Upgrading Suspension Stage 1 - King’s

ram1500rsm · Feb 1, 2019

King give you bolts to hold the coilovers to the strut tower so no nuts, but i think you torque them down to 40 if i remember corectly, i'll have to look at the install instructions.
Icon should also list specs for their UCA, Zone uses 55ft/lbs
Everyting else looks good, i don't use torque wrench with the sway bar or sway bar links so i've never paid too much attention to those specs.

ram1500rsm · Feb 1, 2019

I checked the King instructions and there is no specs for the bolts that attach the Coilover mounting plates and i remember the mounting plate is aluminum so snug + tad more, Don't overtorque those bolts, same with the pinch bolt, loosen one full turn, adjust height, then back that one full turn, easy peasy.

wisey113 · Feb 2, 2019

Ok a lot to unpack here. Got the passenger front side installed today and ran into a few unexpected problems, most due to the aftermarket lift kit.

Here’s the before:

The stock UCA was a nightmare to get off. I saturated it with liquids wrench over the 2 days leading up to the install and still nothing. Dont bother with a ball joint removal tool because ours arms are too big for them. I ended up using a pickle fork and that finally did the trick. Just make sure you have one that’s thick enough. UCA comparison below:

I had the same issue with the tie rod. Again, pickle fork and some force got it done.

Tip #2: have a buddy or spring compressor and pry bar handy. I don’t know if this was because of my spacer but getting the strut over the lower control arm was a royal PITA. I had a buddy shove down on the lower control arm to get it free.

After everything was out I got the new strut in:

Comparison below:

And here’s where it got tricky. When I put the new UCA in and jacked everything up to “road height” the control arm jammed into the reservoir. Due to the angle the UCA sits because of the lift, there isn’t enough clearance. I had no way to frame mount the reservoir, so what I ended up doing was flipping the reservoir mount upside down, cutting away some of the fender and mounting it to the upside down mount for more clearance. See below:

Got everything tightened up and here I found my biggest concern.

Unlike the stock UCA, the ICON is not threaded all the way up to the top. When I tightened the ball joint down, I reached the end of the threads, and if I pushed the UCA down, it would leave a small gap between the nut and underside of the knuckle. I don’t know if this is part of the UCA design, or because it’s an aftermarket knuckle and it’s not OEM thickness at the top of the knuckle. I will try and get a picture when it’s light. So that was my one big area of concern.

I’m going to try and get the other side done tomorrow and will let you know if there was a difference in lift height

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

2010 Infantry Vet · Feb 2, 2019

wisey113 said:
Ok a lot to unpack here. Got the passenger front side installed today and ran into a few unexpected problems, most due to the aftermarket lift kit.

Here’s the before:

The stock UCA was a nightmare to get off. I saturated it with liquids wrench over the 2 days leading up to the install and still nothing. Dont bother with a ball joint removal tool because ours arms are too big for them. I ended up using a pickle fork and that finally did the trick. Just make sure you have one that’s thick enough. UCA comparison below:

I had the same issue with the tie rod. Again, pickle fork and some force got it done.

Tip #2: have a buddy or spring compressor and pry bar handy. I don’t know if this was because of my spacer but getting the strut over the lower control arm was a royal PITA. I had a buddy shove down on the lower control arm to get it free.

After everything was out I got the new strut in:

Comparison below:

And here’s where it got tricky. When I put the new UCA in and jacked everything up to “road height” the control arm jammed into the reservoir. Due to the angle the UCA sits because of the lift, there isn’t enough clearance. I had no way to frame mount the reservoir, so what I ended up doing was flipping the reservoir mount upside down, cutting away some of the fender and mounting it to the upside down mount for more clearance. See below:

Got everything tightened up and here I found my biggest concern.

