You're generalizing to make your argument - you posted in that thread as well (His forum name is DJeazie). How do to KNOW that it isn't the same problem? We don't - you think you do but you don't; you're correct it could be installation error or he could've just had a really weak set of factory UCA's, or a bunch of other variables.
The point here is that there have been a number reports of Bilsteins popping upper ball joints on this forum and others. I don't think that they're all completing installation wrong. Zone's engineer whom I spoke with told me any lift (without drop - such as a level) in excess of 1" will eventually cause failure in the ball joint. Did you do the extensive testing that they did and not tell anyone? Numbers don't lie. As I said earlier, I suspect there will be several people that have argued over this on the forum asking about UCA's or quietly purchasing them down the road. I have no dog in this fight, I install all of my own stuff and have my Bilstein's set to 0.7" atop 4" of suspension lift (which drops components 6") - this issue doesn't even affect me. I am just annoyed at people jeopardizing the safety of others on the road because they apparently can afford a $30-$50k truck but whine about $420.
With the Bilsteins you are eliminating excessive down travel which certainly can damage the upper ball joint. But you are still lifting the front of the truck, even if it is in a more effective way; thus resulting in the upper control arm moving lower than it's original position and the ball joint shank moving to an extreme angle. Most guys were popping ball joints driving on normal roads, what do you think is going to happen when you head off-road and your suspension bottoms out on down travel? Yes a better scenario than with spacer blocks, I'm not arguing that - but you're probably going to make contact between the ball joint shank and housing, thus popping the ball joint.
Lastly, in regards to jacking the strut into place with the ball joint attached. I agree that it could cause damage but the ball joint shank would be pushed toward the center of the truck rather than toward the outside, which would cause the back side to pop - not the same thing. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or not understanding your statement properly.
You've made some fair points, but some of it doesn't jive with what I've measured in person. I certainly want everyone to be safe, and at least for me it's not about 400 bucks either. It's about understanding the problem and finding the correct solution, even if that goes against the herd. Any average person in the US with motivation can afford a Ram and parts for it - they're pretty cheap overall.
You mentioned a number of failures reported, and that's exactly what I'm looking for. So far, every time I ask for details, they don't surface. In fact, I still can't find one confirmed report of it happening with an otherwise stock truck and correct installation. But I'm still looking.... and if it does start happening I'll drink the Cool-aid.
You are right that one report of this problem occurring is confirmed to have happened during installation, not on the road because of overextension. So we don't know for sure what happened with that one truck, the owner didn't respond to the question, but it does seem likely...
Lastly, in regard to Zone's statement - Raising the truck just means it's resting at a different spot within the suspension's travel - as long as you don't exceed top and/or bottom limits at any time, there's no issue with the ball joints. Any method that moves the upper or lower limits is a potential problem. But I can see why Zone would say something like that - they just care that the 'average' lift out there is going to cause the issue without getting into specifics about one brand vs another. Such a discussion requires lots of detail - shock installed length, top extension, bottom extension, spring preload, etc. If you don't address each point it's not a very thorough examination. Kinda like the doctor saying your healthy before he checks your blood pressure or takes your temperature.
