Jump to content

Heim Joints or Ball Joints?


Recommended Posts

I can tell you that I recently traded for a 2nd Banshee, part of the reason was that it had +2" a-arms on it, they are Full Flight +2"s and unknown to me they use the Heim joint and I'm not very impressed with it, seems like there is a lot of play. I'm going to see if I can find a ball joint to replace them with, at least at the spindle!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a no brainer. Ball joints all the way. They are sealed so they dont get water and dirt in them. I had a pair of asr a arms. Bought them new and 2 rides later they were poping and squeeking. I wouldnt even get a pair of a arms that have hiems where they mount to the frame.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i am not a fan of any kinda heim, you can never get all the slop out. theres always some kinds wiggle, click or squeek. if you have aftermarket a arms, you can replace the heims with a moog part from your local auto parts store. MOOG ES2074R. they are around 20 bucks a piece, big beefy ball joint for aftermarket a arms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thats what I figured about those heims, I am just tring to prove a point that they are not better than ball joints at all. So I figured I would start a post and see what you guys had to say so far so good. :clap:

 

Thanks NYUK, ya I can get that moog part for $14, but for my lowers I am going to have to go with Alba and get them. I have the Alba +2+1 a-arms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thats what I figured about those heims, I am just tring to prove a point that they are not better than ball joints at all. So I figured I would start a post and see what you guys had to say so far so good. :clap:

 

Thanks NYUK, ya I can get that moog part for $14, but for my lowers I am going to have to go with Alba and get them. I have the Alba +2+1 a-arms.

yeah me too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After having both, I would prefer the ball joints. However if you have cheap heims, that could be the problem as well. All kinds of off road race vehicles use hiems, I'm sure its your quality of hiems that are giving you the problems.

You hit the nail on the head. I have never seen any heims come standard on arms that are the PTFE heims. They are all metal on metal joints. If you use QUALITY heims, they will outlast balljoints ten-fold. If they aren't FK PTFE, or Nylon heims (JMX, or KMX series), they will most likely be garbage. Every suspension setup I have built for race vehicles, or sand cars, would never even consider using ball joints because they lack the strength required for those vehicles. Then again, the heims are also about $150 a piece. On Banshee arms, if you're not going to spend the money on the quality heims, don't waste your time on them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You hit the nail on the head. I have never seen any heims come standard on arms that are the PTFE heims. They are all metal on metal joints. If you use QUALITY heims, they will outlast balljoints ten-fold. If they aren't FK PTFE, or Nylon heims (JMX, or KMX series), they will most likely be garbage. Every suspension setup I have built for race vehicles, or sand cars, would never even consider using ball joints because they lack the strength required for those vehicles. Then again, the heims are also about $150 a piece. On Banshee arms, if you're not going to spend the money on the quality heims, don't waste your time on them.

 

Yea so if you get a arms that have crap hiems it is a safe bet that the a arm its self is crap. I would still take ball joints over a heim. Heim's work great for 4 links and a arm mounting points to the frame. When the rate them it is a radial load, pulling in line (parallel). A ball joint is for a perpindicular load. It is just preferance. The asr a amrms that I had for 3 weeks suposedly have kevlar lined hiems. You could see that they had been injected with some sort of plastic. They squeeked and popped after a couple rides so I got rid of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...