Suspension Anxiety...

[Vince@Meanstreets]

I can confirm dennis's "dirt" time! LOL
But I agree, heims after time become noisy and offen fail if left unattended and unserviced. Combined, that can create a dangerous situation.

I love the johnny joints, rubicon flex is nice too. Its sealed and easily serviced. I believe they (you) would most likely survive in event of a failure. vin

[68-GTO]

So how long do rod ends last? A year or two?

But even before they start to rattle, arent rod ends the best rear suspension solution for fixing bind issues? (in A bodys)

So far from this thread i've come up with an idea for my U/L control arm and bushing set up. For my UCA's i'm looking at the Currie Enterprise double adj. with Curries Jonny Joint, i guess i'll be using rubber bushings for the axel end. Then for my LCA's im going to be building a set with rod ends on all corners, built with parts from Speedway Motors. I'm looking at the 3/4" threaded sleeves, but for rod ends im still unclear of what i should look for in their construction, Speedway has a number of rod ends and i have no clue what to look for, they have steel, female, male, precision, and heat treated rod ends. Whats the difference, and how can you tell?

Which rod ends would anyone recommend for a daily driver partially tracked car?
Or should i look somewhere else that has better rod ends, i noticed Marcus SC&C mentioned QA1...

[sinned]

By the best you can afford. QA1's are real nice ends, the Speedway PRO-1 is a very good end as well.

[race-rodz]

has anybody tryed the rod end "seals" that speedway sells? just curious if they would help the life expectancy out a lil bit.

[Marcus SC&C]

I like heims best for race cars. Now that Currie Jonny joints and Rubicon Express ends are available there`s no reason to compromise. They`re not much more expensive and they`re weather sealed,rebuildable and offer some NVH isolation. We`ve tried Seal-Its. They`re better than nothing. They don`t work in some double shear applications due to the thickness of the washers the rubber is vulcanized to. They keep grit out better than water but again they`re better than nothing. I`d still just go with Rubicon or Currie joints for the small difference in price. Marcus

[68-GTO]

Marcus are you saying use jonny joints for the LCA's or somewhere else?

[sinned]

JJ are a better alternative anytime a suspension link is in question, unfortunately they are fairly expensive. The more often you can use them the better off you will be.

[Mean 69]

JJ are a better alternative anytime a suspension link is in question, unfortunately they are fairly expensive. The more often you can use them the better off you will be.

They are really freaking big though! The 2.5" unit is a reasonable size, but the bolt that you attach to the frame is pretty small (9/16" IIRC?), not good enough for us. The next size up is huge.

The QA1 "XM" rod ends are really hard to beat, super strong, and "cheap."
M

[sinned]

I like the Speedway "Pro-1" myself.

[Marcus SC&C]

Yeah,I like the Jonny Joints or Rubicon Express joints in rear suspension arms better than anything else right now. We`re very big on zero compromise components. They work very well and have no downside. Hell they`re not even that expensive,really good heims cost just as much. The 2.5" OD version works just dandy. 1/2" bolts were fine for the factory,9/16" bolts are more than strong enough for any ProTouring car. You`ll snap the thin cast iron mounting ears off the top of the rear end housing long before you snap a 9/16" grade 8 bolt in double shear. Marcus SC&C