue, which must have been an issue since they were then moved in front of the shocks. Another remedial measure I had to pay for. I payed for the relocation bracket and had the res line changed, due to it being abraded by the uca and had the shocked recharged. AP did not have the part in stock and calls to other fox shops resulted in being told it was a special order part due to it being a specific AP system. Hence, they had to be ordered from fox and it took a week or so to receive them. There are two additional issues, which I will set forth in my next post.

Cheers, Steve

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Just a bit more info on the front shocks for the fox.
7A. The 2.0 seemed a bit overwhelmed by the weight of the FJ and no matter how I adjusted them, the nosedive was a bit much. This was not a major issue unless you had to do a panic stop and then it was a very unsettling issue. The main issue is the droop of the passenger side tire and the fact the UCA hits the coil. This was a major issue on the forums and AP said this was done to give the max articulation and was not hurting anything. Many people disagreed. I have wheeled my rig with this set-up, but have been mindful of the situation.

I tended to believe AP at first, but it became apparent to me--and others--that it was problematic. In taking my rig into shops that specialized in wheeling, and asking them to give it a lookover and make sure everything was good to go, both shops pointed out these problems. This is after I had checked every thing and was getting ready for trips. One shop--which was not familiar with the FJ--told me the droop was excessive and I needed limit straps and it was binding my CV--and he showed me.(lift the truck on a jack and the wheel droop is such that when turned it binds and is hard on the cv due to the extreme angle.) He also mentioned the uca hitting the coil, but said it was not a major issue. This was repeated by another shop. Keep in mind that I never mentioned this to them--I only asked them to check out the rig for any issues, make sure everything was tight and ready to go. They both found these issues themselves. Both shops also informed me that my tie rods would wear out prematurely. They were right and I have changed them. My cv is making a bit of noise, so I decided I have had enough of this setup and do not want to break a cv on the trail. I find this setup to be sub standard. I was also concerned about the res line. I have just never been happy to have this line. It is one more thing to break or leak and it never gave me much confidence. It has leaked and this is another item I wanted to address with my "facelift." I just do not see a need for the front res for my kind of wheeling. Just in case I changed my mind, I called Icon directly and they verified that the front CO's are identical--res vs nonres--and they can refit a nonres with res if desired.

7B. Rear shocks: These are the 2.0 fox piggyback. I have no real issues with these and had thought about keeping them on the truck, but they launch a bit too much and I decided to get a matching set of Icon's. The icons are 2.5 and they do ride better and have less launch. Also the larger icons seem to be a bit less bouncy with weight transfer.

8. Exhaust Pipe: This was a good decision and was a good mod.

The last item to review will be the rear uca--ultimate model. When I get a few moments, I will post about this item.

Cheers, Steve

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The rear UCA's review.
I had the rear UCA's from allpro. They refer to them as the ultimate upper control arms with a lifetime warrenty. I have had three different problems with them. They are very difficult to keep greased due to where the zerk fittings are located. They have come loose, notwithstanding tightening and locktight. The joints cracked and sheared off. This was the last issue, as I had them replaced with stock UCA's and I am still running the stock arms. The bad is that if you don't have access to another set, I would have had my rig out of service for 6 weeks. AP did not have the parts in stock. They also informed me that their warrenty was on a case by case basis. I sent them pictures and had to follow up. Then they wanted to see the arms. I am glad I am able to drop them by the shop. Otherwise, the policy is to send them and pay shipping--then if they decide to warrenty, then pay shipping again. Not a bad policy, but a bit inconvienent if one is out of state--and if I had not had a stock set available, my rig would be inoperable. They replaced the joints while I waited as they deemed them to be a warrenty issue. I will not be running them and will sell them. I do not really to the need to replace the rear uca's with my set up.

I have hit a few trails with the new set up and I am very satisfied. The on road ride is much improved and the off road manners of the truck are improved. I have explained the on road and will try to explain the off road. More stable and handles the bumps much better in the front. The back is improved, but not as much as the front. Seems the 2.5 size does absorb the bumps much better and does a great job of transfering much less movement to the passengers. The stability in off camber situations is improved-- a product of the less movement. This is a big improvement to me. In traveling on an off camber shelf road, the less rebound from going over an obstacle the better. In other words, I do not want the rig bouncing to the side, which takes the center of gravity towards the off camber side. I hope I have explained this correctly. I may have had a bit more flex with the fox set up, but do not see this as a benefit given the downside.

Cheers, Steve