Heim Joint Noise

[BMMILLER]

The Heim joints on my car make a lot of noise when hitting any type of bump in the road. I have greased and re-greased. Aren't urethane joints available? Maybe someone has another idea.

Thanks,

Blair

[ERA535]

Heim joints shouldn't be greased. That attracts dirt, which then acts like a grinding compound with the grease to wear them out.

Where are they being used?

[BMMILLER]

This car has a 4-bar link setup and also the panhard rod has heim joints. They all have zerk fittings??

[ERA535]

Is there some kind of cover for the heim to protect it from dirt?

[Richard Hudgins]

BMMILLER,

If your rod ends are making noise, what type of noise are you speaking of?

Clanking, squeaking, whatever.

This would help in the diagnosis of your problem.

One thing, rod ends with grease fittings are not the best of units.

I would recommend that you look at Aurora Bearing or FK bearings for proper race quality units.

The JBL uses only the high strength teflon lined units and there are JBL cars out there with 25k+ miles and no noise from the joints or even any discernable wear.

If you could provise better detail, we could probably help you.

[mr bruce]

Heims really ain't for street use, altho everybody uses them. check in StreetRodder mag for urethane ends, all them cats use 'em. www.sealsit.com for the heim joint condums.

[Aussie Mike]

The noise your experiencing will probably be because the Heim joint transmits the shock from every single road pimple or bump directly to the chassis. They are great on the track but they suck on the street.

Are the joints nylon or teflon lined? They may prove to be a bit quieter than the bronze lined units. They also require less lubrication. I have seen plastic dust covers that clip over the sides of the ball area.

There are a lot of urithane bushes in similar sizes to the Heim joints that mightn't require to much modification to your mounts. Check out the hot roding magazines for a suplier. Even just replacing the joints on one end of the arms with urithane would help a lot. The GT40s used a Heim joint on one end and a rubber joint on the other.

Cheers

[Jim Colman]

I had the same problem with an 8 year old Midstates. I also had a four bar setup with a Panhard bar. The Heim joint on the drivers side would squeak with every bump. I was told that Heim's wear out and need to be replaced approximatly every five years or so. I bought a new set, installed it and the problem went away. Heim joints are around $250.00 for a complete set.

Cheers
Jim