CV, ball joint and tie rod angles.

[Billet1500 4x4]

For anyone looking to level their truck I have taken some photos of the crucial components and what the angles look like at various heights. The truck right now is a completely stock 4x4 without the offroad package or any other factory lift. I added photos showing the everything at full droop, after leveling if you have angles that look similar to the full droop photos you got some serious issues ahead. Hopefully this is helpful for anyone getting ready to do a level. I can see why you want to replace the upper control arm for even as little as a 2 inch.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

too many photos for one post here are the upper ball joints

 

[Art]

Great write up with pictures, But most people do not understand the problems when there are lifting or changing wheel offsets or back spacing they just ***** when stuff breaks. Hope some people will learn from this writeup.

 

[Accountant]

Great info! The ubj really scares me. They all are scary tho

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

Great info! The ubj really scares me. They all are scary tho

Yeah, keep in mind these are the base factory arms and not the ones that come with the 2" Mopar lift. I would imagine the angle is better on the other Mopar arms and pretty good on the readylift arms. I'm just not a fan poly urethane bushings on control arms you have grease them every three months or they squeak and poly is what almost every UCA manufacture uses and they just *** grease zerks to keep them quiet. Rough Country uses the clevite bushings but the quality of the rest of the arm isn't up to snuff. RC does make a forged arm for the 2014-2018 GM twins hopefully they do something similar for the new ram. Short of changing the knuckle the tie rod angle is what it is. While I was under there checking everything out I looked at what it would take to do a front diff drop and unfortunately you can pick up more than a 1/2" without cutting the frame where the cross member bolts in and it would also likely require some drop brackets for the sway bar to clear the front drive shaft if you start dropping the diff to far. Ram also used a bracket that ties the front diff to the motor and to the transmission so maintaining this connection would be tricky as well. Not impossible but everything is connected by some weird angles. needless to say if you went this route and had some front end issues the dealer would not warranty any of it. Next step is to order up the Mopar arms from the 2 inch lift package and take some photos of the upper BJ angle to determine maximum lift without compromising design.

for anyone reading this looking for the different UCA's. If someone with the offroad package, rebel or air ride equipped truck is reading this I'd be interested to know if these are the arms that come on these trucks from the factory. The part number is cast into the arm on the under side near the ball joint.

Right side p/n 68323530AA
Left side p/n 68323531AA

 

[Accountant]

I checked with my parts guy to see if I can get that for you on the UCA. I'll let you know.

I can understand why there are speed limiters on the air ride suspension that reduce OR1 above 50 mph and OR2 above 25 mph. This is probably why I have been hesitant to play with the leveling links on my air ride.

 

[Accountant]

@Billet1500 4x4 My parts guy said the Laramie and Rebel have the same upper control arms. The part numbers you typed are different from your picture. The part number in your picture matches what my parts guy sent to me. The diagram below has both air ride and regular strut

 

[subaru79]

The part # he listed are the Mopar 2" UCA

 

[Accountant]

The part # he listed are the Mopar 2" UCA

ok cool. I sent a message to my parts guy to see if those can be ordered separately from the kit.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

@Billet1500 4x4 My parts guy said the Laramie and Rebel have the same upper control arms. The part numbers you typed are different from your picture. The part number in your picture matches what my parts guy sent to me. The diagram below has both air ride and regular strutView attachment 5659View attachment 5660

It would seem the UCA from the 2" Mopar kit is not used on any factory suspension set up. Makes a good case for upgrading your arms and doing some trickery to put a spacer on the air spring and lower down the sensor to make it think its in normal mode. That way you get the advantage of a level without the stiffer ride from offroad 2. I would imagine offroad 2 would be a bad idea in this scenario. almost 4-1/2" of lift at that point all angles are going to be pretty bad.

 

[Accountant]

It would seem the UCA from the 2" Mopar kit is not used on any factory suspension set up. Makes a good case for upgrading your arms and doing some trickery to put a spacer on the air spring and lower down the sensor to make it think its in normal mode. That way you get the advantage of a level without the stiffer ride from offroad 2. I would imagine offroad 2 would be a bad idea in this scenario. almost 4-1/2" of lift at that point all angles are going to be pretty bad.

