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I found that stock upper control arms can be at a bad angle after a 2-inch level, causing the ball joints to wear out quickly. When I installed a 2-inch level, my stock control arms were at a terrible angle, and the ball joints went bad almost immediately. I ended up using KSP 2-4 inch upper control arms, but they didn’t have any adjustability.
When I lifted my F-150 by more than 2 inches, I found that getting aftermarket upper control arms was highly recommended. I learned that replacing the upper control arm is necessary if you go higher than 2 inches with a puck leveling kit.
After going with a 2.5-inch level, I realized that the stock upper control arms aren’t made to handle the stress at those angles—they became very loose and floppy after two years.
After installing a leveling kit around 2 inches, I experienced issues with the stock upper control arms hitting the coil bucket. I decided to buy aftermarket control arms to replace my OEM ones because the OEM control arms with a leveling kit caused them to smash against the coil bucket. The aftermarket arms had much less contact, although there was still a little bit at full droop.
I’ve seen several people mention that aftermarket upper control arms for lifted applications often have the ball joint angle changed, which helps even out the angles after a lift.
While some believe that any aftermarket UCA will work, I’ve noticed that others recommend specific brands like BDS, Icon, Freedom Off Road, and Tuff Country.
When I installed a 2-inch level, I initially didn’t have issues with my control arms rubbing on my tires, even with 33-inch tires. However, I’ve heard from others with a similar setup who experienced so much rubbing that the paint on both sides of their upper control arms wore through. This suggests that tire width and wheel offset play a significant role in whether upper control arms will rub after leveling.
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