Dodge Ram Plastic Control Arms: What They Are and How to Buy One Used

What Are the Plastic Control Arms on a Dodge Ram 1500?

All Dodge Truck has been a Dodge Ram parts source since 1962, Dodge only since 1984, which means the parts that confuse people get handled here often enough to explain properly. The composite upper control arm is one of those parts.

Stellantis describes the front suspension on the 2019 Ram 1500 as a design that "combines lightweight composite upper control arms, aluminum lower control arms," and the same release refers to the upper front suspension control arms as integrated with a steel structure. Trade coverage of how the part is built fills in the rest. CompositesWorld reports the arm as short glass PA6, meaning a nylon 6 resin reinforced with short glass fiber, with metallic inserts, developed by the chassis and suspension division of Iljin Group and introduced on the 2019 model year Ram 1500. The ball joint cap and bearing are set in the mold before the composite is injected around them, which removes the welded metal cup a stamped steel arm needs. A steel reinforcement plate is overmolded during forming, and the underside of the arm carries heavy ribbing.

So the word plastic is doing a lot of work it should not be doing. The accurate description is a composite arm with steel inside it and the ball joint molded in place.

Does a 2019 to 2024 Ram 1500 Have a Composite or a Steel Upper Control Arm?

The composite upper arm arrived with the fifth generation Ram 1500, the DT body, for the 2019 model year. That is the dividing line, and it matters more than it sounds, because the fourth generation truck did not stop when the new one arrived.

Ram kept building the previous body as the Ram 1500 Classic and sold it alongside the new truck. The last Ram 1500 Classic came off the line at Warren Truck Assembly on October 4, 2024, as a 2024 model year truck. For every year from 2019 through 2024, the name Ram 1500 covers two different trucks with two different front suspensions. Ordering a front upper control arm by model year alone for any of those years is how a part arrives that will not bolt in.

The VIN settles it. Before anything else, use it to establish which truck you actually have. If you have the number off the old part instead, our guide to Dodge Ram part number lookup covers how to read and verify it.

Why Did Ram Move From Steel to a Composite Upper Control Arm?

Weight, mostly. Stellantis puts the 2019 truck's chassis at roughly 120 pounds lighter than the one before it, with about 100 pounds of that coming out of the frame alone, against a total net reduction of nearly 225 pounds for the whole truck. The same redesign moved the front stabilizer bar behind the front tires, which Ram credits with a 20 percent gain in roll stiffness, and made a front coil over shock standard across the range. The lower control arms went to aluminum at the same time.

There is a durability argument alongside the weight one. CompositesWorld reports that molding the joint in place distributes stresses more evenly and lowers end play and running torque on the ball joint, which the developer expects to lengthen service life, and notes that stamped steel arms were prone to corrosion. That is stated design intent rather than field data, so treat it as the reason the part exists and judge the specific arm in front of you on its own condition.

Can You Replace Just the Ball Joint on a Ram Composite Control Arm?

This is where the construction has a practical consequence. Because the joint cup and bearing go into the mold before the resin, the ball joint on these arms is not a pressed in component sitting in a separate steel cup the way it is on an older stamped steel arm. The arm and the joint are one assembly.

On a 2019 and newer Ram 1500, that makes the complete upper control arm the unit you replace. It is also the reason a used OEM arm is worth considering rather than defaulting to a new aftermarket assembly, because it puts the original part back on the truck with the factory mounting points and the factory geometry.

Should You Buy a Used OEM Arm or an Aftermarket Replacement?

Both are real options and the right answer depends on what you want from the truck. Aftermarket suppliers sell steel and forged upper arms for these trucks, often marketed as an upgrade over the composite part, and owners running larger tires or a lift sometimes want that change deliberately. What those parts are not is the arm the truck left the factory with.

A pulled OEM arm is. If the goal is to put the truck back to how it was built, with the same part number and the same geometry, a used original is the direct way to do it. What you are checking on a composite arm is the molded body for cracking, the ball joint for play or scoring, the bushings, and the arm overall for impact damage. A Dodge only yard handles these arms as they come off trucks, which is why a phone call about a specific arm is more useful than a product listing. The same reasoning runs through what genuine means across OEM, aftermarket and salvage parts.

How Do You Confirm a Used Ram Control Arm Fits Your Truck?

Work through it in order. Start with the VIN, which tells you whether a 2019 through 2024 truck is a DT or a Classic. Then the side, because the left and right front upper arms are different parts and not interchangeable. Then the drivetrain, since 4x2 and 4x4 front ends differ across a great many Ram parts, a point covered further in our look at Dodge Ram parts interchangeability. Then the number on the arm itself, checked against the number on the arm you are taking off.

Only a limited part of the All Dodge Truck inventory is listed online, so the fastest route is a call to (916) 635-7602 with the VIN ready. Current listings include a left front upper control arm and a right front control arm off a 2019 Ram 1500, along with an upper control arm for 1994 to 1999 Ram 1500 4x4 trucks, and the wider steering and suspension selection is on the site. For anyone searching for a Dodge Ram control arm near me around Sacramento, the yard is in Gold River. For everyone else, a used Ram upper control arm for sale here ships nationwide.