Egg Zachary!

Just found out that the Mopar 2” lift uca can be purchased separately. I was quoted $120 for the pair.

If someone can take a pic of the uca from the Mopar 2” kit that would be great! Online pics seem to show a ball socket stud in the uca that would be for the air ride leveling link.

Yup spacer should work since it looks like strut mount is the same. I have parts to make my own leveling links for the sensor.

Good stuff!

 

[ksn240]

So, looking at the pictures, it would seem the Readylift 3.5" is a bad idea? The angles are nearly as bad as full droop.

 

[kmck94]

For anyone looking to level their truck I have taken some photos of the crucial components and what the angles look like at various heights. The truck right now is a completely stock 4x4 without the offroad package or any other factory lift. I added photos showing the everything at full droop, after leveling if you have angles that look similar to the full droop photos you got some serious issues ahead. Hopefully this is helpful for anyone getting ready to do a level. I can see why you want to replace the upper control arm for even as little as a 2 inch.

I have to disagree with you on the needing another upper control arm for as little as a 2inch level. Here are the pictures with a 2 inch level on my 19 Ram. Looks almost the same as the stock angle.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

I have to disagree with you on the needing another upper control arm for as little as a 2inch level. Here are the pictures with a 2 inch level on my 19 Ram. Looks almost the same as the stock angle.

I agree those are not bad at all, what kind of level kit did you go with? Did you get before and after measurements to see how much lift was actually obtained?

 

[kmck94]

I agree those are not bad at all, what kind of level kit did you go with? Did you get before and after measurements to see how much lift was actually obtained?

I went with supreme suspension. I measured before and after and it was just a tad under a 2 inches. Went from 36inches to 38 in the front. It was a top mount strut extension.

 

[David5.7]

I have to disagree with you on the needing another upper control arm for as little as a 2inch level. Here are the pictures with a 2 inch level on my 19 Ram. Looks almost the same as the stock angle.

Do you have the off road package?

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

I went with supreme suspension. I measured before and after and it was just a tad under a 2 inches. Went from 36inches to 38 in the front. It was a top mount strut extension.

The picture I took of the angles at 2.5 " was starting at 36.5" and lifting it to 39". Explains why your angles looked much better with your 2 inch, about an inch difference. starting height will make a big difference on the finished product. A friend of mine had an identical truck to my last one we bought them a few months apart, we both put on the exact same leveling kit my truck was 1/2" higher in the front than the rear, his truck still had about an 1 inch of rake with the rear higher.

 

[kmck94]

Do you have the off road package?

No I do not.

 

[Texas415]

I might be getting confused, and let me know if I am wrong... If you can purchase the Mopar 2 inch lift UCAs (just the UCAs) for around $100 for the pair plus go out and buy for example a Motofab strut extension for $75. That $175 is not even in the same ball park as the full Mopar 2 inch kit valued over $1,000. Why wouldn’t every one just do the $175 option that is cheaper than the Mopar full kit, Ready Lift, and other brands with aftermarket UCAs?

 

[ksn240]

I might be getting confused, and let me know if I am wrong... If you can purchase the Mopar 2 inch lift UCAs (just the UCAs) for around $100 for the pair plus go out and buy for example a Motofab strut extension for $75. That $175 is not even in the same ball park as the full Mopar 2 inch kit valued over $1,000. Why wouldn’t every one just do the $175 option that is cheaper than the Mopar full kit, Ready Lift, and other brands with aftermarket UCAs?

Many people want to keep their truck all OEM parts, the Mopar lift gives them this option. Others fear anything else will cause issues with warranty down the line and don't want the headache if something fails. Others will never let anybody other than the dealer touch the truck, and many dealers will not install any other aftermarket parts.

Multiple reasons in the end, and yes I agree that the Mopar 2" lift is highway robbery, but peace of mind has a price. You could very well order the UCAs out of the lift and add a spacer to level the front end and would be just fine.