Maxtrac 7" lift. Replace UCA's or not?

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Jkasten619

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2014 Ram Black Express CC 2wd. I have everything, lift, rims and tires. But I ordered mevotech UCA's back in September and was told they're on back order till October 30. Now yesterday got another email saying back order till Dec 4th. Do I need to replace the UCA's? I'm now confused as I've seen only people with level kits are having ball joint issues. Or is it that once you start playing with the suspension that the ball joint issues arise? I'm getting really impatient with all the stuff for my lift just sitting in the garage.... Also I realize there's a ton of threads on this issue and I've read through a lot of them but I think now I'm just getting more confused.... Do I really need them?
 
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Jkasten619

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Replace UCA's or not? Will the maxtrac 7" lift change the geometry of the stock uca? Should I just wait and say Fck it and replace them anyway as they are "beefier"
 

chipmaker

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I thought the BJ issue was with 4wds only? No?
 
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Jkasten619

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Honestly I have no idea anymore read through so many forums and threads on this issue. Just the whole death wobble thing kinda freaks me out. This is my first truck and first lift. I've always played with fast cars. Just trying to see if I should wait and replace them or go ahead and throw on the lift. Just smarter to do it all at once then the labor is practically free for the UCA's since they have everything off anyway
 

DTECH

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ball joint issues normally arise from 3in spacers and extended shocks on trucks that are ran hard off road and the upper control arm continues to smack the spring bucket on the downward travel. Depending on how you drive I would think your ok. I have the Maxtrac spindles on my 06 and I run the hell out of my truck and with 120k I've just changed my lower ball joints when I did the spindles as they where shot..the uppers where fine.
 
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Jkasten619

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Hmmmm. I may just go for it and hope everything is ok. The maxtrac lift is 4.5" spindles and 2.5" coils up front and 3" coils rear with new bilstein shocks all the way around
 

Silver Bullet

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Check out michigan metal works uca


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I messaged maxtrac the same question not too long ago. Said it was the 4wds and haven't heard of it happening to the 2wds. Wouldn't hurt but doesn't seem necessary
 

firemedic10584

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Well, as I don't think it is necessary, I think the 2.5" spacer is what POSSIBLY could cause the issue(s). I know first hand the 4.5" spindles and rear cause zero issues...but the spacer is actually what changes the angle of the balljoints and may cause the UCA to hit the shock bucket. Worst case, put the kit on and if anything is out of place, get the different UCAs.
 

13hemi2dr

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Well, as I don't think it is necessary, I think the 2.5" spacer is what POSSIBLY could cause the issue(s). I know first hand the 4.5" spindles and rear cause zero issues...but the spacer is actually what changes the angle of the balljoints and may cause the UCA to hit the shock bucket. Worst case, put the kit on and if anything is out of place, get the different UCAs.

don't believe a spacer is used in this kit. think its a bigger spring up front
 

012RAMbo

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That is correct, their kit utilizes a lift coil replacement instead of a spacer. But it still nets the same outcome, increased angles on ball joints. You should be fine with 2wd though
 

Maxtrac Suspension

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Hey thanks to all of you guys for pitching in with the info sorry I didn't see this thread sooner. You guys are correct the upper ball joint issue seems to have only affected the 2013-2014 Ram 1500 4WD trucks. We think Dodge may have changed ball joint manufacturers and that is why the ball joints are failing or popping out of place on those models (when installing leveling kits) but we are not certain. As far as the 2wd trucks go, no ball joint issues that I have ever heard of all the way from 2002 to 2014 models. Our kit comes with a front lift coil not a coil spacer (just to clarify) BUT you definitely CAN order our kit with a 2" spacer instead of the lift coils. We typically do that for the guys that have single cabs as they weigh much less and the springs will peg the suspension out to where the arms are resting on the coil buckets at ride height. Not good!! Also, Someone had mentioned death wobble... I have never heard of IFS trucks getting death wobble, only solid axle vehicles. I know that the 2003-2007 Ram 2500/3500 4WD trucks were very very sensitive to death wobble. I mean so sensitive that even a sidewall flex or low tire pressure would cause them to go into the death wobble when lifted. Dodge corrected that in 2008 (or at least attempted to) by changing the steering and trac bar setup on those trucks. I don't think it's actually possible to get it with an IFS suspension. You can get serious bump steer with IFS suspension though if your geometry and/or caster are thrown way off, but that's all I have ever experienced. So to sum things up: 1) the kit comes with front lift coils, 2) death wobble is something that is experienced on solid axle vehicles such as Ram 2500 4wd or Ford F250 4wd & 3) the upper ball joint issue that has spread like wildfire is on the Ram 1500 FOUR Wheel Drive models. I hope this clarifies things better for everyone and would also like to say thank you to everyone that chimed in and helped out you guys are awesome. Also thank you to everyone that is running our products or kits. We truly appreciate the support we have received on this forum and will definitely strive to keep making quality products that are affordable while giving the best customer service possible. Oh one last thing and I have to say this as a disclaimer... Please remember, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Meaning that there are exceptions to everything and even though we know that 95% of the time things will go smooth and as planned there is a very small margin of trucks with issues or situations that can arise. As we all know the only certainty in this life are death and taxes! haha. Thanks again everyone and have a Happy Halloween!! -- Sean, Maxtrac Suspension :killer:
 
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Jkasten619

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Maxtrac 7" suspension lift. Red Dirt Road 04 20x9 rims. Nitto Terra Grappler G2's 35x12.5x20. Dirty truck right after I picked her up
 

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johnsavas88

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Im about to do the same lift to my 2012. Does anyone know if there is a difference between the cst spindles vs the max trac spindles in terms of how far they cause the tires to stick out.

Also if anyone can help with HID conversion thatd be great.
 

Maxtrac Suspension

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Im about to do the same lift to my 2012. Does anyone know if there is a difference between the cst spindles vs the max trac spindles in terms of how far they cause the tires to stick out.

Also if anyone can help with HID conversion thatd be great.

I know ours (Maxtrac) widen track width 1" per side but we designed the spindle to allow for a 17" wheel or larger with up to a 5 3/4" backspacing. Even your stock wheels will work with our kit if you wanted to. I have seen quite a few guys running our spindles or our 7" kit with their factory wheels on either 35-12.50 or 37-12.50 and said they did not have any rubbing or need wheel spacers/adapters. Hope this info helps! -- Sean
 

johnsavas88

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Thanks sean! i actually already have my wheels. they are fuel hostages 20x10 with a -12 offset, really hoping the -12 is going to cause them to stick out too much. buying the lift this week!
 
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