What heims do I want?

[time2getdirty]

I am about to redo my front suspension and steering and track bar. I know for my control arms that I want 3/4, but my biggest question is what heims to get. Ruff stuffs are cheap? But does that men bad quality?

Help me out with your experience!

 

[foxwar71]

I know for my control arms that I want 3/4

Yuckie!! I don't even really like 3/4 for steering. Maybe a 7/8x3/4 for a UCA, but I'd go 1.25 all around. My 3 link is all 1.25 joints with 5/8 bolts. Everybody seems to really like RS stuff, I have 7/8x3/4 RS heims for my steering and 7/8x3/4 QA1's for the trackbar. Time will tell which does better. Next time around I do another link suspension, I plan on getting RS stuff too.

 

[time2getdirty]

Sorry 3/4 bolt as big of shank as possible! Is there a reason that makes either better or is it like the km2 vs. mtr debate?

 

[twodoorXJ]

For some reason ive had bad luck with RS heims, i run the 1.25s on one side of my LCAs, my heims were clunking like crazy a few months after i had installed them. Ruffstuff didnt warranty them 100% but they gave me a good deal on a pair of new ones. They sent the new ones, but didnt include new mis-allignment spacers. I installed them, and they were clunk free for a short while, and now theyre back to clunking. I ordered new misallignment spacers the other day, so hopefully thats it.

FWIW i lube them with Tri-flow, and my 3/4 RS heims on my upper have given me NO problems. I wish i had done johnny joints on both sides of my lower to begin with.

I reccomend johnny joints. I cant seem to find any that you can run bigger than a 9/16 bolt through though, im not sure if they even make them or not.

 

[ROBZ95Xj]

I reccomend johnny joints. I cant seem to find any that you can run bigger than a 9/16 bolt through though, im not sure if they even make them or not.

i dont see a need to run a bigger bolt

 

[in4aride]

Ran a 18mm bolt on my creeper joints.
definitely ruffled stuff on the heims

 

[Boostwerks.com]

For some reason ive had bad luck with RS heims, i run the 1.25s on one side of my LCAs, my heims were clunking like crazy a few months after i had installed them. Ruffstuff didnt warranty them 100% but they gave me a good deal on a pair of new ones. They sent the new ones, but didnt include new mis-allignment spacers. I installed them, and they were clunk free for a short while, and now theyre back to clunking. I ordered new misallignment spacers the other day, so hopefully thats it.

FWIW i lube them with Tri-flow, and my 3/4 RS heims on my upper have given me NO problems. I wish i had done johnny joints on both sides of my lower to begin with.

I reccomend johnny joints. I cant seem to find any that you can run bigger than a 9/16 bolt through though, im not sure if they even make them or not.

Do you have poly or rubber on the other side of your LCA's? If not, that could be the problem. In my experience, one end of the LCA (even the track bar I've noticed recently) needs to have a rubber or poly joint to absorb any high shock loads it may see. It seems like the teflon bearing inserts just don't hold up to the high shock loads a typical LCA sees.

I have 7/8" QA1's for my LCA's and factory rubber at the axle. My uppers are 5/8", also with rubber at the axle. Been daily driving this for the past 4 years with no problems.

 

[twodoorXJ]

Do you have poly or rubber on the other side of your LCA's? If not, that could be the problem. In my experience, one end of the LCA (even the track bar I've noticed recently) needs to have a rubber or poly joint to absorb any high shock loads it may see. It seems like the teflon bearing inserts just don't hold up to the high shock loads a typical LCA sees.

I have 7/8" QA1's for my LCA's and factory rubber at the axle. My uppers are 5/8", also with rubber at the axle. Been daily driving this for the past 4 years with no problems.

I could definitely see that being true, i suppose there has to be some "give" somewhere, if everything is solid on a LCA application, the joints would be under a lot of stress. Something has to absorb the shock.

Before i head the johnny joints, i ran ballistic fab poly joints.

 

[ktm racer 419]

The only time i ever had a heim wear out was because my trackbar was binding against the bracket on close to full droop.

Ever since ruffstuff started selling heims thats what Ive exclusively been using.

 

[vetteboy]

i dont see a need to run a bigger bolt

I've broken 2 and bent 4 9/16" bolts, shattered 8 center balls, stretched 4 housings, bent 6 1" shanks, and blew out 3 snap rings. Needless to say I'm not running Johnny Joints again. :laugh:

Nothin wrong with being solid mounted on both ends, there's a lot more that goes into NVH than whether you've got a bushing or not.

Next rig all the lowers are getting 1.25" heims from either Ruff Stuff or Midwest Control, uppers probably 3/4" x 5/8", steering I dunno yet. I've used QA1 pretty much exclusively in the past and they've held up great.

 

[DoWorkXJ]

I built my 3-link and I'm running Ruffstuff heims, I'm running 3/4"x5/8" uppers & 1.25"x3/4" lowers. I haven't had any issues with them yet. Heims tend to make noise as soon as they start to wear in because there is no give in them, so the noise transfers really easily to the inside of the rig.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Ruffstuff is not cheap, it's low priced. Made in china BS is cheap.

 

[Boostwerks.com]

I also should add...

At one point I had tried AFCO's greaseable heims on my track bar, and within 5 minutes of driving they started to clunk. I even used a high pressure lithium grease

 

[MoparManiac]

My Ruffstuff Heims are still as tight as the day I got them.

I run 1.25 on all three arms and 7/8 on my track bar.