Ironman 4x4 Suspension

No, Ironmans. It's certain years, the ball joints they used in those years can fail so there is a recall on them

 

Well... this is weird. Looks like they've gone back to a sloped lower perch and spring. And for 2007-2021 you can only buy the whole set up, not individual springs and shocks. I also noticed that 2022+ are listed as 2.5" lift, rather than 3.5"... which is a smart move.

https://ironman4x4america.com/suspension/?_bc_fsnf=1&sort=pricedesc&Make=Toyota&Model=Tundra

 

Has anyone received anything after submitting their recall notice?

 

I have and received new set of up control arms. Havnt yet put them on but have them ready to go.
I called them after about a month and they said as long as you submitted everything online you will receive an update when they ship then you'll get tracking information.

 

I would reach out to them, if you haven't heard from them.

 

I reached out to them and they have it in stock so it will be shipping out soon.

 

I got one in our 16 4runner and 18 tundra. Received both replacement uppers probably took 2 months. 4runner got moog ball joints pressed in and the tundra one got 555 sankei ball joints. Never heard of them but the boot has a clip at least vs the moog which I guess allows the old grease to come out from. Anyone know details on the 555 brand? Stamped made in Japan so I’m kinda trusting g that more

 

Old ih8mud forum member here, replaced my ball joints on my old 100 series land cruiser with 555 ball joints, supposedly they make oem toyota ball joints. They were super high quality and you cannot source OEM toyota joints without the a arms.

 

cool, yah it sucks you can’t get an oem ball joint without buying the whole assembly. I even thought about buying an oem A-arm to press out the Toyota one but way to pricey. Now trying to source a 555 ball joint for our 4runner arm.

the recall sucks but I have about 10k miles on our 4runner IM UCA and I check them regularly when rotating and they are still like new but that vehicle is strictly a daily on pavement.

my tundra on the other hand, roughly 4k miles on them with weekend lava trails and they are still nice and tight.

hoping to source some 555’s for the tundra to have on hand when I notice any slight play in the IM UCA’s.

 

Just got my replacement UCA's. They came with Moog ball joints. Anybody know which ball joint caps fit this UCA? I drive a lot off road (gravel, dirt roads) and rather not have mud/dirt get on them.

 

Hi.

First time here

Today I unpacked my stage 2 kit for my 18 tundra platinum in preparation for the install tomorrow

The driver side coilover is heavily bent. I just chat with Justin at IM4x4 and in what I felt was a bit rude response he said that "bent is common and should not be a problem" even that it is heavily bent without weight. I assume it will get worse once installed

Can't return it because the kit was forwarded to my country and returning it is too expensive. They know this (I asked for the kit to be double checked before shipping and explained why... Yeah, stupid decision), so they don't care about it. My only thing to do is to install it anyway (or loose my money) and let you all know the kind of company IM4x4 is

I'll attach a couple of pics

I'll keep you'll posted if anything else is wrong

 

You mean the coil is bent. What does it look like at the top and bottom?

 

Yeah, the coil is bent, on the driver side one. I guess because is the one with the higher preload. Maybe is easier to see in this photo

 

Preload isn't causing that. The coil isn't centered at the bottom, making the situation worse. Isn't there something on the collar that centers the spring on the lower perch? Can't tell at the top.

Is the top hat perpendicular to the shock on both of them? Or is the bent one tilted on top? When the shock is installed the top hat will not be able to tilt since it will be bolted to the frame... so it's possible it will correct enough when mounted.

If you bought these with springs already installed, I'd only chance mounting them if IM will guarantee in writing that they'll pay for installation and removal if the spring ever touches the shock body.

 

I just found this Ironman4x4 thread and wanted to see if anyone has ever taken any leaves out of their IM leaf pack? I chose the Heavy Duty constant load because I used to have a topper with a bed platform drawer system in the bed full-time. Now, I've switched my setup to have a slide in pop-up camper for camping trips which I have on the truck occasionally. When the camper is off, the ride is horrible on the highway as you can feel every bump in the road.

