I am doing a four link setup in the rear of my toyota and was wondering about heim joints. Is the strength difference in the $10.00 heims and the $25.00 heims substantial enough to spend the extra money, or will the cheaper ones work.
rod ends
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Do not use $10 heims for critical suspension or steering. They will not last long enough; they will get sloppy way too fast and the $10 hiems are way smaller than tractor link heims. This means you have less back-up brute strength to cover you when they get sloppy (and you start slamming against the slack).
Tractor link hiems are okay for rear arms I guess (I've been using the same ones for several years now). They are extremely sloppy now. I check them frequently and they don't look like they're about to break, they're just real sloppy. I haven't decided for sure If I'm going back with another set of tractor link ends or if I'm upgrading to real heims this summer.
Tractor link hiems are okay for rear arms I guess (I've been using the same ones for several years now). They are extremely sloppy now. I check them frequently and they don't look like they're about to break, they're just real sloppy. I haven't decided for sure If I'm going back with another set of tractor link ends or if I'm upgrading to real heims this summer.
Lemme add this: $10 heims might be a good idea for an initial build-up while you're trying to get the details of your geometry worked out. Just plan on replacing them after a couple of runs.
I AM using a pair of $10 5/8" heims on my front track bar. One day, after I get rich, I will replace them with some "real" heims. Although turning radius would suffer severely if my trackbar were to fail, it would not be a catastrophic event. I have $50 3/4" heims on my drag link and tie rod...it surely could be catastrophic if one of those failed.
I AM using a pair of $10 5/8" heims on my front track bar. One day, after I get rich, I will replace them with some "real" heims. Although turning radius would suffer severely if my trackbar were to fail, it would not be a catastrophic event. I have $50 3/4" heims on my drag link and tie rod...it surely could be catastrophic if one of those failed.
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heims
I too am using tractor "heims" on my steering tie rod, not sure what they cost me, around $15 each. Have used those tractor type several times and have bent and broke tie rods and steering arms and sheared off 3 grade 8 1/2" bolts on my steering arm but never broke the heims. Like Hatch said they will get sloppy after awhile but you can replace them just as cheaply.
I too am using tractor "heims" on my steering tie rod, not sure what they cost me, around $15 each. Have used those tractor type several times and have bent and broke tie rods and steering arms and sheared off 3 grade 8 1/2" bolts on my steering arm but never broke the heims. Like Hatch said they will get sloppy after awhile but you can replace them just as cheaply.
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