05 Dodge Ram 2500 4wd: Kore 3" lift kit: Toyo 33" tires: 51,000 miles:

Ok I have been having ongoing issues with my front end. Took the truck back to the shop today and I being told that my tie rod ends, ball joints, etc need to be replaced. I need some help on what I should buy for replacement parts.

A few questions:

I have a 3" KORE lift. Does anyone know if I can use Carli front end upgrade kit with my lift?

•4130 Adjustable Track Bar
•High Mount Steering Stabilizer
•Extreme Duty Upper Ball Joints
•Extreme Duty Lower Ball Joints

Also what is the best tie rod ends to buy? The shop suggesting I go with Moogs.
Is there any other parts I need to restore the front end?

Looking for some solid feedback on what is the best route to go. I tired of the issue and want to get it fixed correctly.

Thanks in advance

 

I don't know if you can use Carli in your application. However, most guys say they are the bomb but can you justify the price? I suppose if you are the type that hates wrenching or pays someone to do it for you.

I've recently switched out to XFR balljoints uppers and lowers. Went with Spicer tie rods. So far everything seems good after 20000 miles. Time will tell. I'm on my third set of tie rods and second set of ball joints. For some reason my truck is hard on front end parts. The roads are crap up here though. The guy I bought the spicer stuff from swears it's the least selling front part he has due to the fact they last so long that he rarely sees guys coming back for warranty or replacements.

As like you, I'm sick of laying under my truck re-fixing stuff I've already done. I'd like Carlis and the other high end joints but not for that kind of money.

Cheers

 

Yeah I was unsure about the Carli. I plan to call around today and ask. Your right they are expensive and I guess I was hoping if I bought the high end parts that I wouldn't need to address this issue again.

I will have to check the XFR ball joints. What ball joints and tie rods were you running before? Which XFR ball joints you using? Any reason you didn't select XFR tie rods?

2003-2009 DODGE RAM 2500, 3500 4x4 BALL JOINT KIT
MCQUAY-NORRIS EXTREME KIT INCLUDES:
2-FA2214E LOWER BALL JOINTS (greasable)
2-FA2215E UPPER BALL JOINTS (greasable)

2003-2008 DODGE RAM 2500 3500 4X4 TIE ROD END COMPLETE KIT
XRF KIT INCLUDES: 1-DS1463, 1-DS1464, 2-ES2012S, 1-ES3624, 1-ES3625 *LIFETIME WARRANTY

 

Yeah, thats the thing. You'd think for the price of the Carli you'll never have to replace them again. However, if they do wear out they will replace them at no cost but you'll still have to pay someone to remove them I think. I guess it comes down to how much extra cash you have to burn.

As for what I had in there before:

I was still on the stock upper and lower ball joints till 120,000km. I couldn't handle the rattling anymore and it was a constant battle to herd the truck while driving.

The tie rod ends I replaced with whatever/whoever NAPA sources this out to at 94000 km. They were terrible Rods I couldn't believe they only lasted 26000km.

So, I called up a guy I'd never dealt with before who supposedly dealt in XFR ball joints and tie rod ends. I had already purchased the ball joints online through a different supplier and was looking only for all the tie rod ends. This fella sold alot of aftermarket parts and mainly a wholesaler. He was asking why I'd want the XFR T/R's when I could get Spicer for the same price. Not knowing any different I listened to what he had to say.

He claimed that he didn't make any more money and that the guys he sold to were all the fleet oilfield trucks up here north of where I live. The roads are crap, believe me. I've hunted up there. So, I thought I'd give them a try and he swore by them. He seemed quite genuine about it. So far I've got about 28000km on the Spicer T/R's and maybe 30000km on the XFR ball joints.

I had my truck up on the rack here at work one day and lifted the front to see what kind of play I had in the ball joints and T/R's. When I grabbed the tires and shook them top to bottom I got approximately 1/8 of an inch play in the B/Js. My mechanic buddy said thats nothing to worry about. The T/R's are still tight as can be.

One other thing that I also now do is lift the tires off the ground when I'm greasing. My mechanic friend claims the joint will get more grease to the area that needs it on the B/J's. It's only the bottom B/J that has a grease zerk. For the top I bought one of those grease type hypo-dermic needles and I puncture through the rubber seal and pump the top ones up. I then let the pressure release any excess, wipe it clean and dab a small dollop of silicon on it to seal it up. Not sure if that helps but I'm trying.

