Blowing through track bar heims

[blistovmhz]

98xj, 5.3L/4l65e, 6.5" long arm, 1 tonne OTK cross-over, wj knuckles, OTA track bar, 35" shoes.

Prior to the steering upgrade, I think I blew through two stockish (location) track bars. Wore out joints on the chassis side.
Did the steering upgrades and mounted the track bar OTA to keep it parallel with the drag link. Used this heim: http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=34SET&Store_Code=ruffstuff&search=34SET&offset=&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=&range_low=&range_high=

Looks like this:

Heim is worn to the point that it's time to change, after about a year of wheeling (fairly hard, but ya know.. still running stockish axles, so not THAT hard).

What am I doing wrong here, or is this just how long I should expect that heim to last? Should I be upgrading to a bigger joint (lower is the same size and still tight), or is this an engineering problem?

 

[zachandandy]

Check your ball joints, Sierra chapter had a member blowing through heims and after the 3rd set he realized his ball joints were shot.

 

[mtbxj87]

Cause theyre not greaseable, unless I can't see the zerk fitting

 

[blistovmhz]

Yea, not greaseable, but I hear lots of guys using heims for steering even, and not having to replace them anywhere near as often as I do.
Just rebuilt the track var with some 7/8 joints this time. Maybe they'll hold up.

Oh, bj's are brand new and old ones were tight as well. Was my first thought.


The one possibility I cone up with is my angle is just too high, but its pretty near flat.

 

[SolarBell]

I switched from Ruffstuff to greasable RK(?) heims and stopped blowing through them at that rate.

 

[Jbh97009]

Ruff stuff heims just aren't what they used to be. My new steering has already killed 2 sets of their heims. I'm switching everything over to fk, once I get my new axle ready. more money but if they last as long as everyone says I'll be happy!

 

[blistovmhz]

Damn! Already installed my roomies bigger heims on the Jeep . Now I owe him a bumper fab!

Yea, greaseable seems about the right answer. Will do that next I suppose (6-12 months from now).
Thanks all.

 

[Boostwerks.com]

I can't tell what your chassis side joint is, but in my experience you need a poly or rubber bushing on one side of the track bar. This is to absorb any shock loading before it can be transferred into the heim. I would also recommend using at least a 7/8" heim if not bigger.

Do NOT use a grease-able heim! It will clunk worse than your worn out heim. Ask me how I know.

 

[TheCodeMonk]

What does the frame side look like?

I am wondering how much that heim moves when the jeep is flexed out each way...it's already pretty far to one side and I wonder if you're just overextending it.

 

[blistovmhz]

Nah, the joint has more than enough range of motion to deal with my mounting. It used to be the lower mounts that were blowing out, but since I switched to the 1-tonne steering and OTK track bar, it's been the upper.
That said, I did manage to tear my frame apart just behind the PS box recently. I think there's been a small crack there hidden under the paint since the previous owner hit a moose, but I think the 5.3L torque just exposed it (and expose it did!). The whole driver side frame rail has probably had a tonne of flex to it for years, which explains a lot of mysterious noises and track bars that have to be shortened every year :|.

Plated it all up with 1/4" to be sure.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

I don't know which came first, bad heims or bad ball joints, but neither was helping. I run 7/8 RS heims on the trackbar and have been blowing through them,

this last time around I went to FK JMX heims , and got rid of the ruffstuff. On the other hand , my RS 1.25" heims on my control arms are still going strong almost 2 years later...


Another issue, is the short trackbar, shorter than the drag link, even if its parallel.

Additional front end parts going south will make the trackbar do more work than it should . like your cracked frame, or bad ball joints.

 

[Bronzewyrm]

Did you ever find a decent solution for the OP? I'm having the same troubles, currently trying to source a replacement.

Thanks
Bronze.

 

[1990JEEPXJ]

Spend the money for an FK replacement.

 

[blistovmhz]

Did you ever find a decent solution for the OP? I'm having the same troubles, currently trying to source a replacement.

Thanks
Bronze.

