*new* 4.5" 2wd lift spindles

[sausec17]

aftermarket if you continue to be rough with it, which I think you will be
haha

 

[yodge]

Ugh. There goes my tax return haha.
What brand do you think. Doing a quick search all I found was icon and ready lift. I haven't heard anything good about ready lift. But I have heard good things regarding icon


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[sausec17]

I've never had to replace UCAs so I'm not the man on that subject. But obviously from those 2 names, I would pick Icon.

 

[yodge]

Alright thank you guys


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[Maxtrac Suspension]

Hey guys I want to know if I should be concerned about this. I just noticed it today. My left (driver) side spindle the rubber grommet I'm not sure what to call it, is torn to pieces. I'll attach pictures. I want to call maxtrac but have to wait til Monday View attachment 21574 driver side
View attachment 21575 here's the passenger side for comparison


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That's definitely a ripped ball joint boot. Those are sealed ball joints from the factory (non greaseable, no zerk fitting) that are pressed into the factory arm so once that grease comes out of the boot, the ball joint will go bad. Has anybody done an inspection on your upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends and your hubs recently? Those are your factory wear and tear components that tend to need replacing from time to time. It doesn't look like your arms are at a steep angle at all by looking at those pics. It could have been as simple as something ripped the boot, it could be a bad ball joint or could have happened during installation. Either way once that boot rips, ball joint needs to be replaced which means upper arm needs replacing. ICON makes some really nice Uniball upper control arms. I run them on my F-150 and they work great. They even offer a dust cap for them which is really cool. Keeps the dirt out of the greasy uniball. Or you can buy a factory Dodge arm or you can buy a factory knock off like something from Moog or Mcuay Norris. Either way, You should definitely have your ball joints, tie rods, hubs, steering rack and any other "wear and tear" parts inspected, replace anything that has play, and have the vehicle aligned. If you already did all that then disregard my rant lol. Truck look sweet by the way!

 

[yodge]

That's definitely a ripped ball joint boot. Those are sealed ball joints from the factory (non greaseable, no zerk fitting) that are pressed into the factory arm so once that grease comes out of the boot, the ball joint will go bad. Has anybody done an inspection on your upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends and your hubs recently? Those are your factory wear and tear components that tend to need replacing from time to time. It doesn't look like your arms are at a steep angle at all by looking at those pics. It could have been as simple as something ripped the boot, it could be a bad ball joint or could have happened during installation. Either way once that boot rips, ball joint needs to be replaced which means upper arm needs replacing. ICON makes some really nice Uniball upper control arms. I run them on my F-150 and they work great. They even offer a dust cap for them which is really cool. Keeps the dirt out of the greasy uniball. Or you can buy a factory Dodge arm or you can buy a factory knock off like something from Moog or Mcuay Norris. Either way, You should definitely have your ball joints, tie rods, hubs, steering rack and any other "wear and tear" parts inspected, replace anything that has play, and have the vehicle aligned. If you already did all that then disregard my rant lol. Truck look sweet by the way!

I just ordered my icon upper arms from outlaw today. They are on back order so it'll take 2 weeks for me to get them . I'm so scared to drive my truck in that time. I'm driving slow and cautious everywhere. No one has done a real inspection but I am actually interning at outlaw so I have applied some things I've learned there and it's not hard to see I need new upper arms just from the crack alone. But the boot being ripped was the first give away. I don't want to replace it with a factory arm because the factory arms have contact with the thing that holds my coil spring in place. You can see wear on the metal in that spot. I am also sure that's the reason for some rough rides while offroading. I'm hoping these icon arms give me a little more travel. Definitely did not plan to spend my tax return on this repair but oh well. Could have been worse ! Thank you very much ! I take a lot
Of pride in my truck.


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[BULLRAM]

(because the factory arms have contact with the thing that holds my coil spring in place. You can see wear on the metal in that spot. I am also sure that's the reason for some rough rides while offroading. I'm hoping these icon arms give me a little more travel.)

The.LONGER shocks did that !, ......I have seen it many times when I have to help a friend out that put longer shocks on the stock control arms and just a spacer, it yanks the control arm end almost off...have not tried different UCA's but for stock , stay with stock length...get aftermarket if you want to just stay stock length...

 

[yodge]

(because the factory arms have contact with the thing that holds my coil spring in place. You can see wear on the metal in that spot. I am also sure that's the reason for some rough rides while offroading. I'm hoping these icon arms give me a little more travel.)



The.LONGER shocks did that !, ......I have seen it many times when I have to help a friend out that put longer shocks on the stock control arms and just a spacer, it yanks the control arm end almost off...have not tried different UCA's but for stock , stay with stock length...get aftermarket if you want to just stay stock length...

Really? So stock shock length will stop that problem?
Guess who told me I NEEDED longer shocks... 4 wheel
Before I drove with the longer shocks however it was rough and felt like the a arm was still having contact.


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[sausec17]

Hmmm, Bullram is right. In theory you are restricting your shock travel with a spacer, so in order to re-gain that travel you need extended shocks. YET, RAM designed the front shocks as a LIMIT to the front suspension travel.

I ran extended shocks with my 3.5" spacers for 6 months no problem, BUT i never off roaded because I knew the limits. I had my UCA bang the shock bucket all the time with speed bumps and high speed pot holes, etc.

As I conclude it seems that 2.5" spacer is the LIMIT, and not to run extended shocks if you plan to offroad. If you run a 2.5"+ spacer and use extended shocks, you must be careful. They will give you a much better ride, until they travel upward....

Thanks Bullram.

 

[yodge]

Hmmm, Bullram is right. In theory you are restricting your shock travel with a spacer, so in order to re-gain that travel you need extended shocks. YET, RAM designed the front shocks as a LIMIT to the front suspension travel.



