Icon Control Arms

SO my 2010 Tundra has 23,000 miles on it. All of my Icon 2.5 Suspension system has needed to be rebuilt so I ordered the rebuild kit and bought some aftermarket suspension for it in case I dont want to put the Icons back on, so now i am still searching for someone to do the rebuild that is not 5-10 states away. In the meantime I noticed the front end is starting to shake a little bit and pull to the right slightly. Went to the shop and the ball joints needs to be replaced. Well they are in the Icon Control arms and to my knowledge you cant replace them you have to replace the entire front control arms. Is this possible? Everything from Icon has to be replaced or rebuilt and this truck just turned 23,000 miles. The previous owner babied this truck so how can all of these top of the line aftermarket products be so defective especially when I am figuring he must of shelled out around $5,000 or more for this Icon system? Lastly if I have to put on new control arms can I go with a cheaper alternative since this truck was originally set up with all Icon and its lifter 3"? Once again I am not doing any off roading.

 

I dont know much about mechanic but I just wanted to tell you goodluck and those are great miles with the year you have hopefully everything goes good

 

Pics would help - but I don't see them needing rebuilt at 23k unless they were abused off-road maybe. I don't know of any Icon UCA's with ball joints. Unless you are talking about Uniballs - those could wear out that fast if exposed to salt/grime and never cleaned/lubed. I just replaced 8 Uniballs with 70k and they were still good and I abused them off-road. If it shakes and pulls I would think that would either be a tire, brake or alignment issue, but could be the ball joint on the lower arm as I am 100% sure the Lower arm is still stock.

 

Thats a uniball under that cap and almost 100% sure its not bad at 23k. One its covered from the elements and 2 you said the truck was babied. I would bet there is a different issue and your Icon stuff is just fine. Is the coilover leaking? If not then it doesn't need rebuilt.

 

I would get a proper alignment and rotate/balance tires to see if that fixes your issue. Also have them check the brakes while they are at it.

 

Totally in agreement with what @n2deep is saying.

 

Another note - the Lower arms have factory Ball joints and I think Moog makes replacements. The Uniball on the UCA can be replaced or switched to the Delta Joint. Fairly easy to do but I don't think that is your problem.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/lca-ball-joint-replacement-on-2007-2nd-and-3rd-gen-tundra.12492/

Where ya located?
Edit - I just found your other post- you are in NY and tough to find anyone to rebuild them without shipping costing a fortune. And that you have 2 leaking. Anybody that can do Fox or King can also rebuild them. Contact a shop that does Motorcycle forks or Razors, Can-am - they should be able to do it also. Its not much different than those. If the shop won't touch them I would see if the tech might do it on the side.

 

@sdhq_offroad does a lot of ICON work. you could check with them for rebuilds if needed but 23K seems low

 

Its the shipping that kills it - he is in NY

 

Where in Upstate are you located? I am in Corning, NY and we have a pretty good shop called Goodrich Autoworks. I am sure they could rebuild them.

 

The Icon arms will have a uniball in them, not a ball joint. They are fully serviceable so they can be replaced. Uniballs however do not last long in the harsher cold conditions especially if exposed to road salts or anything during the winter. Based off the picture of the arm, they are at least 2 years+ old. Since then, Icon does now offer a Delta Joint (basically a sealed version of a uniball designed for these conditions) that can be pressed in instead of doing another uniball.

Not sure what shocks you are running in the front? Fox 2.0's? Let me know if you have any other questions. We also sell the tools for you to remove the uniball and install the delta joint on the vehicle so you can do it yourself.

 

Brand new tires, balanced. Brand new shocks front and rear. I took the 2.5 Icons off and set them aside until I find a financially feasible way of fixing them. I bought the rebuilt kits already for them, not sure once I get them rebuilt if I will put them back on or sell them? When you take the tire and put your hand on the top and one on the bottom there is a little play. The truck has Never scene snow or cold, it’s always been garaged and babied. I am figuring the shocks and control arms are just old being probably 8 years old, and the truck just turned 23,000. So if everything is in proper alignment and the tires have been balanced is it the upper or lower that is causing the slight pull and vibration? The vibration is only on the highway nothing when Im just buzzing around town.

 

Update on the issue, ended up being the upper Icon Control arms. They both need a Uniball Replacement after less then 23,000 miles.

 

Sounds about right if its been exposed to those weather conditions. Did you replace with the Delta Joint?

 

The truck has never been exposed to any elements except an occasional rain shower. Its NEVER been in the snow or even taken off roading and has always sat in a heated garage. I just order from Icon their IVD UNIBALL UCA SERVICE KIT.

 

Funny I have put 70k on my Camburg uniballs and all 8 of them were still in good shape when I replaced them. I have beat on the truck hard in the desert and never wash it so not sure why the ICON failed so soon.

 

I think what it comes down to is this truck just wasn't driven enough and it's sat for long periods of time where everything just dried up particularly the icon products. By the way since then I've had them replaced and it rides wonderfully now and that little slight pull is gone too .

 

One of the worst things you could do to a vehicle is let it sit and not run it.

 

It didnt sit it just didnt get used the way most trucks do. Both previous owners kept it in there garages and used it as a weekend tourer. The last owner who is my best friend had it for 7 years and drove it only on perfect days. He was a little anal. He now has a new Raptor and is doing the same thing with that one..lol