Unlike the stock UCA, the ICON is not threaded all the way up to the top. When I tightened the ball joint down, I reached the end of the threads, and if I pushed the UCA down, it would leave a small gap between the nut and underside of the knuckle. I don’t know if this is part of the UCA design, or because it’s an aftermarket knuckle and it’s not OEM thickness at the top of the knuckle. I will try and get a picture when it’s light. So that was my one big area of concern.

I’m going to try and get the other side done tomorrow and will let you know if there was a difference in lift height

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I called Icon, and asked why they don't include resevoirs with the ram kit. He said because there is no where to mount the reservoir.
Looks like they were right.

JB1 · Feb 2, 2019

wisey113 said:
Unlike the stock UCA, the ICON is not threaded all the way up to the top. When I tightened the ball joint down, I reached the end of the threads, and if I pushed the UCA down, it would leave a small gap between the nut and underside of the knuckle. I don’t know if this is part of the UCA design, or because it’s an aftermarket knuckle and it’s not OEM thickness at the top of the knuckle. I will try and get a picture when it’s light. So that was my one big area of concern.

You might have to go back with the stock arms

2010 Infantry Vet · Feb 2, 2019

So mounting the reservoir up higher solved the problem, correct?

wisey113 · Feb 2, 2019

2010 Infantry Vet said:
So mounting the reservoir up higher solved the problem, correct?

Yep. No clearance issues now

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2010 Infantry Vet · Feb 2, 2019

wisey113 said:
Yep. No clearance issues now

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Control arm doesnt rub on the reservoir line? I would be calling icon about the ball joint being too long. That's unacceptable. I'm sure they will remedy it.

wisey113 · Feb 2, 2019

2010 Infantry Vet said:
Control arm doesnt rub on the reservoir line? I would be calling icon about the ball joint being too long. That's unacceptable. I'm sure they will remedy it.

Nope. I cycled the suspension and didn’t see any rubbing.

I’m not sure it’s on ICON. It may well be that the Pro Comp Knuckle is a different Spec from OEM. It’s a very very small gap. When I go to put the other on tomorrow I may put a washer in there and see if that remedies the issue.

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ram1500rsm · Feb 2, 2019

wisey113 said:
Ok a lot to unpack here. Got the passenger front side installed today and ran into a few unexpected problems, most due to the aftermarket lift kit.

Here’s the before:

The stock UCA was a nightmare to get off. I saturated it with liquids wrench over the 2 days leading up to the install and still nothing. Dont bother with a ball joint removal tool because ours arms are too big for them. I ended up using a pickle fork and that finally did the trick. Just make sure you have one that’s thick enough. UCA comparison below:

I had the same issue with the tie rod. Again, pickle fork and some force got it done.

Tip #2: have a buddy or spring compressor and pry bar handy. I don’t know if this was because of my spacer but getting the strut over the lower control arm was a royal PITA. I had a buddy shove down on the lower control arm to get it free.

After everything was out I got the new strut in:

Comparison below:

And here’s where it got tricky. When I put the new UCA in and jacked everything up to “road height” the control arm jammed into the reservoir. Due to the angle the UCA sits because of the lift, there isn’t enough clearance. I had no way to frame mount the reservoir, so what I ended up doing was flipping the reservoir mount upside down, cutting away some of the fender and mounting it to the upside down mount for more clearance. See below:

Got everything tightened up and here I found my biggest concern.

Unlike the stock UCA, the ICON is not threaded all the way up to the top. When I tightened the ball joint down, I reached the end of the threads, and if I pushed the UCA down, it would leave a small gap between the nut and underside of the knuckle. I don’t know if this is part of the UCA design, or because it’s an aftermarket knuckle and it’s not OEM thickness at the top of the knuckle. I will try and get a picture when it’s light. So that was my one big area of concern.

I’m going to try and get the other side done tomorrow and will let you know if there was a difference in lift height

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's is actually how the reservoir is suposed to be mounted, it was backwards in the 1st picture, i was thinking to myself, the moment he tries to install the UCA he'll realize the res bracket is backwards

I did cut the same piece in my plastic fenderwells because otherwise the res woudn't fit wihout pushing on that plastic crap up.

