UCA options for 6" lift

James I believe you and I spoke briefly over Fbook messenger as well! Can you take some more pictures of your lift for me? Specifically I need a photo of the front of the truck (at near ground level), and also need a picture of your spindle/knuckle.

 

So what I was getting at before is that since you are lifted 6+" you're getting your height from SOMEWHERE. If all of that additional height was in the suspension alone your CV axles and control arms would be more or less folded over!

I don't see a huge spacer smashed up against the top hat so my guess is that you are riding on top of some sort of body or drop bracket lift. Hit us with some pics and myself (and others) will take a run at helping you out here.

 

Okay there we go!

So here's kind of the long and short of (my interpretation of) your situation. Do you need all-new UCAs? Maybe not*. Many drop-bracket lift setups don't even change front shocks although it looks like yours does, and you're probably getting some of your lift out of that shock setup up front (my guess is about 1.5"). There's a decent chance that your local shop has the ability to get you into alignment with OEM equipment.

*However, an aftermarket UCA will provide you some additional strength at the joint itself, and it will allow for maximum adjustability which is very nice especially for a lifted application. You can get the alignment specs dialed in to where you're not wandering on the highway, and make maximum use of your suspension travel without binding. This would not have prevented the issue where your UCA bolt itself snapped...

I think it comes down to how you use your truck. If you just drive around in town and/or on the highway you are probably okay with OEM stuff. If you believe that you are or will be beating on your suspension then you could probably benefit from an upgrade.

 

I still believe that the SPCs are the best UCAs for the money. They're not the absolute strongest UCA out there if someone is really lashing on them, and I have heard of some folks knocking their top nut loose and out of alignment, but I have never personally had a problem with them. They also addressed their ball joint issues that they had some 5 years back as well. Never had a set I sold come back so I have no reason to fault them...

The other thing is that if you do need to replace the ball joint it can be done quickly and easily. Not to mention that they are more serviceable/streetable than a normal ball joint.