Best Adjustable Track Bar for Late Model Ram 2500

[Halligan]

I've put 30,000 miles on my Carli Suspension over the last few years. Lately I've noticed a little slop in the front end and the truck wanders a bit. Today I tok advantage of some warm weather and rotated my tires. While I was at it I looked over the front suspension. Ball joints seem good and the BD steering brace is all tight.

I had the wife jump in the truck and move the wheel side to side and I think I found the culprit. The Carli adjustable track bar has a lot of play in the bushing where it attaches to the frame. I figure a good 1/8" of play. The bolt is tight and does not move. I'm a little bummed it wore that quick with little off road use and no abuse. Should I replace the bushing or replace the track bar? Is their a better bar on the market?

 

[John E Davies]

I don't have personal experience with Carli, but everything I have read is very positive. Have you been keeping the ends of your track bar well greased? If I were in your shoes, I would just replace the worn bushing and hardware, switch to a very high quality synthetic grease like Redline's excellent CV-2, and grease it often:

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=82

If your bar develops slop again in 30K miles, then I would start looking for a replacement. Other than that , are you happy with your suspension? I am looking at upgrades for my '06 Ram 3500 5.9, but I don't want to lose any cargo capacity....

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[Halligan]

I agree, Carli has a good reputation and overall I'm happy with the suspension. I can't remember where I saw it, whether on this forum or another, but a fellow had the same issue with premature wear of the bushing in his Carli Track bar as well. Maybe I should have greased it more often.

The only issue with upgrading to a suspension like carli is your truck will not carry loads like a 3/4 or 1 ton does from the factory. With my system, in order to get better articulation and ride quality, the factory rear overload leaf is removed in favor of a mini leaf pack. In turn I added air bags to assist with heavier loads which kills the articulation. Oh well, the truck has a better stance than factory at least.

 

[crismateski]

You could also check out Thuren, but I would call Cody at CJC Offroad, or 8 lug truck gear. Both of them stock Carli and Thuren and are more than happy to share information. Cody was telling me about the differences in the bushings a while back, but to be honest i dont remember what he said

 

[Regcabguy]

I agree, Carli has a good reputation and overall I'm happy with the suspension. I can't remember where I saw it, whether on this forum or another, but a fellow had the same issue with premature wear of the bushing in his Carli Track bar as well. Maybe I should have greased it more often.

The only issue with upgrading to a suspension like carli is your truck will not carry loads like a 3/4 or 1 ton does from the factory. With my system, in order to get better articulation and ride quality, the factory rear overload leaf is removed in favor of a mini leaf pack. In turn I added air bags to assist with heavier loads which kills the articulation. Oh well, the truck has a better stance than factory at least.

I've got a similar suspension with the exception of Carli Long travel airbags which allow 10" of travel when used with his LT rear springs. My factory springs were pitifully weak,unlike my '99. With my Firestones,articulation was certainly less. Front spring travel is greatly increased over stock with Carli's,Thuren's and other 2.5"-3" coils and longer shocks.

 

[swirvin21]

I would call around and consider trying other brands of bushings. Can't say anything bad about the Carli stuff, but many manufacturers change the density (durometer) to suit the type of driving they are designed for. I can't say this with any confidence, but maybe Carli runs a less-dense bushing to absorb some of the vibrations???

I know Danny at DOR had a higher durometer rated bushing for the axle side of his trackbars, but not sure on the 3rd gens. I would call Carli and ask them what they suggest. I imagine Energy Suspension or another poly manufacturer has a bushing to fit your trackbar that is designed more for general daily driving...

I definitely don't recommend replacing the entire bar unless there is something wrong with it or there is a bar on the market that has an option you really want, like being able to shift the axle farther forward, etc.

