i hear alot of flipping the ball joints and have no idea what this is or how to do it.. so can someone please let me know what this is.. and maybe some pics because im a visual learner haha
Unmount the joint from the bottom of the control arm and move it up to the top of the arm. Do this with all four using the same mounting hardware.
What is the reasoning behind flipping the upper? I would assume just to keep everything in proportion as it was stock. I only flipped the lowers on my truck. Those are the ones necessary to drop it.
It's actually 100% not sketchy. It's super easy and safe! http://www.minitruckinweb.com/tech/suspension/0405mt_toyota_mini_shocks_drop_spindles/photo_10.html My favorite mod for lowering Toyotas. It's free, easy, and has no adverse effects that I am aware of. It's only a small amount of drop. Maybe .75". But it's worth it.
take note of how the ball joint rests on top of the arm instead of under it. there is one small bracket you will need to flip upside down to clear the ball joint mounting plate... just study it for a few... Shot with X400,D580Z,C460Z at 2009-07-26 Shot with X400,D580Z,C460Z at 2009-07-26
so you just unbolt it.. put it on the top and bolt it back in? would i need to do the top aswell or just the lowers?
If you only flip the bottom joints, you will change the geometry of the suspension requiring the upper arms to be re-shimmed to obtain the proper camber. Thanks for the pics SD Yota. I haven't done the mod, so I didn't have any.
essentially, yes. thats pretty much all you do. i did the tops on mine but did not do the ones on Mac's truck and the camber stayed fairly flat.... he's probably at about -1*. ball joint angle is slightly less stressed on the upper arm if you flip the top as well, but not by much...... your choice on the upper. if thats any test of how well it holds up............ i guess its as good as any. no problem. the suspension geometry will be changed some but i never reshimmed mine or Mac's truck and they both seem to be doing just fine. mine has been like that for well over a year and my front tire wear did not change.
The plate circled in green above.... Is that a factory peice?... Cause mine just had nuts (or rusted apart plate) on top when I was doing rotors.
Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 I should have flipped my **** when I had everything apart. Either way, 5" in front is low enough for me.
that "plate" all you guys keep mentioning has 2 square nuts welded to it from the factory. i confirmed that these came in all trucks since Mac's 94 truck also had this plate with the welded nuts on it. the strut rod has 2 long bolts that connect to those square nuts through the arm. when you undo those two bolts, this plate will come off as well. originally... it sits with the flat peice towards the bottom side, but as you can see from my picture, you will have to flip it upside down for the plate to clear the balljoint itself when you bring it up to the top of the arm.
its also good to have 2 jacks on hand, because you can have one on the frame and one on the lower arm. it helps keep everything in place, and it will help you adjust where the arm is at when you are trying to relocate stuff. I used a scissor jack and the bottle jack.
The thing with not doing the upper is probably similar to the Taco's...when not done up top, it allows for too much drop out before the upper arm hits the dropout bump stops, which could bind a b/j (or dislodge a coil in the Taco's case) The camber will most likely be very similar either way, UCA flipped or unflipped.