My upper Carli ball joints have worn out.

Two years ago I had Carli Upper Ball Joints installed in my truck after stock ones wore out. My tires are not overly large - Just 275/65R20. I do all highway driving. Put 25,000 miles on them. I was told the Carli's would last the lifetime of my truck - "the last set of ball joints you'll need!".

Right.

Well...three months ago I started to hear a small clunk in my driver's side when turning right. Called Carli and asked about a rebuild kit. I was told they've never sold one - never had a reason to. They went on to say my problem must be the lowers - that mechanics can make the mistake of assuming the excess movement is in uppers. Because Carli couldn't supply the lowers too (backordered), I got Dynatrac.

The clunk was gone for a couple of weeks, but then came back. Finally took it into a reputable truck shop today.

Lowers are of course fine, but the upper ball joints are toast.

So much for spending the extra money on Carli ball joints. I called Cali and left a mesage about my problem - no response yet.

I've asked the mechanics to save the ball joints when they do the work Monday. I'll take a photo of the wear and post them here. I'd like to send them to Carli - maybe they'll give me a replacement. Maybe they were faulty.

Who knows...for now I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. But I'm really not happy about having spent the extra money to have had them last the same length of time the OEM ones did.

 

I'd like to know how they handle that also. I have the uppers myself, but with Moog lowers. No problems with mine so far, and I've got about 10,000 more miles on mine than your's do. Carli's been good to me in the past, I'm hoping they're the same way now for you, and me if I have any future problems.

 

I thought the carli's were the end all be all. I didn't want to post bail on the Carli's as I thought they were too much. I bought the XRF ball joints. Uppers and lowers and the uppers are starting to rattle a bit but within spec. Good luck and let us know how it pans out for you.

 

how many miles do you have on the xrf's gmanndodgeguy?

 

this is what i was worried about... Carli's were this great thing. "Baja tested" well like anything racing related they are strong as hell but dont last... A race motor might be fast but wont last 100,000 miles... so what do you want?

I run XRF's uppers and lowers and have installed them on two other dodge trucks (same gen) and i have over 45,000 miles on my set and they are holding up...

wanted to try carlis but for the price, give me a break, who can afford to try that? i might try dynatracs but thats the most id spend on ball joins for a road truck.

 

I'm at 22000km of very rough winter roads. Average temp around -20C with few plowed roads. If they go further than stock I'll b happy

 

Guess will see how long your Dynatrac lower ball joint lasts. Got the same story as well from Dynatrac when I bought mine. -"the last set of ball joints I'll ever need".. yada-yada.. However I was surprised how well they tightened up my front end. Took like 1000 miles before they started to loosen up or was it that I was driving in subzero temps most of that time. Anyway good luck in getting a replacement from Carli. Might as well go with an upper Dynatrac now. At least you can rebuild the Dyna's.

 

I've been running XRF units for a couple long years now and they are sill working well I think. Will find out more on Thursday after digging in for the second time in 14 months to replace the u joints. Just a bit over $200 for all 4 ball joints doing XRF is far better than Carli.

 

I'm still waiting to get my truck back. Shop is slow as molasses. If you look on Carli's site it says: These new Extreme Duty Ball Joints should yield a service life for as long as you own your truck and we're confident enough to offer a lifetime warranty.

We'll see. They haven't called me back. I'll wait until I see the ball joints before I call again.

 

hey stump man,

The winter we've had up here is a blessing to the mechanics rounds here. Normal trucks are all in the shops now or will be soon. If anyone has been product testers, its us with the roads in the condition they're in. I sure hope for what you paid you find little or no issues. My xfrs rattle a bit but my buddy who just happens to be my mechanic who I trust says a little play is normal. Keep us posted on those big dirty Carli's.

 

Ok, now I'm upset. I wonder if the shop assumed it was my ball joints...because I still have the clunk, although not quite as bad.

They did tie rod ends too - so maybe this made the clunk not so bad and maybe my Carli's are perfect!??

My dad (HD mechanic of many years) said they should have checked the U joints (or CV...whichever this truck has) as sometimes assumptions are made that a clunk is the ball joints.

Back into the shop...

 

Carli didn't even bat an eye. They told me to just send receipt with the ball joints and they will be replaced.

And THAT's a good company.

BTW, how often does one grease the ball joints? Maybe I never did it enough???

 

every oil change

 

I had alot of clunking when the rubber bushings went in my control arms. Trac bar will also do a bunch of clunking......

 

I think everyone with a product issue should contact the manufacturer first.

The forums should be our last resort.