I reached out to IM and Bubba said I can remove leaves 3 and 5. He said I can remove both or either one. Just seeing if anyone has removed leaves because they changed their setup. I'm hoping this will make the ride much more comfortable as well as have my truck more level without the camper on.

I'm leaning on removing both leaves and adding Firestone airbags with Daystar cradles for when I have the camper on. What are y'alls thoughts?

My current set up in the rear is the Foam Cell Pro shocks and heavy duty leafsprings and Fox 2.5 DSC in the front set at 3".

My measurements with the camper off are:
Front Pass. 25.5"
Front Driver 25.75"
Rear Pass. 28.5"
Rear Driver 28"

 

How was this resolved?

 

I've been having good luck with Torque bags and a cheap cradle. Half the price.

 

I saw your reply on another thread of your sweet DIY camper setup. It looks great man, awesome work! What leaf springs are you running with your Torque bags and cradles?

 

Stock springs and the bags at 35psi atm. I'm getting some lift from that. My camper is going to be on all the time so I'm looking into adding some leafs. Maybe a long and short add-a-leaf or maybe the Idaho Spring pack. It will be heavier when I get it finished and go full time. I'll probably keep the bags for fine tuning.

 

So a couple of months ago, I started hearing some clunking when going uphill on my driveway which is a little bit rocky. I decided to check my ball joints. When I tested the UCA ball joints by putting a 2x4 over the tire and underneath the UCA to push up, I could get the UCA to move about 1/4" on the driver's side. I decided it was time to replace to Ironman UCAs with the replacement set they sent from the recall.

Afterwards, I removed the boot clip on the UCA with the bad ball joint and pulled down the boot. Mind you, the boot had no tears. I couldn't believe how much dirt had made its way in there. I drive more caliche roads than paved roads on a daily basis. When I wash the truck once a week, I spray the top of the UCAs to get the caliche off. I'm surprised Ironman doesn't include caps of some sort to cover the ball joints.

 

My old school SPC upper arms had a similar ball joint cover, it wasn't sealed at all. I would just pump tons of grease into in the cover, it oozes out, but my joints stayed healthy.

 

My guess is it never was considering they had the same issue with their first version of these things. the one he has is the redesign they released after they quit making Tundra stuff for awhile because the coils were bowed and running the shock on the first design.
New design same problem.

 

maintenance?

 

Ordered a stage 2 foam cell pro kit and the driver side coil is rubbing the shock body. Seems to be a problem still.

 

did it rub before installed or somehow shifted and only rubs after install?

I have the 3” kit in my garage now (3rd gen) for me to install once I get some time.

 

It rubbed as soon as the weight of the truck compressed the suspension.

 

Dang man!
Keep us posted on what customer service says/does

 

Bubba said he'd send out another one, hopefully this next one works out.
Update: No ETA on when a new batch will be back in stock. Was told it could be tomorrow or it could be a month.
Update
Just received my warranty part and it's still bowed and the coil makes contact with the shock body. Hopefully 3rd time is the charm. So far I can't recommend ironman because this has been going on since October.

 

Just unboxed my Ironman suspension, ordered it on Black Friday and arrived about two months later; ordered black coils but received green, so I’m already a little annoyed.

Upon initial inspection the drivers side coilover with more pre-load is clearly sitting off center. Not as severely bowed as others who have posted here. But one side of the shock body is 1/8” from the coil while the other side is 3/4” from the coil.

Question for those who have dealt with this issue, is this asymmetry in the coilover assembly likely to result in functional problems and contact between the coil and shock body?
What is the remedy?

 

I had to keep sending them back for a replacement until I got one that wasn't bowed and rubbing the shock body. The original and the ones they sent out for a warranty replacement were bowed and touching the shock body. It took 3 times to get it right. It was a headache that took several months to resolve. If I could do it again I'd just return them and use another reputable company. The added preload is for the tundra lean. My drivers side has never given me an issue, the passenger side is the one that kept coming back bowed through warranty replacement. It looks like you have the older model. I may be wrong but my understanding is this is the most recent model that was supposed to get rid of the bowing and rubbing the shock body. That wasn't the case. I also ordered during black Friday.