During the course of my rear suspension upgrades/rebuild, I discovered that the holes for the end links in my RM sway bar didn't quite line up with the holes in the lower control arm. Due to the bar's larger diameter, the mounting bolts are right next to the bushing clamps and don't allow any forward and backward adjustment on the sub-frame. Because of this and the crappy factory links that never seem to last, I decided to fabricate my own.
Note: As always...handling and brakes are not something to play around with. Do this at your own risk, and don't blame me, my family, my dog, etc. if you screw it up somehow.
After bouncing ideas around with Pagosa DSM (thanks Rick!) and thinking about it for a couple of days, I decided to go with a double heim joint arrangement, mounted under the lower control arm. The picture below shows how the holes were misaligned.
The first thing needed was to enlarge the hole in the lower control arm (LCA), to allow clearance for the new links. I made a "square" shaped hole approximately 1" on each side, offset slightly forward and towards the ball joint.
Next up was fabricating some steel plates to support the lower portion of the new link. I made these from 1/8" thick mild steel, and cut them to fit on either side of the enlarged hole, between the sides of the lower control arm. Each plate has a .390" (25/64) hole drilled in it for the mounting bolt, slightly offset to make the alignment better with the bar. After trimming them to fit properly, I clamped a 1-1/2" spacer between them with a 3/8"x24NF bolt before welding them in place.
In the pic below, you can see how the holes are aligned slightly off center.
For the links, I used a female heim and a male heim at roughly right angles to each other, locked together with a jam nut. This allows some adjustment for the height as well as being able to tweak the final angle once they are installed.
The parts I used were 3/8" precision heims from Speedway Motors. The part numbers are as follows:
1750113 - Precision RH Male Heim, 3/8" Shank/Hole
1750213 - Precision RH Female Heim, 3/8" Shank/Hole
1756043-RH - 3/8" Steel Jam Nuts - Pack of 6
Note: They also offer a cheaper version of these heims, and a "Pro-1" series which are a little higher quality but more expensive. I picked the middle versions.
In order to get the correct height, both the female and male heims needed to be cut to length. The female was cut to 1-1/8" from the center, and the male was cut to approximately 1-7/16".
Note: I probably could have left the female heim a little longer to get more thread engagement, but I didn't want to take a chance on the jam nut bumping against the LCA, and I didn't want to go bigger on the hole. There is still over a full diameter of thread engagement, but another 1/8" probably wouldn't hurt.
To keep the heim joints positioned properly, I made two spacers out of some 3/8" ID x 1/2" OD steel tubing that I picked up from Ace Hardware. The spacers were cut to offset lengths to provide a little side-to-side adjustability. I also allowed room for a flat washer to be used as a shim, to ensure a proper fit.
The lower mounting bolt is a 3/8"x24NF X 2-1/2" long grade 10 bolt purchased from Ace Hardware, along with a lock washer and nut. Here are all the parts ready to bolt up:
Once I welded up the brackets and painted the LCA's, I assembled the links and roughly adjusted the angle and spacing. Measuring from the top of the LCA, I set the center of the female joint to be just a little over 1-3/8", which turned out to be about right.
And here is a bottom view, showing the bolt and spacers that clamp the male heim into place. (The spacers were also painted before final mounting to prevent rust).
Once the rear suspension went back together, it was just a matter of attaching the heim's stud to the sway bar with a washer and lock nut, and making some very minor final adjustments.
So far they seem to be working as expected...time will tell as to how strong they are!
Note: As always...handling and brakes are not something to play around with. Do this at your own risk, and don't blame me, my family, my dog, etc. if you screw it up somehow.
After bouncing ideas around with Pagosa DSM (thanks Rick!) and thinking about it for a couple of days, I decided to go with a double heim joint arrangement, mounted under the lower control arm. The picture below shows how the holes were misaligned.
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The first thing needed was to enlarge the hole in the lower control arm (LCA), to allow clearance for the new links. I made a "square" shaped hole approximately 1" on each side, offset slightly forward and towards the ball joint.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Next up was fabricating some steel plates to support the lower portion of the new link. I made these from 1/8" thick mild steel, and cut them to fit on either side of the enlarged hole, between the sides of the lower control arm. Each plate has a .390" (25/64) hole drilled in it for the mounting bolt, slightly offset to make the alignment better with the bar. After trimming them to fit properly, I clamped a 1-1/2" spacer between them with a 3/8"x24NF bolt before welding them in place.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
In the pic below, you can see how the holes are aligned slightly off center.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
For the links, I used a female heim and a male heim at roughly right angles to each other, locked together with a jam nut. This allows some adjustment for the height as well as being able to tweak the final angle once they are installed.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
The parts I used were 3/8" precision heims from Speedway Motors. The part numbers are as follows:
1750113 - Precision RH Male Heim, 3/8" Shank/Hole
1750213 - Precision RH Female Heim, 3/8" Shank/Hole
1756043-RH - 3/8" Steel Jam Nuts - Pack of 6
Note: They also offer a cheaper version of these heims, and a "Pro-1" series which are a little higher quality but more expensive. I picked the middle versions.
In order to get the correct height, both the female and male heims needed to be cut to length. The female was cut to 1-1/8" from the center, and the male was cut to approximately 1-7/16".
Note: I probably could have left the female heim a little longer to get more thread engagement, but I didn't want to take a chance on the jam nut bumping against the LCA, and I didn't want to go bigger on the hole. There is still over a full diameter of thread engagement, but another 1/8" probably wouldn't hurt.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
To keep the heim joints positioned properly, I made two spacers out of some 3/8" ID x 1/2" OD steel tubing that I picked up from Ace Hardware. The spacers were cut to offset lengths to provide a little side-to-side adjustability. I also allowed room for a flat washer to be used as a shim, to ensure a proper fit.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
The lower mounting bolt is a 3/8"x24NF X 2-1/2" long grade 10 bolt purchased from Ace Hardware, along with a lock washer and nut. Here are all the parts ready to bolt up:
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Once I welded up the brackets and painted the LCA's, I assembled the links and roughly adjusted the angle and spacing. Measuring from the top of the LCA, I set the center of the female joint to be just a little over 1-3/8", which turned out to be about right.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
And here is a bottom view, showing the bolt and spacers that clamp the male heim into place. (The spacers were also painted before final mounting to prevent rust).
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Once the rear suspension went back together, it was just a matter of attaching the heim's stud to the sway bar with a washer and lock nut, and making some very minor final adjustments.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
So far they seem to be working as expected...time will tell as to how strong they are!
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