heim joint lower control arm project.

[KamodoDragon]

I am in the process of making some adjustable lower control arms for 510, I was wondering what interest there might be in these when I get them done and working the way I want. Also in the works a tc rod kit as well. let me know what you all think.

[KamodoDragon]

more pics

[KamodoDragon]

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[KamodoDragon]

Here are the tc rods. The will be much shorter and bolt to the factory locations but with two mounting points on the frame for lowered cars.

[vgwagon]

I'm liking that...how much$$$

[KamodoDragon]

Im not sure yet. Im thinking something like $150 a set plus your old control arms. If I can get them powder coated the price would be a little more. The tc rods would be about the same price for a set but much lighter and better looking than techno toys boat anchors.

[KamodoDragon]

I got the first set all done. I just mig welded these since I was short on time, but the production ones will be tig welded.

[freekwonder]

Im interested, in the TC rod and the control arms.

[Byron510]

What size and brand of Hiem joint did you use? How did you adapt the inner dia. of the hiem joint bush to the stud on the crossmember, or did you replace it all together?
Byron

[Byron510]

This was my solution. The two ways I've done this have used the same locating system for holding the monoball bush into the stock control arm, the difference is in the mounting to the crossmember.
The monoball bush is located in the control arm by a slight press fit on its outer dia. and is located by two sleeves, simply tack welded to the control arm. I've just re-placed the ones on the Bronze car (front and rear control/trailing arms were all done in the same manner), and replacement was no issue. I simply ground the tack weld off, and pressed out the bush, inserted new bush and sleeve, and then tack welded back together again. These bushes had 17 years use as a weekend warrior! So durability obviously isn't an issue!
The below pictured set up fits on the stock lower control arm stud, the photo of the piece in my hand. The stainless steel sleeve adapts the inner dia. of the bush to the outer dia. of the stock stud, while also locating the bush in the right place between the shoulder and the snap ring. There is a slight press fit from the SS sleeve to the inner dia. on the monoball bush. Then the sleeve simply bolts into place on the stock control arm stud.
The second method, which was done by a previous owner on my Bronze car, was to simply replace the stock control arm stud with a large bolt that matches the inner dia. of the monoball bush. And then a sleeve on either side of the bush allowed the proper location for and aft on the bolt and clearance issues through the control arm travel. This bolt in question is a 3/4", grade 12 aircraft bolt, and the socket in the control arm was drilled out, and re-located higher up to regain some of the lost geometry, due to the severe lowing of the car.
I like both above tricks due to the fact that when it’s all assembled, a quick look under the car does not reveal that anything has been modified. For us up here in BC, this is a problem when being pulled over for an “inspection” by the local 5-O. Cops don’t like seeing any suspension mods, and usually slap you a vehicle inspection if they’ve gone to this much effort already if they find anything that can even be remotely construed as “suspicious”!
Just some ideas to throw out there for people to look at.
Byron

[dan-kellow]

i like the look of your lower control arms. i had this mod done to my car a few years back and it instantly corrected some suspension issues i was having, mainly due to the fact the my car has become as byron has pointed out ultra low ( actually byron made it that way, ha )the ony thing i didnt have done and might be a good idea in hind-sight is to use a threaded tube between the monoball and the control arm itself with one side reverse thread. this would let the control arm be adjusted without taking appart the suspension. a couple of lock nuts might also be a good idea in this application. if you were to add that little piece to your project you would become a better adjustable suspension man than me... just a thought.

[5teN]

i like the look of your lower control arms. i had this mod done to my car a few years back and it instantly corrected some suspension issues i was having, mainly due to the fact the my car has become as byron has pointed out ultra low ( actually byron made it that way, ha )the ony thing i didnt have done and might be a good idea in hind-sight is to use a threaded tube between the monoball and the control arm itself with one side reverse thread. this would let the control arm be adjusted without taking appart the suspension. a couple of lock nuts might also be a good idea in this application. if you were to add that little piece to your project you would become a better adjustable suspension man than me... just a thought.

Dan is on to something here but I would think that piece will end up getting pretty big or sketchy. (I have the same setup as your Dan). I wonder the the whole idea of adjusting camber at the lower control anyway, I think it would be better to do it with camber plates. Nonetheless spherical bearing at the lower control arm is a good idea to remove any unwanted compliance and allow for caster adjustment.

[KamodoDragon]

I installed the first set on one of my cars tonight. It was very simple and only took about 45 min for both sides. To answer some of the questions posted before, here is how I made them. I started with 1.100" od mild steel round stock. I turned it down to 0.995 od and bored a .687 hole for the 3/4-16 threads. I made these about 2" long and then welded them into the hollow middle of the control arm. I made the bushings for the pivot out of the same steel round stock. I left the pivot bolt unchanged. The rod ends I use are 3/4-16 by 3/4 4130 zinc plated cromoly and rated with a 18,810lb radial load capacity. The benefits I was looking for in these was to replace worn out bushings and by doing so eliminating unwanted flex and friction. I can tell a huge difference in resistance just by pulling up on the hub with the car in the air. the first inch of travel is much smother than with the factory bushings. Byron I like your idea with the mono ball bushing in the factory location. In the states we dont have laws against modifications like these that I know of and certainly no officers adventurous enough to get down on hands and knees to catch them:) I will drive the car as soon as I can and see what improvements it made. I will also get working on the tc rods this week.

[Byron510]

The solid suspension was actually not the main reason I designed my monoball setup. The best part about the monoball mod is that it allows you to run a crazy amount of caster without binding suspension parts, this was the ultimate goal. This was the main reason I did it on my cars, as well as friends like Dan, Cam and Marks cars. I run 5 1/2 degrees of caster, there's no way you could get half that much out of a stock bush with out compromising something. You'll notice that all the cars I've done the monoball mod to also have turnbuckles on the T/C rods, and are usually accompanied by a Kontrol type Delron ball/aluminum socket mount at the front of the T/C rod for increased braking stability.
Byron

[KamodoDragon]

I drove the car a little tonight and found that the rod ends make a noticeable difference in smoothness. The suspension reacts to bumps butch better now, and the set up does not make any more noise that stock. I didn't get to push the car at all to see if I can tell a handling improvement, but I think that there will be. I ordered up the parts today to make the first two sets of tc rods, so hopefully they will be done by next week. I will keep yall posted.