Rear Lower Control arms. How To:

[RedTalonTsi]

Was just referring to post #47 in this thread.

 

[Fehrion_sit]

On a side note don't tie the car down with them. We usually use axle straps around our lower control arms to tie it down on the trailer or hold it on the dyno. Big mistake with these, snapped both rear control arms on the dyno.

his car made over 1000 horse and more than 600torq .... why am i not surprised it snapped those rods like sticks


still waiting to see the completed control arms with the revised parts ... hopefully he finishes soon

 

[DSM4LIFE-AWD]

Sorry guys, last week I didn't have the time to install the new parts and now I'm sick as hell ... It's getting cold up here and I caught the flu.

Will see if I get better tomorow since I'm doing fever right now and can't quit work since I need money ...

Just to give you an idea the new rodend looks 100x better quality, the ball is stiff inside the cage. I can rotate the ball with my finger but can't feel any play. I'll try my best to install them this week-end ...

I apologize ...

 

[cioc]

Just as an FYI for you road racers out their looking to replace your upper rear 1G arms with straight tubular ones. They will hit the chassis BEFORE the tire hits the inner fender. I found this out the hard way at Watkins Glen with the new Ohlins suspension. NOT GOOD. Car felt VERY loose in the back because under a high compression turn all of a sudden the rear goes solid. So, for those intending on fully stroking their suspension on a road course, make sure you put a bend in these so you can effectively stroke the suspension and get to the bump stops first.

 

[agentorange313]

Just as an FYI for you road racers out their looking to replace your upper rear 1G arms with straight tubular ones. They will hit the chassis BEFORE the tire hits the inner fender. I found this out the hard way at Watkins Glen with the new Ohlins suspension. NOT GOOD. Car felt VERY loose in the back because under a high compression turn all of a sudden the rear goes solid. So, for those intending on fully stroking their suspension on a road course, make sure you put a bend in these so you can effectively stroke the suspension and get to the bump stops first.

Good to know.

If we are to put a bend in these arms, does anyone know the stock bend angle of the upper control arm?

Would a mandrel pipe bender be appropriate to bend these bars? Do you guy think a different material besides aluminum should be used as the threaded bars?

Just brainstorming here and getting some ideas out there, resolutions to the above problem of them being straight. I know Ingall makes aftermarket arms for us and they are bent, but around 275 for them.

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[cioc]

I had the old Ingalls arm that also had the bend and it damn near killed me at Pocono. From that point I swore I would not go with Ingalls again even though the new improved units pictured are much beefier than the previous version. As for the mandrel, it wont work because the tubes are swaged and neck down in diameter. What I did was fill the swaged tubes with Cerrobend and then use a hydraulic tube bender. For reference, the angle I used was 12.5 degrees and the radius of the bend is 4". The tangency point of the bend is 8 7/8" from the inner center pivot point. I verified after they were bent by cycling the rear suspension with no shock. Worked like a charm

 

[99gst_racer]

Got a pic of where the arm makes contact?

 

[RedTalonTsi]

Well I pulled the trigger on doing the uppers, here's the parts list I ordered:

30211, Afco Tie Rod End, 3/4 LH thread, from summit $20.85 x2
10141, Jam Nut, 3/4 LH thread, from summit $1.95 x2
10140, Jam Nut, 3/4 RH thread, from Summit $1.95 x2
19514, 14" Swedged Steel Tube, 3/4 thread, from Summit $15.35 x2
and
VCAM-12, Aurora PTFE Male Rod End, 3/4 RH thread, (Heat-treated, teflon lined heim joint), from Car Shop Inc $27.95 x2

Jeggs was within $2.00 of what Summit wanted but couldn't ship till the 7th of Nov on a part so....everything shipped was about $150...Ingals wants $140ish? for 1 of these things?

I'll update if any interest,
Dana

 

[BoostedBeaver]

Aurora joints (as I have been told) are quality parts.

Please take lots of pictures and check out the joints so that we can see them. I would love to see the joints and I would like to know what spacers you use.

Reason I ask is because I went with the AFCO joints and already have the spacers made up. If I could get away with using these spacers, it would be outstanding

Thanks for the update and please take some pictures.

Robert

 

[99gst_racer]

Reason I ask is because I went with the AFCO joints and already have the spacers made up. If I could get away with using these spacers, it would be outstanding

Robert, the width of the ball of the heim will be the same no matter the brand or series. So you can swap in any heim and use those same heim spacers.

 

[BoostedBeaver]

Paul,

Thanks for the advice, which is great news. I will be ordering two of these Aurora joints very soon and updating the Video and blog entries I have made.

Again thanks for the info on the part numbers and the Heim joint measurements.

Robert

 

[jksmith]

Well I pulled the trigger on doing the uppers, here's the parts list I ordered:

30211, Afco Tie Rod End, 3/4 LH thread, from summit $20.85 x2
10141, Jam Nut, 3/4 LH thread, from summit $1.95 x2
10140, Jam Nut, 3/4 RH thread, from Summit $1.95 x2
19514, 14" Swedged Steel Tube, 3/4 thread, from Summit $15.35 x2
and
VCAM-12, Aurora PTFE Male Rod End, 3/4 RH thread, (Heat-treated, teflon lined heim joint), from Car Shop Inc $27.95 x2

Jeggs was within $2.00 of what Summit wanted but couldn't ship till the 7th of Nov on a part so....everything shipped was about $150...Ingals wants $140ish? for 1 of these things?

