Aluminum suspension tubes-- 88 Rear Suspension with Rod Ends

[cactus bastard]

The rod ends are greased through the shank. I have not seen these available commercially. It looks like Out-Pace Racing takes a non-greased rod end and drills the shank through to the race (with the ball turned so the drill can pass through the center without harming it).

That's interesting, I was expecting grooves machined into the ball or something, but I guess any rod end could be turned into a greasable one pretty easily.

[cactus bastard]

I'll post up some pictures of my entire rear end with bell crank QA1 shocks and full true IRS once I finish the 12" wilwood brakes this weekend.

Also, I'd like to see pics of this too! Have you gotten the brakes installed? Or do you have some older pictures of the suspension even?

[Series8217]

Been running my links for a month now and they still work great.

When it comes time to replace the rod ends, I think I will bust out the $$$ for some teflon lined ones that don't need to be greased. The Mini guys get 1 to 3 years of street use out of them. The greased ones probably last much longer, but the grease is messy and I tend to take things apart a lot..

For reference, here is what I used:

Spacers/adapters:

• 2x 6061 aluminum rod, 1-1/4" diameter, 12" length (McMaster 8974K161)

From the 1-1/4" aluminum rods, machine sixteen spacers with 5/8" ID, and thickness equal to X:
X = (1.580 - (rod end thickness + seal thickness))/2
My rod ends were 0.625" and my seals were 0.047", but you should measure yours to be sure it's right. The length is divided by two because there is a spacer on each side of every rod end.

• 1x 6061 aluminum rod, 3/4" diameter, 36" length (McMaster 8974K113)

To make the eight reducer sleeves, machine to 1.575" length, 5/8" OD, 12mm ID. Note that the length is slightly shorter than the total thickness of the spacer/seal/rod end assembly, so that we can be sure the fasteners bottom out on the load-bearing spacers rather than the sleeves.

Links / rod ends (for ~1" to 2" track width increase, and increased negative camber adjustment):

• 2x Out-Pace Racing 1-090-M2 (includes rod ends)
• 2x Out-Pace Racing 1-100-M2 (includes rod ends)
• 16x Seals-it Rod end seals for 5/8" rod ends

Links / rod ends (for stock track width):

• 2x Out-Pace Racing 1-080-M2 (includes rod ends)
• 2x Out-Pace Racing 1-090-M2 (includes rod ends)
• 16x Seals-it Rod end seals for 5/8" rod ends

Note that the Out-Pace Racing part numbers above include the tube, two rod ends (5/8" x 5/8" x 5/8-18), and two jam nuts.

Fasteners / hardware:

• 16x grease fitting caps from Drillspot.com
• 4x 10.9 M12x1.75x70mm hex bolt (McMaster 92461A600 for a pack of 10)
• 6x nylon-insert M12x1.75 hex flange locknut (McMaster 92461A600 for a pack of 25)
• 6x M12 black oxide flat washer, extra thick (McMaster 98040A107 for a pack of 5)

I reused the long cross bolts but if you need replacements for them, McMaster p/n 91290A652 should work. The factory bolt is M12x1.75x208mm with a 40mm threaded area. The McMaster part is a socket cap screw with the same thread but 200mm total length, and a 36 to 45mm threaded area.

Part sources: sealsit.com, out-pace.com, mcmaster.com, drillspot.com

Photos:

suspensionlinks 002 medium.jpg (117.94 KiB) Viewed 9953 times

suspensionlinks 004 medium.jpg (204.64 KiB) Viewed 9953 times

[Grim_Sage]

Good info. I plan on doing something similar only using Del-sphere joints
http://www.spohn.net/shop/Del-Sphere-Pivot-Joints/

[p8ntman442]

I race against a car owned by the Sealsit company. Nice people. Good product.

[Series8217]

I already have some play in the front inner link bearings, and I probably have less than 2000 miles on the car since I installed them. I think the grease just attracts dust (brake dust) even with the seals-it boots on there. I'll probably replace them with non-greased teflon units, or else make some sort of full boot that doesn't allow any dust to get in.

[The Dark Side of Will]

After the initial encounter with cheap rod ends, I put high end steel on steel rod ends in mine, with Pro-Werks/Chassis Shop rod end seals. I'd have to look at the log, but I probably have 10K miles on the car since then and haven't had any problems.

Most of the rod end gimmicks like teflon friction surfaces or greasable rod-ends just don't last in the automotive application.

[Series8217]

So un-lubricated steel ball & race rod ends are the way to go? Aurora I assume?

