Heims

[RPM]

How many of you have actually seen a heim fail and the flat washer kept it from falling apart? No BS about you heard of that. YOU actually saw it or it happened to you.

 

[choppintops]

Have had drag car heims fail and if the ladder bars didnt have the safety hoop it would have got ugly. Never seen one fail on the street though, unless it was just some oddball one, not made for automotive use.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

YES I have personally seen it happen. In 2006 a heim mounted on a drag link on a truck I worked on was cracked and spread enough for the ball to come out of it. Luckily there was a washer on it big enough to keep the drag link from separating completely from the steering arm. It was mounted with proper geometry and was a Speedway end. It appeared that the outer surround had simply failed. If the washer had not been on it and the joint had seperated at speed then it would have likely caused serious injury, if not a fatality. People don't reccomend these things for no reason...

 

[GJunktionMike]

Human error 4, preventable all. A couple jonny joints someone didn’t get the caps on right, and a couple that were flat over used on a 4x4 but the washers that were on the out side did keep them from falling off. None on the streets. Plenty on tractor plows.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Cracked one on a four-link bar and it separated like BED's example. Thankfully, it was held in double shear so it didn't have opportunity to fly off in the breeze. I'm also thankful we discovered the problem before the end broke off entirely.

NHRA requires heim ends to be "captured", double shear or suitable washer for single shear applications.

You don't need 700 horsepower and a 12'' slick to break a piece of steel. A street car sees rough streets, thousands more cycles and heavier weights. For those reasons and more, I'll stick to the rulebook!

 

[Willowbilly3]

I have seen broken ones but can't remember on what. I have never liked the idea of using them on steering. I have them on my top links but they are overkill, 3/4 inch size. Also it is easy to tighten the jam nut with them in a bind. I always make sure they can rotate at any point in the travel.

 

[rex1927]

I use large washers over my heims

All big boats use them on rudders.Most of the joints just flat wear out until center pops out.Washer keeps it on until you hear rudders flapping.
I use big washers anywhere I use a heim on my projects.Never had one break,but it`s safety first for me.

 

[donsrods]

Yep, I was in the marine industry and saw more than one where the ball had slipped out of the socket. As Rex said, they are used on rudders and generally the ones that I saw fail were on twin rudder boats, they used them as tie bars. Now, corrosion may have been a factor, as the ones I saw were rusted in most cases, but they did fail.

Don

 

[wendle]

I've peeled a few open on my rockcrawling buggies. All have been 1" and in double shear.
Broken a couple of the through bolts, too (5/8" grade 8).

Haven't run them on a road driven car for a long time as they are illegal to run on the road here now, so no real world experience there.

I've seen a few oddball breaks too, shanks broken off from impacts with rocks, and seen more than a few where the ball has pushed the lining out the side from being incorrectly mounted on the end of a wishbone/A-frame (side load). That would be a scary situation at 70mph.

 

[Willowbilly3]

Yep, I was in the marine industry and saw more than one where the ball had slipped out of the socket. As Rex said, they are used on rudders and generally the ones that I saw fail were on twin rudder boats, they used them as tie bars. Now, corrosion may have been a factor, as the ones I saw were rusted in most cases, but they did fail.

Don

That's just poor maintenance though

 

[butchman_3]

see them

i see them fail in the monsters on a regular basis, from the hits the steering and 4 links take, ive seen the actual heim shaft snap off inside the 4 links or inside or they snap at the end of the steering ram. as far as street cars, seen 1 split on a ladder bar set up, luckily the guy felt it give and stopped immediately.