Here is a car website going over durometer examples, hope it helps: http://www.redz31.net/pages/polyFAQ.html

 

[Halligan]

You could also check out Thuren, but I would call Cody at CJC Offroad, or 8 lug truck gear. Both of them stock Carli and Thuren and are more than happy to share information. Cody was telling me about the differences in the bushings a while back, but to be honest i dont remember what he said

Just got off the phone with Cody at CJC Offroad. I explained my situation and he came up with a solution. Cody said, that since installing my kit almost 3 years ago Carli has added a shim to their track bar kits that needs to be used on 4th gen trucks. My track bar did not come with shim because this was not a known issue when I purchased it. Apparently the 4th gen track bar bracket is a little wider then the 3rd gen trucks and without the shim the track bar was not clamped good enough causing the premature failure. I purchased a new bushing with the shim and he claims I should not have any further issue's.

Thanks guy's.

 

[crismateski]

Just got off the phone with Cody at CJC Offroad. I explained my situation and he came up with a solution. Cody said, that since installing my kit almost 3 years ago Carli has added a shim to their track bar kits that needs to be used on 4th gen trucks. My track bar did not come with shim because this was not a known issue when I purchased it. Apparently the 4th gen track bar bracket is a little wider then the 3rd gen trucks and without the shim the track bar was not clamped good enough causing the premature failure. I purchased a new bushing with the shim and he claims I should not have any further issue's.

Thanks guy's.

Godd to hear that he was able to help you out, they are a smaller shop, but Cody knows his stuff.

 

[jkosten]

Also they both use heim joints (same size) that can wear out. And yes the 4th gen needs a washer.

As for load capacity run air bags with the daystar cradles. They the bags to float on the axle and get full drop from the Deaver leafs.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[swirvin21]

x2 on Daystar cradles! Air bags don't add any load capacity, but just having the truck level makes everything so much more stable and safe. I've broken a number of the plastic spacers and ripped a few bags prior to the cradles coming out. You hard mount the bags to the frame and hard mount the cradle to the axle, the bag will no longer limit your extension and can act as an additional bumpstop with the appropriate bag and pressure

 

[jkosten]

Air bags definitely add load capacity. The firestone kit for the Dodge 2500 is rated at 5000lbs.

When you are "leveling" the back of the truck with the bags, you are increasing the load capacity of the vehicle, and it varies based on air pressure.

sent from my Tab 2 in HD

 

[swirvin21]

http://www.suspensionconnection.com/cgi-bin/suscon/firestone-air-bags.html

Firestone Ride-Rite line is designed for most full-size trucks, including all 3/4 ton and 1 ton applications. Rated at 5,000 lbs, these heavy duty double convoluted air springs offer maximum load support. Once mounted between the frame and suspension of a truck or suv these air springs will increase your level load capacity along with improving your ride and handling when towing heavy loads.

I understand where you are coming from, but vehicle weight ratings are set per the manufacturer or an authorized builder and cannot be easily modified by bolting on a product like an air spring. Everything from brakes, axles, frame, suspension, etc go into computing what your truck can haul or tow. In order to actually increase capacity you would need to improve a number of different parts on the truck.

Air bags are meant to level out a vehicle and handle up to 5,000lbs above them. In other words, they are capable of leveling up to 5000lbs before catastrophic failure. By installing air bags you make the truck perform better when hauling or towing loads that are close to GVWR and therefore make it safer and more comfortable. Given the number of 3/4 and 1 ton trucks hauling loaded toyhaulers and other heavy heavy trailers, any additional safety measure should be taken advantage of since most trucks of this size are now designed more for soccer moms than dedicated hauler. My personal opinion is not to haul more than 10K or so with any LDT (light duty truck) and plan to purchase a MDT (medium duty truck) to haul our horses cross-country in the future.

A number of websites claim that you must remove the overload spring and possibly additional leaves to get a more comfortable ride out of air bags, but this can be dangerous. Best advice is to only proceed with this type of installation after confirming with a professional and/or a gov't official from your state or local DMV.

Sorry to jump on my soap box like that, but I have seen too many questionable overloads on 1500/2500/3500 trucks and don't want anyone to believe that bags allow you to carry an additional 5000lbs.

 

[Regcabguy]

The cradles are a good suggestion.