I figured the greased ones would have been the best since that's what all the OEMs use, but it seems the OE-style ball joints have a different construction.

[The Dark Side of Will]

I think I ordered from Aurora directly via my dad's employer.

[Series8217]

Will, what are you using for lube on the rod ends?

[Series8217]

I had previously neglected to mention that the links in my parts list were not adjustable all the way down to stock width, since I was increasing my track width slightly. I updated my parts list to include link lengths for stock track width: http://realfierotech.com/phpBB/viewtopi ... 90#p137290

[The Dark Side of Will]

Will, what are you using for lube on the rod ends?

I didn't use any lubrication... installed dry with the seal washers.

Have you seen any of those tubes as short as 4"? I need to measure, but I'm guessing that's how long I'll need them to be for the control arms I'll be building soon.

[Series8217]

Will, what are you using for lube on the rod ends?

I didn't use any lubrication... installed dry with the seal washers.

Have you seen any of those tubes as short as 4"? I need to measure, but I'm guessing that's how long I'll need them to be for the control arms I'll be building soon.

Only steel ones. I think I posted a link in your car build thread.

There are unthreaded hex tubes which are hollow all the way down the center; you could just get one of those, cut it in half or to length, and thread it. I forget the source, but I'll post it here if I find it.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Will, what are you using for lube on the rod ends?

I didn't use any lubrication... installed dry with the seal washers.

Have you seen any of those tubes as short as 4"? I need to measure, but I'm guessing that's how long I'll need them to be for the control arms I'll be building soon.

Only steel ones. I think I posted a link in your car build thread.

There are unthreaded hex tubes which are hollow all the way down the center; you could just get one of those, cut it in half or to length, and thread it. I forget the source, but I'll post it here if I find it.

The tubes in the link you posted have 5/8" RH threads for the clevis and 1/2" LH threads for the rod end. I was looking at the 1/2" clevis in order to keep the ball joint mount plate to 1/4". If I step up to the 5/8" clevis, I'd have to go to a 3/8" plate to mount the ball joint. That's overkill (and extra weight) even by my standards. I guess I could go to a 5/8" rod end at the body pivot...

I've seen hollow round bar stock... hollow hexagonal bar stock seems reasonable.

[Series8217]

I guess I could go to a 5/8" rod end at the body pivot...

This. (Assuming you can get a LH clevis)

The cost increase moving up from 1/2" to 5/8" for the rod end is insignificant compared to the cost of buying LH and RH taps in order to use the unfinished tubes.

BTW I found unthreaded tubes for 5/8" but nothing for 1/2". That's not a common rod end size for suspension parts. I think that's why all the 1/2" ones are swaged.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Yeah, and I'm obviously already using 5/8" units on the Storm Trooper's lateral links, as I made those using the tubes you posted when you started this thread.

Edit: I *thought* that www.chassisshop.com had LH clevii, but I guess not.

LH Clevii found: http://meziere.carshopinc.com/product_i ... 80/TC1220L

[Series8217]

Yeah, and I'm obviously already using 5/8" units on the Storm Trooper's lateral links, as I made those using the tubes you posted when you started this thread.

Edit: I *thought* that http://www.chassisshop.com had LH clevii, but I guess not.

LH Clevii found: http://meziere.carshopinc.com/product_i ... 80/TC1220L

Looks like McMaster has them too: 4749T152

[The Dark Side of Will]

Cool.

[Series8217]

I added photos to the overview post:

phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2573&p=137290#p137290

[Series8217]

Found some great information on different types of rod ends in this thread on Corner Carvers:

http://www.corner-carvers.com/forums/sh ... stcount=10

Apparently two-piece rod ends are pretty lousy because the bodies have to be made of swagable (swageable?) material (the bodies are swaged around the balls). They are said to wear pretty quickly. My experience confirms that.

Loader slot bearings have slots in the bodies so the balls can be inserted afterward. This means the bodies can be made of a better material have much more tightly controlled tolerances. Loader slot bearings with some PTFE should be decent on a car. QA1's XM series are an example of this type of rod end. These are ~$20 for a 5/8" rod end.

The best are the three-piece rod ends, which have a race swaged around the ball and THEN inserted into the body. Apparently this gives the most contact area and best fit. Also, the bearing can be removed and replaced without having to replace the housing. QA1's HM-T rods are an example of a three-piece PTFE-lined rod end. They're ~$30 - $35 each for a 5/8" rod end.