To all the people asking if it happens with brand A B or C. It is height dependant, which causes poor ball joint geometry. It has nothing to do with brand or spacer/strut lifts
This isn't entirely correct, sorry, it isn't only height dependent. It's dependent on overextension to the downside, and extension limit is controlled by the shock on the Ram IFS (as opposed to a bump stop on other designs). A simple strut spacer will move the entire spring and shock assembly down. If you've moved the shock down, you've also moved the suspension's limiting factor down, and that will stress the ball joints on hard bumps that fully extend the suspension. Bilsteins, Rancho quick lift, etc., move the bottom of the spring up instead, and get lift by increasing spring rate and/or preload, so they don't allow for the overextension that the spacer creates.
Basically, any mod that allows for more travel than stock to the downside is going to be a problem with these control arms and ball joints.
The thing that worries me about the Bilsteins is that they say that in addition to increasing spring preload to raise the truck, they also allow for 'some' additional travel at the shock. They don't say how much though. That extra travel could be an issue.
In any case, the leveling shocks are clearly a better option given the issues outlined above. No way would I put spacers on my truck, and Ram obviously agrees.
Great thread, though, guys. I'm ordering a 2014 that I'm leveling and this is very helpful information.
I'd still like to know if anyone with stock suspension other than Bilstein's at 2.1 has had a problem. I've only seen one person mention a problem, but they have other suspension lift parts in place, so it's not apples-to-apples.
