Suspension links

[Clint]

OK, confidential info here

The greasable bronze/steel rod ends are an SKF SIKAC 25M the steel/teflon ones are an SI 25 C. There are greasable steel/steel ones too but the ends of the SKF ones were a lot bigger & I'm not sure they had as much angular travel.

Cutting the M24x2 thread on to the end of the arm was no big deal, they aren't hardened. I borrowed a die nut, Klembo's done a few just threading it on with a socket but I made up a man size die wrench. The die nut just fitted inside an old GQ front brake piston so I welded some handles to that, bored a hole & machined up a guide bush to fit & welded that in. No worries getting a straight thread with that.

Then you just file a bit off the end of the rod end so it tightens up at just the right orientation. I blued it up as I went to make sure it made even contact. You may also need to file a bit out of the end of the rod end thread to allow it to tighten against the shoulder. Assemble with lashings of red loctite.

I machined up some tapered spacer-bushes to fit in either side of the ball end to give max clearance/support.

Cheers
Clint

[mudlva]

Cool thanks Clint hopefully get across to trade tools to collect die this week.
Cheers

[darinz]

Shit! I wish I saw this earlier.
DON'T cut 24mm thread onto gq arms for a rodend! I've now broken 2 off them as they are just cast shit steel. The first broke jumpin so accepted that but the second was driving slow and was articulation that caused it.
All I'd done was cut 24mm thread and had an adapter so could run the same 7/8 rodend as rear 4 link. I creased arm length about 100mm.

And X2 for ruff stuff hiem joints. Still got the sa.w ones on my truck from tbe 2013 taupo 1000 so very impressed with life span.
7/8 for 4 link, front Panhard and radius arms and 1 - 1/4 for rear lower trailing arms. (Load bearing)

[darinz]

Also radius arms are now solid 40mm bisalloy with 7/8 hiem threaded into end. Engineer that did mine can do a set excluding bushes and hiem for just over $1k a pair out of 350 plate . Length to suit.
Had then in when I rolled my truck and ripped front wheel off and didn't effect them at all!

[mudlva]

Humm bugger got the ends and die nuts just this week as well...

Always happens.....

Ok so back to drawing board is it?

Darin are you having any issues with the front arm bushes? And are your arms picking up both bolts? On both sides?

Ive chopped the left arm down so it only carries the rear bolt only.

Now its not torque that is killing the arm/chassis bushes as the left arm bushes dont last either.
That said ive noticed that the rear diff bush on the right arm isnt looking worse for wear. Suspect its torque loading.

Thoughts

[Rotazuk]

Do you think the extra 100mm in the rod end adapter put more leverage on the threaded end on the arm , thus not helping the cause ? Clint has not had an issue from his reports , still no point in doing something that is not ip to the job .

[Clint]

Do you think the extra 100mm in the rod end adapter put more leverage on the threaded end on the arm , thus not helping the cause ? Clint has not had an issue from his reports , still no point in doing something that is not ip to the job .

While mine haven't seen the abuse that Darin has no doubt given his they are still ok. That extra 100mm would put over 2x the leverage on the weak point where it meets the arm & I think that's the key difference. Klem has had the same setup as mine through a quite a bit of offroad racing now without breakage. The joints do wear & get sloppy eventually though.

Cheers
Clint