Cognito UCA and Keeping Alignment

dirtfan21 · February 25, 2019

Have any of you guys had trouble keeping an alignment with your Cognito UCA’s? I don’t off-road, haven’t hit any potholes, actually I barely drive the truck. I have a 2.5” RC level and put the arms on when I re-did the whole front end about 1,500 miles ago, new lower bj’s, tie-rods, and Bilsteins set at zero. Had an alignment done at the dealer, not my normal place, but had to get it aligned before we took it on vacation. Noticed on the 750 mile trip it wasn’t driving they way I’d like on the way back. I then took it to the shop where I’ve had them done for years, very trusted alignment shop, he said it was out of spec toe and camber. I chalked it up to the dealer doing a crap job in the first place, I hadn’t hit anything and was on smooth highways. That was back in November, fast forward 300 miles and this weekend I had it out and noticed it was pulling to the right just a hair. Looked at the cam bolts and he chalked them when he aligned it, looks like the passenger side has moved a hair. I’m going to get it back up there for a check, but now I’m worried. Stock cam bolts shot? Torque not correct? It’s the first I’ve heard anyone having issues that isn’t off-roading. You guys have any feedback?

aaronarf · February 25, 2019

10 minutes ago, dirtfan21 said:

Have any of you guys had trouble keeping an alignment with your Cognito UCA’s? I don’t off-road, haven’t hit any potholes, actually I barely drive the truck. I have a 2.5” RC level and put the arms on when I re-did the whole front end about 1,500 miles ago, new lower bj’s, tie-rods, and Bilsteins set at zero. Had an alignment done at the dealer, not my normal place, but had to get it aligned before we took it on vacation. Noticed on the 750 mile trip it wasn’t driving they way I’d like on the way back. I then took it to the shop where I’ve had them done for years, very trusted alignment shop, he said it was out of spec toe and camber. I chalked it up to the dealer doing a crap job in the first place, I hadn’t hit anything and was on smooth highways. That was back in November, fast forward 300 miles and this weekend I had it out and noticed it was pulling to the right just a hair. Looked at the cam bolts and he chalked them when he aligned it, looks like the passenger side has moved a hair. I’m going to get it back up there for a check, but now I’m worried. Stock cam bolts shot? Torque not correct? It’s the first I’ve heard anyone having issues that isn’t off-roading. You guys have any feedback?

I would put a torque wrench on it, my bet is it's not tight enough.

Grumpy Bear · February 25, 2019

Curious. Why the aftermarket UCA. You mentioned your shocks are set at zero, right?

thewhitestallion · February 25, 2019

interested in this topic as I will probably be doing this soon as well. I have 115k on my truck and will replace before parts start failing.

dirtfan21 · February 25, 2019

37 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Curious. Why the aftermarket UCA. You mentioned your shocks are set at zero, right?

Upgraded to Bisteins and set them at zero, but kept the rough country leveling kit in place. Added the uca’s to help correct the upper ball joint angle.

Sierra706 · February 25, 2019

I had that problem on mine. Asked the shop to torque them down tight. Haven’t had a problem since.

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dirtfan21 · February 25, 2019

Got it, thanks. I'll make sure he puts a little extra on the cam bolts tomorrow.

yungcharizard · April 26, 2019

On 2/25/2019 at 4:12 PM, dirtfan21 said:

Got it, thanks. I'll make sure he puts a little extra on the cam bolts tomorrow.

did you end up getting them torqued down? if so, did it help with your alignment?

dirtfan21 · April 27, 2019

9 hours ago, yungcharizard said:

did you end up getting them torqued down? if so, did it help with your alignment?

Ended up it wasn’t out of spec by much at all. Me being an idiot, my normal alignment guy doesn’t chalk the bolts, the dealer did that. He said he tweaked it a little and torqued them down. No issues yet.