Ball joint issues after leveling kit installation?

I have been looking at different forums and about 50% claim to have ball joint issues after installing leveling kit . Any advice would be appreciated . thanks in advance

 

Lots of different UCA's on the market that have more play

 

A leveling kit as in how much? 2 inches in the front you should be fine. 3 inches is marginal and some need to go after market UCA to get it into spec. The pro comes with a 2 inch lift in the front on stock UCA’s.

 

Ahhh.. zero issues......heh...heh...

 

So the issue rests strictly on the spacers. This is due to the spacer forcing your suspension downward giving you the leveled look, but ultimately giving you a ticking time bomb. Even for the lightest use only time will permit the fail. Since the suspension is now forced downward making the upper control arm "reaching" if you will. Thus making the ball joint sit at an excessive angle.

All looks OK. Until, many rail road jumps, parking lot speed bump runs, and driveway entries/exits along with your potential off road adventures leads to the fail. To avoid this an upper control arm will save you the headache like the setup we have below. Giving you ease of travel up and down along with a MUCH stronger UNI-BALL VS a limited ball joint. Feel free to check out our website! WWW.BAJAKITS.COM

 

ran billy's at 2.5 for 80k, no problems.

 

Here are a few examples of the issue off of a quick google session. Each case is obviously different but the examples below are the most common on any vehicle some are much worse and end up in major body damage to the truck or a major accident as well. personally experienced a spindle rip off due to failed ball joint due to this issue on a fellow truck owners vehicle. Twas a scary day

 

Last one is scary

 

2nd pic down doesn't have bump stop extensions. Hard to tell with the others. There are alot factors that go into play also, not just the leveling kits.

 

Your very right, lots of variables. However the principle is there and many can attest to the affects of a spacer kit. The guy that only sees street and drives 6k a year is going to see different affects than a guy that goes in the dirt daily or jumps train tracks on the way to and from the local beer run at his local market. But take the chance on your daily rig? To each his own LOL

 

Exactly, I'll never go spacer kit again. Do it right the first time, then less problems later on down the road.

 

My Son's 2004 Tundra has this exact issue. The ball joint is an OEM Toyota replacement put in by a reputable shop about 1K miles ago. His truck is limited off road use, and mostly a commuter around our small town. We have replaced all bushings, and even the lower control arm on this side of the truck. Do we need the extended upper control arms to remedy the destruction of ball joints?

 

Did you find a solution to the Upper ball joint being stuck between the spring? I put a 3 inch leveling kit on my 2000 tundra and can get the Upper ball joint to not rub or get stuck in between the springs.