Off Roading Heim Joint life?

[Tinman]

I've had the Kore Blistein 7100 system on the '01 for about 3 years. Noticed a knocking in the rear the other day over bumps and examined the rear shocks yesterday. The left rear heims are lose. Not the mounting but the joints themselves. Probably about 2mm of play at each end. You can feel it and hear it. Right rear is OK. I would have thought such and expensive shock would last a little longer before maintenance. Performance is great but this is a little aggravating. I've also had a little (but noticable) play on the front upper mounts since new. Called Kent and he sent me a new heim joint for the front a while back, but it didn't help. The truck does get driven off pavement (forest service roads) about to 30+miles a week. Just wanted to see if this could be considered normal of if I should look for a problem.

 

[Bob4x4]

That is the reason you don't see many used on the street. On a race vehicle the truck is looked at after every race,how many give that kind of attention to a daily driver.



Bob

 

[y-knot]

Like the poster said above, they are great for "FULL RACE" applications, but very bad for street trucks. You are left with the options of leaving it alone and allowing it to continue to wear, causing the problem to escalate and get noisier, or buy replacement ends and solve the problem atleast temporarory till the problems return.

I have been very active in the off-road truck arena, and have built several trucks including my '97 Dodge which is getting ready to receive a huge up-grade in the suspension area. For street trucks, or to just reduce the noise and clanging of HP rod ends, I use only Polyurethane bushings. They are a little less accurate and precise, but when installed properly and maintained, they do provide a superior road suspension, and are much less expensive to replace when something goes wrong.

The high end kits are great for 100% off-road duty, but they seldom relate the troubles associated with these kits to the consumers.

 

[Tinman]

Thanks guys. That answers my question. Looks like that is the price one must pay for a performance suspension. It's a price I am willing to pay. Y- knot, can you give me somemore info on these polyurethane bushings? Can they be used in place of the heim joints on these types of shocks?

 

[kparker]

Tinman,



Spherical bearings will wear out over time. The bearings in those 7100 shocks are also not as good as the Auroras and FK's that come in the Fox shocks. I had to replace a bearing in a friends 7100 rear shock not too long ago. He got a few years of off road abuse on them before the one went bad. Lot's of mud, sand, and general thrashing of the truck took it's toll. I have seen urethane bushings shoot right out the side of the shock eyes as well. Rubber bushings can crack and go away with time. There are pros and cons of each arrangement.



Regardless of what type of shocks you have, you should watch the mounting bushings/bearings, and replace them as needed. Another good thing to do is to wipe the shock shafts down occasionally. Dried dirt and grime can eventually wear out your shaft seals. Not a big deal if it is a $25 Rancho, but expensive race shocks should be treated like they are worth something. I totally agree with you on performance shocks being worth the extra price. With that being said, a little more attention to taking care of the investment is also time well spent.