heim joints (rod ends)
Oct 15, 2011 6:37:48 GMT -5
Post by sigmfsk on Oct 15, 2011 6:37:48 GMT -5
> A rod end bearing, also known as a heim joint (N. America) or rose
> joint (U.K. and elsewhere), is a mechanical articulating joint. Such
> joints are used on the ends of control rods, steering links, tie rods,
> or anywhere a precision articulating joint is required.
secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rod_end_bearing
So one could replace many things on a Monaco with heim joints: things that are already "joint like" (tie-rod ends), and things that are "bushing like" (a-arm bushings, strut rod bushing).
Cop monaco rear leaf springs have a small amount of rubber on the front connection point, and the civilian parts have a lot of rubber.
Cop monaco rear leaf springs are attached to the axle with no rubber, while civilian cars have rubber isolaters.
You can have
- comfortable, non-vibrating, squishy-poor-handling
or
- solid, less-comfortable, precise-handling
or something in-between.
I once had solid motor mounts in a Camaro and I didn't really perceive any ill effects in the comfort department, so I'm clearly on the path to "remove rubber stuff" and go for precise handling.
Strut rods go from the lower control arm forward to the frame. Together with the control a-arm, they make a lower "a-arm".
Here's a pic where you can see the passenger strut rod:
and another angle where you can see the passenger strut rod, and see the frame where the driver side attaches:
The strut rod is attached to the frame with a rubber bushing.
Hotchkiss offers strut rod replacements (not for c-body) that use heim joints:
www.hotchkis.net/dodge_be_body_adjustable_strut_rods.html
and some people make their own:
from
www.protouringmopar.com/showthread.php?413-Lower-control-arm-bushings-Poly-or-rubber&p=4583&viewfull=1#post4583
Notice that guy made his own strut rods using heim joints, but used the Hotchkiss upper control arms that use heim joints. Here's a pic of the Hotchkiss strut rod and a-arm:
from this interesting article:
www.hotchkis.net/press_release.html?ID=11
It says:
> A stock B-Body has over one inch of bump steer. With the
> Hotchkis components installed that is reduced to 1/16”, about the
> same as a 2009 Challenger SRT8.
but the adjusted a-arm geometry is a topic for another thread. Heim joints just prevent suspension geometries from changing due to rubber connection points flexing and compressing.
Heim joints sometimes get a bad rap for street use, presumably because they don't have the ability to seal out dirt and water (at least as well as tie rod ends or rubber control arm bushings) and then they get old and rattle. But I think this is mostly due to people buying low quality rod ends and then being unsatisfied when they don't hold up. And one has to consider when the car will be driven. I'm not going to have a trailer-queen, but I'll usually only drive it when the weather is nice, so it's not like I'll be fighting torrents of rain and dirt.
Here's a guy that uses only heim joints on his car:
from
www.usa7s.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1004&postcount=8
And one can get rod end shields and boots:
offered here:
www.sealsit.com/rodend.asp
But I don't think they'll be necessary. The gold standard for heim joints seems to be NMB / NHBB:
www.nhbb.com/products/rod-end-bearings.aspx
A common use for heim joints is to have a left-hand on one end of a bar, and a right-hand on the other end of a bar, so that the eye-to-eye length of the bar can be adjusted with disassembling. See that pic of the upper control arm above.
Or this one
from
www.circletrack.com/chassistech/ctrp_0410_moment_center_weight_balancing/photo_06.html
But there's another way that heim joints can be used to adjust a control arm without removing the arm.
Here are some pics of magnumforce control arms from
www.magnumforceracing.com/magnumforce_tubular_control_arms.htm
With the following arm, what you make is what you get - no adjustments:
With the following arm, you have some room for adjustment, but must remove the arm, then thread/unthread the heim joint the distance you want, then reinstall.
With the following arm, you can adjust without disassembly:
I wrote:
> How the heck does the magnumforce in pic 9 do it? All I can guess is that the control
> arm is not threaded where the heim joint goes through it, and it is located by a lock
> nut on each end of the joint. That doesn't seem particularly strong
I think the answer is that the lock "nut" on the back end is actually a long bushing that threads all the way up the rod end.
This pic describes the situation
from Competition Car Suspension by Allan Stainforth.
