6" lift, tie rod vs control arm angles?

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muddy12

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I have started getting some wear on my front tires, and I think I know what is causing it.
In order to confirm though, I'd like to see pictures of the tie rods and control arms from others with a 6" lift.

Here's my situation/what I think is going on:
I have a 6" RCX lift, and everything was fine until I decided to put a winch behind the front bumper.
After the winch install, I began to notice the tire wear. I checked the ball joints and wheel bearings, and they all appear to be fine. I also did a rough check of the alignment, and discovered that the tires were toed out by 1/2". I also noticed that my tie rods and lower control arms are NOT parallel.

Here's what I think has happened:
I think because the tie rods were at a steeper angle than the control arms, when the front sagged(from the weight of the winch), it caused the toe angle to change.

so, in an effort to determine if I have something strange going on with my truck, I'd like to compare my tie rod and control arm angles with others that are running the same/similar lifts.

thanks,
Keith
 
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muddy12

muddy12

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Nobody has a pic of their front end (that shows control arms and tie rods) with a 6” lift installed?


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MarshRam

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Not sure if the pictures help, but mine look parallel to me with the naked eye.


IMG_20180208_174017.jpg IMG_20180208_174010.jpg
IMG_20180208_173743.jpg
 
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muddy12

muddy12

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Thanks for the pics, very helpful.


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muddy12

muddy12

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We’re those pics taken with weight on the suspension, or do you have adjustable struts? Your angles look a little steeper than mine.


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JB1

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Nobody has a pic of their front end (that shows control arms and tie rods) with a 6” lift installed?

Here's my BDS at 8" lift, they are parallel

24694-1508117974-2b4ed6c977d3a2eabbeaca8af9f827c1.jpg
 

MarshRam

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We’re those pics taken with weight on the suspension, or do you have adjustable struts? Your angles look a little steeper than mine.


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Yes, struts are adjustable. You can flip the collar and it adjusts 2 inches.
 

blackbeautyhemi

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In that pic, the Tie rod doesn’t look parallel to the LCA

Appears to have about the same angle as yours in your pic. The rubber boot where it bolts to the knuckle has even spacing all around it so it appears to be at the proper angle.


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JB1

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He was asking if it was parallel to the LCA, not if the angle looks bad or good. Yours do not look parallel to the LCA. Mine look parallel to me. What all this has to do with alignment I dunno.
 
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muddy12

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. ...........What all this has to do with alignment I dunno.

On solid axle rigs, like the 2500 4x4 rams, when the track bar and drag link are not parallel, they have bump steer.

it's the same thing with the 1500's, but on a smaller scale.
On the 2500's, if the drag link and track bar are not parallel, both tires will steer left or right as the axle moves up and down.
On a 1500, if the tie rod is steeper than the control arms, as the suspension drops, the tires will toe in. When the suspension compresses, the tires will toe out.


Anyway, got the truck back on Friday, and all seems well. the alignment is back in spec (although, I'm still going to keep a really close eye on the tire wear), and they said that the ball joints and bushings all checked out great.

After getting it back though, the tie rod angles seem to be much more parallel to the control arms than I remember. I took some pictures last night, I'll post them in just a bit.

However, after seeing all of your pictures, I'm beginning to wander if I have a 4" or a 6" lift?
 
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muddy12

muddy12

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Here are the pics of my angles.
0184d3b2ef0583a72769b6aa523c773a.jpg
7f8bc7146b3b8bdf4847fcb029cb1a81.jpg
c38fa814319eb73fc0994361eb7a1c28.jpg

And here’s an overall for an idea of height. Tires are 35’s, think it’s a 4” or 6” lift??
e9e37d09379f7c16cbffee5ab46a7740.jpg


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MarshRam

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I cant tell from the underside, but looks to be a 6" lift from the last two pics. My cv shaft angles have me worried. It is extreme in comparison to everyone else.
 

blackbeautyhemi

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He was asking if it was parallel to the LCA, not if the angle looks bad or good. Yours do not look parallel to the LCA. Mine look parallel to me. What all this has to do with alignment I dunno.
Sorry for using the wrong terminology but they’re pretty dang close to parallel. Tie rod might have a very slight more of a angle, hard to tell crouching under the bumper trying to take a pic and not sitting perfectly level in the driveway, but nothing bad by any means. Again look at the boot on the spindle, not smashed and pretty even spacing all the way around.
CD20E73D-9BE1-4392-AB58-E44A5F9225BE.png
 

JB1

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I see nothing to be concerned about, looks fine to me.
Here are the pics of my angles.

And here’s an overall for an idea of height. Tires are 35’s, think it’s a 4” or 6” lift??

Yours might be a 4" kit, look at the negative angle on your UCA versus blackbeauty's UCA angle of his 6". Your CV's are also at a negative angle versus his almost flat.

DDBDD4EF-7346-41F7-9A93-58E2F07AFD8C.jpeg

otheruca.jpg
 
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muddy12

muddy12

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I bought it used with the lift already on it, that’s why I’m not sure if it’s 4” or 6”.

Here’s what I do know though:
1: It “appears” to have non-factory upper control arms on the rear axle. From what I’ve been able to find, only the 6” comes with new arms. Although it is possible that the arms were swapped out separately.
1a: it does not have the stainless extended brake lines that now come with the 6” kits. Instead, it uses drop brackets for the factory lines.

2: the drop brackets for the lower control arms lowered the arm mounting points by right at 4”.

3: the strut spacers are 5.25” tall.

4: the front has sagged a little bit sense the installation of the 12K winch.

5: before the winch, the fender heights were approximately 42” all around. (I’ll measure it later today and report back)


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muddy12

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Just ran out and checked fender height.
Rear is still at 42”
Front is 41”


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JB1

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I bought it used with the lift already on it, that’s why I’m not sure if it’s 4” or 6”.

Here’s what I do know though:
1: It “appears” to have non-factory upper control arms on the rear axle. From what I’ve been able to find, only the 6” comes with new arms. Although it is possible that the arms were swapped out separately.
1a: it does not have the stainless extended brake lines that now come with the 6” kits. Instead, it uses drop brackets for the factory lines.

2: the drop brackets for the lower control arms lowered the arm mounting points by right at 4”.

3: the strut spacers are 5.25” tall.

4: the front has sagged a little bit sense the installation of the 12K winch.

5: before the winch, the fender heights were approximately 42” all around. (I’ll measure it later today and report back)


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1. your correct must be a 6"

1a: Looking online at "what's in the box" and "installation instructions", Rough country does not include stainless brake lines in the 4 or 6" kit, where did you get that info?

http://www.roughcountry.com/dodge-suspension-lift-kit-324c.html
https://s3.amazonaws.com/roughcountry/install/92132400B.pdf

3. If the spacer is 5.25", and the preload is approx. 1" according to blackbeauty so that’s right at 6” lift
 
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muddy12

muddy12

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I could have been mistaken about the brake lines. Thought I remembered reading somewhere, that they were now included, but can’t seem to find it now.


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