WhiteLine UCA Failure - Pics

[Draiter]

Finally got the control arm off today and took some pics of it.... Upon first inspection it only looked like it was bent, but upon looking closer the actual problem was far, far scarier....

Even if you have inspected your UCA and it does not appear bent, as these pictures show - TAKE IT OFF AND LOOK AT IT... The defects here shown in the closeups cannot be seen unless you have the arm out of the car....

Pic of BENT bracket... You'll also notice the lack of wear marks on the bracket indicating that it never hit the diff housing, just plain crap design.

In each of these pics you can see that the welds are already pulling away from the bracket.... not cool.

 

[AntiHeightPunk]

have they sent out a recall notice?

 

[Tob]

You've captured the issue well. And yours looked to be rather mild in comparison to the other photos out there. Not so. That design was simply insufficient.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

I am so glad you got up and checked that out that night. That would be NO BUENO!!

For those that don't venture over to the other GT500 thread this has been a HOT TOPIC and Whiteline knows they have an issue and they are redesigning their component.

If you have one on your car it needs to be removed. Not inspected, REMOVE IT.

Van

 

[Draiter]

have they sent out a recall notice?

Not that I'm aware of, then again, I'm a nobody really. LOL

You've captured the issue well. And yours looked to be rather mild in comparison to the other photos out there. Not so. That design was simply insufficient.

Yeah Tob, up close it's quite a different story than the one told by the other pics I've posted. I have done my fair share of welding, and that weld looks like sex with clothes on...... no penetration...

I am so glad you got up and checked that out that night. That would be NO BUENO!!

For those that don't venture over to the other GT500 thread this has been a HOT TOPIC and Whiteline knows they have an issue and they are redesigning their component.

If you have one on your car it needs to be removed. Not inspected, REMOVE IT.

Van

Noooooooo kidding Van... That could have ended very ugly for me...

 

[ford13]

Whoah Drait good thing you caught that before it failed outright bro!

Larry

 

[Myfast70]

I have done my fair share of welding, and that weld looks like sex with clothes on...... No penetration...

That's pretty damn funny! (you're comment, not the issues you're having).

Is it the weld that's pulled away or is it the material breaking around the weld? I thought the pics Van posted showed the metal cracked but I could be wrong.

Time to swap out for BMR products. Their stuff has been proven worthy time and time again!

 

[Tob]

The photos of Draiter's arm exhibit the same failure characteristics in the same locations as the photos Van originally linked.

 

[Draiter]

That's pretty damn funny! (you're comment, not the issues you're having).

Is it the weld that's pulled away or is it the material breaking around the weld? I thought the pics Van posted showed the metal cracked but I could be wrong.

Time to swap out for BMR products. Their stuff has been proven worthy time and time again!

It's tough to capture in the photos, but if you look at it closely in person, the welds are pulling away from the diff bracket, they don't appear to be cracking, but rather actually pulling out of the bracket. All the cracking is on the bracket side, and none is found on the "bar" side..

 

[GOTSVT?]

Wow, just wow

 

[smrtasp]

Whiteline has officially put out a recall. My shop (Hillbank motorsports in Irvine, CA) called today and said they were notified and reaching out to everyone. Whiteline is asking to have them all inspected but Hillbank offered to install my stock one free of charge for now. I am pretty sure I am going to just have the BMR adjustable one swapped in if they are offering to do this.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

Whiteline has officially put out a recall. My shop (Hillbank motorsports in Irvine, CA) called today and said they were notified and reaching out to everyone. Whiteline is asking to have them all inspected but Hillbank offered to install my stock one free of charge for now. I am pretty sure I am going to just have the BMR adjustable one swapped in if they are offering to do this.

I still have my 15% Off Sale going on BMR upper control arm and mount.

BMR Upper Control Arm and Upper Control Arm Mount Package 15% OFF - Revan Racing, Inc.

Good to hear Whiteline is doing the right thing. A National recall is definitely in order.

 

[Stanger00]

That is some serious flexing. The paint is cracked thru...Wonder if there is visible cracking. Doesnt seem to have that great of penetration for the weld to separate like that. I wonder if these things are heat stressed or if the proto types were heat stressed before they finalized production of these things. I would wire wheel off the paint and do a liquid penetrant inspection or a magnetic inspection on it to see how bad the cracks really are.

 

[railroad]

That is some serious flexing. The paint is cracked thru...Wonder if there is visible cracking. Doesnt seem to have that great of penetration for the weld to separate like that. I wonder if these things are heat stressed or if the proto types were heat stressed before they finalized production of these things. I would wire wheel off the paint and do a liquid penetrant inspection or a magnetic inspection on it to see how bad the cracks really are.

Makes no difference the mild steel is bending, changing the pinion angle and a short trip to breakage.

 

[Planeswalker]

That's scary and the first I've heard about it, glad I don't have them.

 

[Draiter]

Just an update...
Given that WhiteLine has no put out a recall here is the end result for me.

Shipped the part back to American Muscle.
Was issued a refund of $269.99 (the price of the UCA)
As a result of WhiteLine's piss poor design and faulty UCA I am still out $62.04 US.
To me, and no I'm not whining, that's $62 out of my pocket due to Whiteline's negligence. This has left a very bad taste in my mouth on Whiteline's part...

 

[StacyStangz]

I spoke with Tom at Whiteline he stated they WILL definitely warranty it...
The end result is they will ensure customer service is the #1 priority that no customer regardless if they want to stick with Whiteline or not is taken care of..
Just to let you know. - S

 

[AntiHeightPunk]

why would you go back to an UCA with that shitty of a design? you couldn't pay me to put one of there parts on my car.

 

[Tob]

To be fair, just about every manufacturer in the S197 aftermarket suspension 'realm' has suffered component failures that prompted a design change. Even Ford.

In this case WL has recognized the problem and is working hard to reach out to those that purchased and installed their UCA. They know they will more than likely lose customers due to the issue. That said, I would withhold judgement on the new arm until it is released.

 

[Draiter]

American Muscle came through and refunded my shipping, duties etc.. I have now been issued a FULL refund. Thanks in whole to American Muscle....