This page
The AUTOSPORT Bulletin Board > Push-rod suspension
forums.autosport.com/lofiversion/index.php/t94244.html
says that
> ...his book was iffy.
but at least it explained that conundrum.
your friend in putting the car back together,
arthur
> joint (U.K. and elsewhere), is a mechanical articulating joint. Such
> joints are used on the ends of control rods, steering links, tie rods,
> or anywhere a precision articulating joint is required.
secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rod_end_bearing
So one could replace many things on a Monaco with heim joints: things that are already "joint like" (tie-rod ends), and things that are "bushing like" (a-arm bushings, strut rod bushing).
Cop monaco rear leaf springs have a small amount of rubber on the front connection point, and the civilian parts have a lot of rubber.
Cop monaco rear leaf springs are attached to the axle with no rubber, while civilian cars have rubber isolaters.
You can have
- comfortable, non-vibrating, squishy-poor-handling
or
- solid, less-comfortable, precise-handling
or something in-between.
I once had solid motor mounts in a Camaro and I didn't really perceive any ill effects in the comfort department, so I'm clearly on the path to "remove rubber stuff" and go for precise handling.
Strut rods go from the lower control arm forward to the frame. Together with the control a-arm, they make a lower "a-arm".
Here's a pic where you can see the passenger strut rod:
and another angle where you can see the passenger strut rod, and see the frame where the driver side attaches:
The strut rod is attached to the frame with a rubber bushing.
Hotchkiss offers strut rod replacements (not for c-body) that use heim joints:
www.hotchkis.net/dodge_be_body_adjustable_strut_rods.html
and some people make their own:
from
www.protouringmopar.com/showthread.php?413-Lower-control-arm-bushings-Poly-or-rubber&p=4583&viewfull=1#post4583
Notice that guy made his own strut rods using heim joints, but used the Hotchkiss upper control arms that use heim joints. Here's a pic of the Hotchkiss strut rod and a-arm:
from this interesting article:
www.hotchkis.net/press_release.html?ID=11
It says:
> A stock B-Body has over one inch of bump steer. With the
> Hotchkis components installed that is reduced to 1/16”, about the
> same as a 2009 Challenger SRT8.
but the adjusted a-arm geometry is a topic for another thread. Heim joints just prevent suspension geometries from changing due to rubber connection points flexing and compressing.
Heim joints sometimes get a bad rap for street use, presumably because they don't have the ability to seal out dirt and water (at least as well as tie rod ends or rubber control arm bushings) and then they get old and rattle. But I think this is mostly due to people buying low quality rod ends and then being unsatisfied when they don't hold up. And one has to consider when the car will be driven. I'm not going to have a trailer-queen, but I'll usually only drive it when the weather is nice, so it's not like I'll be fighting torrents of rain and dirt.
Here's a guy that uses only heim joints on his car:
from
www.usa7s.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1004&postcount=8
And one can get rod end shields and boots:
offered here:
www.sealsit.com/rodend.asp
But I don't think they'll be necessary. The gold standard for heim joints seems to be NMB / NHBB:
www.nhbb.com/products/rod-end-bearings.aspx
A common use for heim joints is to have a left-hand on one end of a bar, and a right-hand on the other end of a bar, so that the eye-to-eye length of the bar can be adjusted with disassembling. See that pic of the upper control arm above.
Or this one
from
www.circletrack.com/chassistech/ctrp_0410_moment_center_weight_balancing/photo_06.html
But there's another way that heim joints can be used to adjust a control arm without removing the arm.
Here are some pics of magnumforce control arms from
www.magnumforceracing.com/magnumforce_tubular_control_arms.htm
With the following arm, what you make is what you get - no adjustments:
With the following arm, you have some room for adjustment, but must remove the arm, then thread/unthread the heim joint the distance you want, then reinstall.
With the following arm, you can adjust without disassembly:
I wrote:
> How the heck does the magnumforce in pic 9 do it? All I can guess is that the control
> arm is not threaded where the heim joint goes through it, and it is located by a lock
> nut on each end of the joint. That doesn't seem particularly strong
I think the answer is that the lock "nut" on the back end is actually a long bushing that threads all the way up the rod end.
This pic describes the situation
from Competition Car Suspension by Allan Stainforth.
This page
The AUTOSPORT Bulletin Board > Push-rod suspension
forums.autosport.com/lofiversion/index.php/t94244.html
says that
> ...his book was iffy.
but at least it explained that conundrum.
your friend in putting the car back together,
arthur