I'll update if any interest,
Dana

so repeat this with 17" tubing to do the lower ones?

 

[DSM4LIFE-AWD]

Yesterday I was at the garage and had time so I decided to swap those heims.

Some pics to show you how they turned out in 10,000Km or about 6,000miles. Remember over here in Quebec the roads are way worst than yours.

Here's the AM-12T !

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The AFCO heims have about 0.005" or more play. Last summer with the car on jackstand I could feel a big play in the rear wheels. Enough to give you that WTF face haha Now with the new heims there's no play at all.

The AFCO tie rod end still look fine to me ... Will see for how long haha damn

 

[CrashGNX]

sway bar end links should be mounted vertical so the stress of moving up and down is absorbed instead of being horizontal causing the end links to twist, this will effectively make your swaybar useless.

 

[____Kurt____]

So I will be ordering these parts this week to put together my rear end and finally finish my car up. I don't want to buy the adjustable uppers if I can make better ones at half the cost. I see there was a parts order list posted above. Can anyone confirm this is everything needed to completing the upper arms from start to finish I would appreciate it. I'm not cheating out on the parts because I believe if its worth doing it once its worth doing it correctly. Thanks

 

[BoostedBeaver]

The parts list with the Aurora Heim joints is the list you want. I am not sure if those joints come with spacers or not so that will be something to consider.

I ordered the AFCO joints first and they failed on me so I had the spacers left over when it came time to change them out. Other than that, I know the list is complete.

Robert

 

[pneumo]

I'm seeing some wear on the lower, inner balljoint. It's not bad yet, just some very light clunking under certain bumps. When it's time to replace them I'm going to get seals and pack them with grease. Oddly, the upper arms are doing fine, even though I made them with smaller 5/8" heims/tube.

 

[ThunderChild]

sway bar end links should be mounted vertical so the stress of moving up and down is absorbed instead of being horizontal causing the end links to twist, this will effectively make your swaybar useless.

have you looked at our front swaybars? they have a dual ball joint style horizontally jointed links...

as long as the bolt or link can support the load and and proper bushings are used, there will be no problem.

several oem companies do control arm direct mounts.

 

[____Kurt____]

Well I pulled the trigger on doing the uppers, here's the parts list I ordered:

30211, Afco Tie Rod End, 3/4 LH thread, from summit $20.85 x2
10141, Jam Nut, 3/4 LH thread, from summit $1.95 x2
10140, Jam Nut, 3/4 RH thread, from Summit $1.95 x2
19514, 14" Swedged Steel Tube, 3/4 thread, from Summit $15.35 x2
and
VCAM-12, Aurora PTFE Male Rod End, 3/4 RH thread, (Heat-treated, teflon lined heim joint), from Car Shop Inc $27.95 x2

Jeggs was within $2.00 of what Summit wanted but couldn't ship till the 7th of Nov on a part so....everything shipped was about $150...Ingals wants $140ish? for 1 of these things?

I'll update if any interest,
Dana

So this is it? I would like to stay away from the AFCO stuff if possible because I keep reading bad things about the cheap quality. I need to order tonight so any input would be nice. Thanks again

 

[BoostedBeaver]

Yes, that is all the parts needed. When I purchased my Tie rod ends they came with locking nuts so I did not have to purchase them separately.

Robert

 

[nitroazz]

30211, Afco Tie Rod End, 3/4 LH thread, from summit $20.85 x2
10141, Jam Nut, 3/4 LH thread, from summit $1.95 x2
10140, Jam Nut, 3/4 RH thread, from Summit $1.95 x2
19514, 14" Swedged Steel Tube, 3/4 thread, from Summit $15.35 x2
and
VCAM-12, Aurora PTFE Male Rod End, 3/4 RH thread, (Heat-treated, teflon lined heim joint), from Car Shop Inc $27.95 x2

I understand that this is the list for parts but what is the list if you wanted to go with the aluminum rod style, the ones that looked Koni coloured.( First page of topic) I am just curious, I would like to match my suspension setup already and I guess I could powder coat the steel tube but I am curious anyways.

 

[____Kurt____]

Aluminum wedge pipe is 20056 if anybody wants aluminum ones

Aluminum lowers, but idk what one would be stronger because it doesn't say the thickness of the AL tubes.

 

[____Kurt____]

Ok I just ordered the stuff to do the uppers including the am-12t heim joints. Total is about 180. I opted for the aluminum rods instead of the steel.

 

[____Kurt____]

For anyone who is going to order the am-12t I found them for $46.50 on this website. This is where I ordered them from.
3/4" Hole/Thread - Right - AM-12T

 

[____Kurt____]

Ok so finally I got everything in to build these things, aluminum tubes and aurora am-12t heims. Now all I need is the specs for the heim joint spacer. It would be nice to make them before I got to work on my car so I can install everything instead of having to wait till next weekend after taking measurements. Thank you.

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