Upper control arm/ball joint went today

[courtneythecoincidence]

2021 Ram, ball joint and upper control arm went today. Unbelievably lucky because I was backing into a parking spot but 1 minute before was doing 70 on the turnpike. I love this truck but what the hell, at 45k??? I baby this thing. Even the dealership doesn’t think the 2 inch leveling kit has anything to do with it but unsure. Failure punctured my tire so will be dealing with repair costs and new tires in a month. Again, grateful myself and nobody else got hurt but scary.

 

[Jedi9]

glad everyone is ok, strock control arm?

 

[Redz72]

2021 Ram, ball joint and upper control arm went today. Unbelievably lucky because I was backing into a parking spot but 1 minute before was doing 70 on the turnpike. I love this truck but what the hell, at 45k??? I baby this thing. Even the dealership doesn’t think the 2 inch leveling kit has anything to do with it but unsure. Failure punctured my tire so will be dealing with repair costs and new tires in a month. Again, grateful myself and nobody else got hurt but scary.

45k? How many miles is that in Freedom terms? All kidding aside, glad you are safe and it happened in the parking lot and not The Turnpike. Please let us know what controls are they are. You mention 2” leveling kit, but did you upgrade the control arms? Or is a the Mopar 2” kit with Mopar 2” control arms etc? It’s a bummer for this to happen, but maybe it’s a sign to upgrade! I try to look on the bright side of life.

 

[courtneythecoincidence]

45k? How many miles is that in Freedom terms? All kidding aside, glad you are safe and it happened in the parking lot and not The Turnpike. Please let us know what controls are they are. You mention 2” leveling kit, but did you upgrade the control arms? Or is a the Mopar 2” kit with Mopar 2” control arms etc? It’s a bummer for this to happen, but maybe it’s a sign to upgrade! I try to look on the bright side of life.

Lol! I have just the two inch motofab. Could have got new upper control arms with it but, when it was installed it didn’t seem to add too much strain. Definitely thinking im
Going to have it taken out and then do it the right way since I don’t want this expense every two years!!

 

[courtneythecoincidence]

glad everyone is ok, strock control arm?

Stock yes. Gonna have the level taken out soon until I can redo the whole assembly with better arms ugh

 

[mplaramie]

I had a similar issue on my 2019. It had a 2" level (spacers) when i bought it and original UCA'S went at about 40K. Even when they were replaced with stock under warranty, the new UCA'S seemed to always make noise and rode like donkey poop.

 

[Cbty2050]

I'm not shocked. The stock ball joints are not designed for that.

 

[SD Rebel]

45k? How many miles is that in Freedom terms?

I normally assume "k" means thousands, not kilometers when used in this way.

Like 3 year / 36K warranty for example, is often how I see it.

 

[Redz72]

I normally assume "k" means thousands, not kilometers when used in this way.

Like 3 year / 36K warranty for example, is often how I see it.

I can see that. Makes sense since kilo’s means 1000. Unless you’re Tony Montana

 

[Papi4baby]

Yeah sorry to hear OP, but even that 2 inch lift makes enough geometry changes to put more strain on the stick suspension system.

 

[PurpleRT]

Glad you’re alright. Yep even with just a 2” lift thats enough yo put a strain on the factory ball joints I would of recommended at the very least Mopars off-road control arms (ORG package or Rebels) and are rather inexpensive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[boogielander]

sorry to hear that but whoever installed it should've warned you about the stock UCA and the spacer lift.
also sorry to say that this is a problem that could've been avoided from the beginning if things were done correctly.

this is a 2 part problem:
part 1: stock UCA is not designed for 2" even though TECHNICALLY you can, but lifting on stock arms is just adding stress
part 2: spacer lifts change your suspension geometry in an incorrect way. Accutune Offroad explains it better here Spacer Lift vs Preload Spacer vs Coilover Preload – AccuTune Off-Road


if your shop didn't warn you about this... you should look for a new shop.

 

[davisenvy]

I know this is a few months old, but this just happened to me on my 2020 Ram 1500 with 39k miles. It has the Rocky Ridge 2 in level from the factory. The dealer actually replaced the puck leveling kit with coilovers. Luckily it happened backing down the driveway. I have had many trucks over the years, but non have ever failed in this way. Not too happy right now. It doesn't help that I just got done changing the oil in the truck. That oil filter is in a glorious location.

 

[Cbty2050]

It has the Rocky Ridge 2 in level from the factory.

Someone added a 2 in level, maybe the dealer installed before delivery. Did they replace the control arm w/ the stock upper control arm?

 

[davisenvy]

It looks like the stock upper control arm. I'm still doing research to find out what a good quality replacement would be. Until the, the truck will sit in the driveway.

 

[boogielander]

It looks like the stock upper control arm. I'm still doing research to find out what a good quality replacement would be. Until the, the truck will sit in the driveway.

carli. best of the best. but price tag is up there too lol

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

sorry to hear that but whoever installed it should've warned you about the stock UCA and the spacer lift.
also sorry to say that this is a problem that could've been avoided from the beginning if things were done correctly.

this is a 2 part problem:
part 1: stock UCA is not designed for 2" even though TECHNICALLY you can, but lifting on stock arms is just adding stress
part 2: spacer lifts change your suspension geometry in an incorrect way. Accutune Offroad explains it better here Spacer Lift vs Preload Spacer vs Coilover Preload – AccuTune Off-Road


if your shop didn't warn you about this... you should look for a new shop.

THANKS FOR SHARING THAT LINK I HAD NO CLUE

 

[SKT Customs]

I’d go with Thuren’s new control arms actually. After seeing a couple buddy’s trucks have issues on Carli’s arms - and after reading up on Thuren’s arms - I’ll be adding Thuren’s in the future. The Carli’s are just too damn bulky for one (if you ever get reservoir shocks they will need custom spec reservoir hoses or they’ll get pinched by Carli’s arms), and 2 the Carli arms bind at even just 2.5” of lift height. I’ve seen it first hand twice now. I’m sure it’s still a well performing product, but for $1100 I want something with no issues haha. The Thuren arms are incredibly strong and innovative and much smaller so it is less likely to bind or pinch hoses.

 

[boogielander]

I’d go with Thuren’s new control arms actually. After seeing a couple buddy’s trucks have issues on Carli’s arms - and after reading up on Thuren’s arms - I’ll be adding Thuren’s in the future. The Carli’s are just too damn bulky for one (if you ever get reservoir shocks they will need custom spec reservoir hoses or they’ll get pinched by Carli’s arms), and 2 the Carli arms bind at even just 2.5” of lift height. I’ve seen it first hand twice now. I’m sure it’s still a well performing product, but for $1100 I want something with no issues haha. The Thuren arms are incredibly strong and innovative and much smaller so it is less likely to bind or pinch hoses.

hmm that's first time i heard of this.

but thuren is a solid choice as well.

 

[Cbty2050]

Ram lift upper control arms are decently priced.