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Do you have a picture with what you're talking about with the UCA nut ?

2010 Infantry Vet · Feb 2, 2019

ram1500rsm said:
That's is actually how the reservoir is suposed to be mounted, it was backwards in the 1st picture, i was thinking to myself, the moment he tries to install the UCA he'll realize the res bracket is backwards

I did cut the same piece in my plastic fenderwells because otherwise the res woudn't fit wihout pushing on that plastic crap up.
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Do you have a picture with what you're talking about with the UCA nut ?

Looks like some serious rubbing of the control arm on the reservoir hose. Is the reservoir hose wearing at all from rubbing?

ram1500rsm · Feb 2, 2019

2010 Infantry Vet said:
Looks like some serious rubbing of the control arm on the reservoir hose. Is the reservoir hose wearing at all from rubbing?

Not one single bit, the black piece of fuel hose you see around it was more of a test for my own piece of mind, the res hose is a high pressure rubber and can wishtand lots of abuse, even your tires rubbing on it for a big big while. The edges on the UCA are rounded anyways, and the fuel hose doesn't even have wear down marks from all the hell i've put those coilovers through already.

2010 Infantry Vet · Feb 3, 2019

ram1500rsm said:
Not one single bit, the black piece of fuel hose you see around it was more of a test for my own piece of mind, the res hose is a high pressure rubber and can wishtand lots of abuse, even your tires rubbing on it for a big big while. The edges on the UCA are rounded anyways, and the fuel hose doesn't even have wear down marks from all the hell i've put those coilovers through already.

Good thinking with the fuel hose as a precaution and test piece.

2010 Infantry Vet · Feb 3, 2019

wisey113 said:
So would I be ok using the shorter end links or does it make more sense to send them back and get the 17” ones?

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It all depends on the position of your sway bar. You want your sway bar flat...not down, not up, flat.
So are you trying to achieve more than a 6" lift with what length coil overs did you order?
Icon told me to measure fully collapsed and extended.
By the way I'm liking your build so far. I will be using Custom length Icon coil overs to achieve 12" of lift with correct drop brackets.

wisey113 · Feb 3, 2019

So here is what’s happening with my ICON UCA and pro comp knuckle. There is a clear gap between the nut and knuckle and there are no more threads to use. Once it stops raining I’m going to undo it and put a washer on to close the the gap and hopefully get it to torque down.

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ram1500rsm · Feb 3, 2019

wisey113 said:
So here is what’s happening with my ICON UCA and pro comp knuckle. There is a clear gap between the nut and knuckle and there are no more threads to use. Once it stops raining I’m going to undo it and put a washer on to close the the gap and hopefully get it to torque down.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think I remember seeing the same issue with aftermarket knuckles and Zone ucas around here. A thick flat washer should fix it.

2010 Infantry Vet · Feb 3, 2019

Make sure the washer is grade 8. Ball joints take a lot of abuse.

JB1 · Feb 3, 2019

ram1500rsm said:
I think I remember seeing the same issue with aftermarket knuckles and Zone ucas around here. A thick flat washer should fix it.

Nope that was a cotterpin issue remember?

wisey113 · Feb 3, 2019

Today’s update:

Fixed the space issue on the UCA. Used grade 8 washers to fill the space so all good there.

Got both the rears in too. They were a breeze compared to the front. Used a ratchet strap to compress the shock, and had no issues getting them on.

Side by side comparison:

On the truck:

Weather hasn’t been cooperative today so will either be Wednesday or next weekend before I do the front drivers side and get an alignment.

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ram1500rsm · Feb 3, 2019

JB1 said:
Nope that was a cotterpin issue remember?

Ah yes i looked it up.

Upgrading Suspension Stage 1 - King’s

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