Sorry for the long post. After many forum searches and opinions I decided to purchase the Carli Backcountry 2.5" (FOX reservoir) kit with full rear Deaver replacement. I also purchased Toyo Backcountry AT Extremes (35”). I was assured by the 4x4 shop that I would be very pleased with ride. The reviews I read online all concurred with this. I have been driving it for less than 4000 miles and I can say that the ride is not any better. I will say that large dips or railroad crossings are smoother. However the other 99% of the time the front end feels loose and bouncy. At times worse than before the Carli kit. I took it to Ford because I felt there must be a worm component the 4x4 shop missed. They kept it 12 days and after many test drives they found no worn or damaged parts. They even commented on the quality of the kit install; saying they did a great job. The only thing Ford did was align the front end and rotate the tires. The alignment was off but did not improve the ride. The issue I have is while driving on most paved surfaces the front end has excessive up/down bounce. It also feel like the front end is loose like a bad ball joint or other component. I can feel a lot of road feedback in the floorboard. I’ve played with the tire pressure. Going from max to the recommended 45f/40r per Carli. I want to find a third party suspension shop in the Dallas area that help diagnose this issue. Anyone else have the Carli kit and not satisfied? What have you done to correct the issues?

 

Check your tire pressure. I'm satisfied with my kit.

 

What do you have your tire pressures at?

 

Usually between 40 and 45 when not towing. The Carli website will tell you what they recommend for the best ride. And I don't have the full leafs or add-packs but plan on doing it soon.

 

Sorry, just noticed you mentioned the tire pressure. Was on my phone and I guess I read too fast. I'm assuming you checked the trackbar? Those things need to be torqued or you will get wobble. You didn't mention the steering stabilizer. Still stock?

 

I have the carli high mount stabilizer. Everything was retorqued at 500miles after install.

 

What wheel size with the 35s?

 

XD series wheel 20"x9"

 

Sounds to me that your shocks aren't strong enough to control the front axle movement. You axle assembly probably weighs 1,000 pounds or more and with large tires at 45psi there is a lot of weight and inertia that the shocks are supposed to keep a firm handle on. Any chance the shocks weren't valved right for the truck?

 

I was just getting ready to pull the trigger on one of these. What height did you go with? I have read that the shocks have different valving if you go with the full deavers. You may want to confirm with carli or the shop to make sure something wasn't messed up and they gave you add-a-pack valving.

 

Sorry, I see you went with 2.5 lift.

 

OP, sorry to hear your less than happy with your high dollar kit. I would have high expectations too.
The front spring rate is softer, and has trade offs. bumps are softer but less control for a given vehicle and unsprung (axle+tire) weight.
I have same experience with Icon coils. I switched to a stiffer front shock and it helped but still there are conditions where control is poor.

The fix is a better matched shock. How to achieve this? Call Cari and see if they will re-valve your shocks, which is a benefit to the kit you bought.
For the price one would think Carli should have already got it right, but not all trucks are the same. That's why ford has 8 or so different front spring rates available and match the application. (wheelbase, engine type, options, ect). Carli offers only one.

Sad to see the kit uses ball joint shims. What is caster at? not much I bet.


Edit: Get bigger tires, that always helps

 

The wheel size is affecting the ride quality. Talk to Carli and they can give some recommendations. Re-valving the shocks may be one of them. They have openly talked about this ride quality here Carli Suspension - Official Thread - Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

 

How do you validate what the valving is set to? The Backcountry kit is what was ordered. Caster is +2.8.