Carli Front End Upgrade 13-25 Ram 3500 | 14-25 Ram 2500

Carli Front End Upgrade 13-25 Ram 3500 | 14-25 Ram 2500If there's one thing that has plagued Ram owners since the adoption of front coil springs back in 1994, its loose front ends, and in countless instances, the dreaded Death Wobble. Ram hoped their woes were over with the release of the radius arm front end, but alas, problems began to quickly rear their ugly heads. For those ready to make a solid investment in their truck and leave front end issues in their dust, Carli has this proven combination of

If there's one thing that has plagued Ram owners since the adoption of front coil springs back in 1994, its loose front ends, and in countless instances, the dreaded Death Wobble. Ram hoped their woes were over with the release of the radius arm front end, but alas, problems began to quickly rear their ugly heads. For those ready to make a solid investment in their truck and leave front end issues in their dust, Carli has this proven combination of integral components that will deliver an entirely new driving experience.

Whether on stock suspension and tires or 37″ Mud Terrains with a fully-equipped Carli System, the Front End Upgrade Kit will put front end issues in your rear-view.

TRACK BAR SPECIFICATIONS

Overwhelmingly, the most frequent cause of front end “play” and front-end instability is the factory track bar. The track bar is the lateral link that determines the front axle’s tracking relative to the frame rail while the control arms/radius arms control the axle’s movement fore and aft.

The factory-installed track bar has vulcanized rubber bushings on both ends. A vulcanized (clevite) bushing is a non-modular assembly where the damping/isolation material is bonded to an inner and outer sleeve, and then pressed into the housing. There’s no slip in this joint. Every movement of the axle puts a torsional, fatiguing load on the material stressing and eventually, tearing the functional portion of the bushing assembly.

Carli's initial goal was to develop an adjustable link to center the axle on leveled/lifted Rams that sharpens steering input, deflects less than the stock bar, and dampens vibrations to numb the wheel and extend the life of the serviceable ends, all while avoiding excess deflection and the sloppy handling associated with the stock bar. Carli's Adjustable Track Bar is constructed from 1.5″ OD, 3/8″ wall tube making it far stronger than the brackets to which it’s bolted and features a 7/8″ FK Bearing chromoly race heim joint at the axle end locked in place by a proprietary JAMMIT nut with 100% more surface area than a standard jam nut.

At the frame end, a 7/8″ FK Bearing Uniball is encapsulated by a proprietary composite shell machined in-house to exacting standards for perfect fitment. The assembly is then preloaded into the HUGE frame end housing and locked in place with a snap ring providing perfect damping and unrivaled service life.

STEERING STABILIZER SPECIFICATIONS

The O.E.M. steering stabilizer is of the “Oil Shock” variety, meaning that the piston is 100% submerged in oil. This type of stabilizer is limited to how much damping it can provide due to the amount of cavitation it exhibits.

The Carli Stabilizer is an internal floating piston to prevent cavitation. Carli's proprietary stabilizers run a custom valving profile and small shaft diameter as they've found this combination works best in steering damper applications. The fully-rebuildable construction boasts a stainless steel body with machined billet aluminum rod ends housing precision 1/2” spherical bearings topped off with a hardened black nitride shaft. The stabilizer’s nitrogen chamber is adjustable from 70psi to 200psi allowing you to correct for radial tire-pull. If no pull exists, the Stabilizer can be set from 70psi to 100psi as this neutral range will pressurize the oil for proper superior damping without bias correcting in either direction.

Simplified, think of the Carli Stabilizer as a factory stabilizer constructed from FAR superior materials with a nitrogen chamber to ensure proper damping function by pressurizing the oil to prevent cavitation (foaming of the oil).

UPPER BALL JOINT SPECIFICATIONS

The O.E.M. upper ball joint (actually a “pivot joint”) uses a soft internal bronze bushing as the lubricant between the pin and the cup. The internal bushing can only tolerate a certain amount of load before it deforms and creates space for the pin to move laterally.

The Carli Heavy Duty Upper Ball Joints eliminate the need for a bushing; they are a 2 tiered design machined from far superior materials that are heat treated to a specified hardness. In addition to the superior materials, the design boasts more than 100% more surface area for the upper ball joint to distribute the load. Carli tops the ball joints off with a grease fitting for a life-time of lubrication and maximize its effectiveness by incorporating internal grease ports to ensure even distribution through the whole assembly.

LOWER BALL JOINT DETAILS

If you thought the upper ball joints were bad, prepare for even more dismal news on the factory lowers. Chrysler decided to use a ball joint shaft that rides in a “plastic” liner (or cup) inside the lower ball joint to aid in lubricity and unrestricted movement. The monumental downfall of this design – the entirety of the truck’s frontal weight is being placed solely on the steel ball pushing into the plastic liner. Immediately, this plastic liner starts to degrade and deform resulting in increased wear and movement.

Learning from their mistakes, Carli designed a product that has no internal parts to wear out: the ball rides on an extremely hard and critically machined area inside the joint. The beauty of this design is that the Lower Ball Joint burnishes as it wears, creating a mirror smooth finish on all wear surfaces. Keep this joint well lubricated with grease and it will last the life span of your truck.