Not really. Replaced the blown out one for the third time around the time of the OP, and have beaten the shit out of it this season, and it's still tip top. Considering how much more abuse it's seen, and survived, all I can think is that the first two were just defective. They were from the same order from RuffStuff, and I've had issues with RS TRE's as well, so entirely possible just a bad batch.
I did make one other change which may have had an affect. I cut out a few 3/4" chunks of radiator hose to stick on either end of the misalignment spacers (to prevent the bar from spinning and knocking into the end of it's travel, or hitting the mount). This may very well be the reason these ones have survived so much better. Less silt getting in, and nowhere near as much lateral rotation.

Jeep is frighteningly quiet on the trail now. I'd grown so used to clunks and pops that I just got used to it. Once I stuck these little rubber bits on, and welded the crap out of my frame side track bar mount, the lack of pops is actually sorta disturbing. Sounds pretty much like driving a new stock vehicle on the street, but while bombing over boulders and smaller vehicles.

 

[Boostwerks.com]

Did you ever find a decent solution for the OP? I'm having the same troubles, currently trying to source a replacement.

Thanks
Bronze.

There's a reason why most MFG's have a bushing on at least one end of the track bar. Not sure if this pertains to your case or not.

I had 2 7/8" x 3/4" ball heim joints go dead in no time. I cut the chassis side off and replaced it with a poly bushing... no more issues.

 

[blistovmhz]

There's a reason why most MFG's have a bushing on at least one end of the track bar. Not sure if this pertains to your case or not.

I had 2 7/8" x 3/4" ball heim joints go dead in no time. I cut the chassis side off and replaced it with a poly bushing... no more issues.

Yea, that makes a lot of sense and if true, confirms my suspicions as well. The heim joint just isn't designed to deal with off-center loads. You want the ball and socket as perfectly aligned at all times. When wheeling, the track bar wants to rotate when under tension as the suspension cycles, so you end up grinding your heim apart left to right.
Also, with even a modest misalignment spacer, you should never need heims at both ends. If your axle rolls that far on suspension cycling, something else has gone wrong.

 

[Boostwerks.com]

Yea, that makes a lot of sense and if true, confirms my suspicions as well. The heim joint just isn't designed to deal with off-center loads. You want the ball and socket as perfectly aligned at all times. When wheeling, the track bar wants to rotate when under tension as the suspension cycles, so you end up grinding your heim apart left to right.
Also, with even a modest misalignment spacer, you should never need heims at both ends. If your axle rolls that far on suspension cycling, something else has gone wrong.

The ball movement isn't what's killing the joint though. It's the constant linear shock loading of the heim's plastic liners when going over any bumps. A bushing however, is able to absorb these shock loads before transferring it to the heim on the other end of the link.

Essentially the bushing acts as a shock, while the heim allows for adjustment and travel.

 

[blistovmhz]

If you're correct on that, mine should blow out again. Makes sense, but I also see lots of guys who claim to be running heims for their control arms without any issue, and those should be taking more shock that my track bar.

Time will tell. Thus far, with a full season of beatings, they're still mint.

 

[Boostwerks.com]

It may be fine for a while. The bushing will simply make it last much much longer.

 

[Bronzewyrm]

There's a reason why most MFG's have a bushing on at least one end of the track bar. Not sure if this pertains to your case or not.

I had 2 7/8" x 3/4" ball heim joints go dead in no time. I cut the chassis side off and replaced it with a poly bushing... no more issues.

I run a jcr otk 1ton setup and the RS panhard. I have a pass drop 3link on 4.5" of lift.

My track bar frame side mount is stout, I had to deal with that not too long after install. Funny thing to me is that I run the exact same joint for the axle side Upper link. And have never had an issue there. I cant imagine the panhard having more force on it than the upper in my 3link. regardless ive been through 2 sets for the panhard. that leads me to your post, the lowers and the body side upper mount for my 3 link stuff all run the ballistic 2.63 joints, and I have upgraded to poly inners there. Would this be enough to take the force, and relive the heim joint on the upper? If so, id look into a poly body side bushing for the panhard. BUT, I have a 3link, I in no way want to mess with the flex of it as I have worked long and hard to get everything all dialed in, working properly, and everything bottoms out at the same time up front.

Jonny joints were my original thought, but I'm having a hell of a time finding a 2" with 3/4 thread, and a 9/16" bolt...

Thanks for the speedy replies fellas!
Bronze.