To heim or not to heim

[guilld]

Thoughts on using Heim joints in lieu of tie rod ends on steering and drag links.

 

[Spanky]

I think both are acceptable, as long as quality components are used. Heim joints look cleaner to me in a hot rod with exposed steering components, but it's a toss up as to which is better.

 

[old round fart]

I’m using tie rod ends. They are designed to do exactly what we want them to do so preventive maintenance is not as critical.

 

[TheYeti]

Hiem joints are great and look good too but the biggest thing people neglect to do is use large washers to trap the heim joint if it were to fail so that you can get the vehicles stopped safely.

 

[Hackerbilt]

Heims are not all created equally.
My T had a couple getting sloppy so I ordered some new ones from Speedway.
(This is NOT a slam at Speedway mind you. I like Speedway.)
They were higher quality Heims. When I got them I discovered they had more slop than the old ones I was going to replace!
I called Speedway but it wasn't worth my while to send them back so I just reordered...but this time I got the "Precision" brand Heims with the Teflon insert.
These I found to be excellent with zero slop and actually cheaper than the first set I had ordered.
They self-lubricate as well so no need to add oil or grease which would only attract dirt and increase potential wear anyway.
The original Teflon Heims on mine were approx 30 years old and had some hard use.
No shame in them wearing out by then...so I don't see any problem with using those teflon insert Heims at all.

To be clear...I'm NOT recommending Heims over tierods.
Both have their place and both are acceptable to use as far as I'm concerned.
The choice comes down to personal preference and consideration to the style/era of the build.

 

[Gerry]

There is an alternative to big washers to ensure they dont fall off if they 'pop'

 

[old round fart]

Those are so frickin’ cool!

 

[choppinczech]

This eBay seller has really good chromoly heims, spacers and rod ends.

Good service too.

qsc8

 

[Dezolde]

www.qscomponents.com

 

[guilld]

Thanks for the info. It is really great to have a large knowledge base only a keyboard stroke away.

 

[PotvinGuy]

Another quality vendor: Rod Ends, Spherical Bearings & Bushings - Aurora Bearing Company