A guy I work with has the same truck as me and he opted in on the Gold warranty package when he bought the truck. He took it in at 75000km and he said the dealer replaced the whole front end, T/R's, B/J's and pitman arm with some new heavy duty type Dodge stuff. He said they T/R ends are massive in comparison to the originals on the truck. So, I guess its obvious now that Dodge knew they have a problem all along with their oem steering connectors.

All just food for thought

Cheers

 

Either the Carli or Dynatrac joints will work, if you want\need to go that heavy. Unless your just beating the truck constantly on rough roads or whooping it across the desert the cost is hard to swallow.

The Raybestos Professional grade ball joints are the same as the McQuay Norris you listed and seem to be pretty beefy. I put them in lieu of the expense of the others. Forget the MOOG's, they are junk for these trucks.

If you have to do ball joints get the 2008.5 steering upgrade. The tie rod ends and bars are much beefier and heavier plus they all have zerks. You will need a new pitman arm that comes with the kit. The new steering is a t-type instead of an inverted Y so should be a lot better feel.

Make sure to check your steering box for wear. I had way to much up and down play in mine at 180k. Even after it was adjusted out still not very good so I opted for a heavier Borgeson box plus a steering shaft stabilizer. Fixed that problem and tightened things up. Next is the steering upgrade as the tie rods all have a little wear in them.

Are you running the stock rims or after markets without the OE backspacing? The available parts are borderline for the weight of the engine anyway and adding to the problem with rims that are not back spaced enough causes more issues.

 

No 6 oh no thanks for the reply. Thanks for the heads up on the steering upgrade by Mopar. Does this include the pitman arm? I have been speaking with diesel power products about the necessary upgrades. Looks like they are suggesting the following: Tie Rod assembly - $340
Steering Stabilizer Shock-$185
Carli Ball Joints-$800
Track Bar Carli-$345

I'm running stock rims on Toyo MT size: 295, 70, 17

 

Here is a link to the best price I have found on the steering upgrade. You will need a new pitamn arm that comes with this kit: http://www.moparsupercenter.com/dodg...52122362x.html

I am running the Tuff Country dual Stabilizer kit and have for 150k. Seems to work quite well as have had no issues once the caster was changed. Running stock rims with the same tires. The lower ball joints went 185k and were still good. The uppers went over 100k and they were not a good set. The Raybstos ones I put back in are much beefier. At 190k the tie rods are now loose enough to replace.

In lieu of the ball joints I would do a set of adjustbale control arms. Thye are right around $700 in most places, but, I am not beating the truck hard off road. If you are then the rebuildable ball joints are worth a look. Dynatrac's are right at $600 I believe.

The track bar is your choice. If you wen with the KORE HP leveling kit then it has pulled the axle back and to one side. You ahve to get it re-centered and working correctly or it seems to just trash the steering pieces.

On that note, how do you like the KORE kit? Did you get the rear mini packs? How did it effect and change the ride? I already have the shocks and working on the adjustable track bar and control arms next then want to install that kit.

 

Thanks for the steering link. I'm running a KORE Recon series lift. Override ride quality is good, I did get the mini packs. I like the KORE lift overall, although I have a clunking noise which I haven't been able to figure out. I'm hoping that after fixing the ball joints, etc the noise goes away otherwise I'm calling KORE. What would the adjustable control arms do for me? BTW my truck is a daily driver, I tow a 24ft trailer and do not thrash it. NO wheeling. Only dirt my truck sees is logging roads when I'm bowhunting or camping.

 

Worn track bar bushings will clunk. Worn control arms will clunk. Worn ball joints will clunk. Worn steering box will clunk. You just have to chase the noise down sometimes.

Without the adjustable control arms and the axle is pulled back and the geometry is changed so the suspension is driving into the ground instead working thru an arc correctly. Any lift will cause this and once you get beyond and inch or so it just gets progressively worse. Hard on steering and suspension parts.

 

Good to know. I will have to investigate the control arms a bit. I believe I found a shop that is going to help me out, however I may try to do some of the work to save on labor. I also need tires as my Toyos are going bald fast due to the front end issues.