I ran extended shocks with my 3.5" spacers for 6 months no problem, BUT i never off roaded because I knew the limits. I had my UCA bang the shock bucket all the time with speed bumps and high speed pot holes, etc.



As I conclude it seems that 2.5" spacer is the LIMIT, and not to run extended shocks if you plan to offroad. If you run a 2.5"+ spacer and use extended shocks, you must be careful. They will give you a much better ride, until they travel upward....



Thanks Bullram.

So conclude everything here I should remove my longer after market shock and return to stock stock length to prevent the contact with shock bucket (didn't know what to call it). Or is this unavoidable with the spacer kit ?
I offroad frequently and rather not deal with this problem.


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[sausec17]

If you're offroading then yes. It wont be as good of a ride, but for offraod reasons you will appreciate it when it prevents damage like you encountered.

 

[bill3616]

I have a 2 1/2 inch level on my truck with the longer bilstiens, I decided after reading this thread to go check out my control arm. And sure enough the boot is beginning to rip. Does this mean they are ruined?

 

[Maxtrac Suspension]

I have a 2 1/2 inch level on my truck with the longer bilstiens, I decided after reading this thread to go check out my control arm. And sure enough the boot is beginning to rip. Does this mean they are ruined?

It may not be bad yet but if the boot is ripped, that means that the grease is coming out or has come out of it, and will cause it to wear out fast. you need to check the ball joint(s) (upper and lower, both sides) for play. As well as your inner and outer tie rod ends and your hubs. These components are typical wear and tear parts and usually need replacing every so often, especially with oversized tires. The 99-06 GM trucks were the worst when it came to that. My Silverado needed tie rods and ball joints almost every time i went for a tire rotation. It got to be ridiculous. They stepped it up when they revamped the trucks in 2007 though. Dodge and Toyota seem to have the strongest parts when it comes to wear and tear moving parts from what I have seen. Anyways, How many miles are on your truck? Which shocks are you running up front? Do you have a part number? or the extended and collapsed lengths?

 

[bill3616]

I have about 10k on the truck, maybe 2k with the spacer. Im running bilstien shocks up front, im not sure the part number, they are for the ram 2500. Im actually going to be ordering your 7 inch lift this Friday. I looked again and it seem the boot is just stretched, kind of peeling but not ripped. Im hoping I can just take it easy until the new lift gets here. And just to be clear the boot in question are on the bottom.

 

[BULLRAM]

DING DING DING DING......2500 shocks are a little longer, I see this all the time that they do exactly what yours did (Bill), If the upper control arm is not limited on its (drop) it will contact the coil bucket .......you can buy aftermarket shocks that are performance type just stay with stock length

 

[Maxtrac Suspension]

Bill3616 that's awesome that your ball joint is still in tact. That's a plus for sure! Make sure that before you do the install of our 7" kit you check all your components first. It's less labor to replace parts while you are already in there with the suspension apart. Plus if you do have worn parts, you won't be able to hold an alignment after installing the lift kit. Don't wanna ruin expensive tires and of course safety is the biggest concern. If you get a chance, could you take some before and after pics? Only if its not too much of a hassle. Thanks and let me know if you need help with anything!

BULLRAM you hit it right on the money! I just recently heard about people using the 2500 2wd stock shocks up front on the 1500 2wd's but I have personally never seen that nor do I know the extended and collapsed lengths. I would think that the valving would be much stiffer for the 3/4 ton trucks. Like everyone has said, your front shock acts like your limiting strap on these trucks so it is crucial that it's not too long. If it's too long it will allow the suspension to cycle way too much and cause damage.

 

[bill3616]

I will definitely shoot some pics. Just to be sure, the spindle will cause the front wheels to stick out a bit correct? So I was going to get some 1 1/2 spacers for the rears. Please let me know if Im doing this correctly. I also wanted some thoughts on tire size. I was planning on running 35's but now Im possibly thinking about a 37. I really don't want it to look stuffed however. Will 37's make it looked stuffed?

 

[sausec17]

I measured about 1.5" width difference between front and rear. I ordered 1.5" wheel spacers for my rear, yet to install them.

37's for sure man. I have 35's with 7.5" of lift and they look small in my opinion. What wheels are you running?

 

[bill3616]

That's what I figured. Im going to be running stock clads for a few weeks (budget issues) lol. But Im probably going to go with fuel hostage 20x10 -24. I was thinking about a 20x12 -44, but I have know idea if that would work. Will the stock clads even work? It will be very temporary. What wheels are you currently running?

 

[Maxtrac Suspension]

I will definitely shoot some pics. Just to be sure, the spindle will cause the front wheels to stick out a bit correct? So I was going to get some 1 1/2 spacers for the rears. Please let me know if Im doing this correctly. I also wanted some thoughts on tire size. I was planning on running 35's but now Im possibly thinking about a 37. I really don't want it to look stuffed however. Will 37's make it looked stuffed?

yes the spindles will increase track width 1" per side up front. I don't know much about adding spacers to the rear because I have not done it but if Saucec17 says it works out well with a 1.5" rear spacer then I'm sure it's good! I always leave my trucks wider up front. As far as tires go... We had a 2012 Ram 1500 2wd in here that ran our 7" kit with 20x9 wheels 0mm offset (5" backspacing) and he put 37-13.50-20 and cleared no problem and looked awesome! When you start getting into anything 10" wide or more, that's where you lose me. I know that the wide look is in with low backspacing but I just don't know how fitment will be with something 10"-12" wide. If you run a wide wheel like that, you'll probably have to stay with a 35" tire. Maybe someone on here can chime in on this? I don't want to misguide you though! I have never been a wide wheel guy myself so I'm not too sure