Ruff stuff heim joint kit

[MurderYota]

94 single cab on 37s with hydro assist and 6 shooters. I’m ready to upgrade to heim joint steering. Buddy of mine went with the 7/8s and he had some clearance issues. He said if he was to do again he would go with the 3/4 ones. Anybody else got any input

 

[rockyota83]

3/4x5/8 heims is what you want

3/4x5/8 good to 40k pounds
3/4x3/4 good to 28k pounds

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Ya, 3/4x5/8 will fit.

I don't know if it's a huge upgrade from good quality Fj80 ends though.

 

[J.Cole]

X2 on the 3/4 x 5/8. I did 7/8 heims on my toyota axle and had some clearance issues. I'd do 3/4 x 5/8 if i had to do it over.

 

[rockyota83]

Ya, 3/4x5/8 will fit.

I don't know if it's a huge upgrade from good quality Fj80 ends though.

if i was building a hardcore toy front axle the tie rod would have 3/4x5/8 heims with safety washers and the drag link would have 555 fj80 tie rod ends

 

[665.0coupe]

if i was building a hardcore toy front axle the tie rod would have 3/4x5/8 heims with safety washers and the drag link would have 555 fj80 tie rod ends

Why use both instead of one or the other?

 

[Stingray]

if i was building a hardcore toy front axle the tie rod would have 3/4x5/8 heims with safety washers and the drag link would have 555 fj80 tie rod ends

I've done heims all the way around and have had no issues, But YMMV
I'll get a picture.

 

[rockyota83]

Why use both instead of one or the other?

personal preference

drag link needs high misalignment spacers, which reduces your 5/8 bolt on the heim down to a 1/2" which is the same as the stud on on an fj80. high steer arm and pitman arm are already reamed for the fj80 end so no need to change it.

ive snapped studs off fj80 ends on my tie rod a couple times, drag ink doesnt see as much force or abuse as the tie rod so the fj80 ends hold up fine on it.

 

[rockyota83]

I've done heims all the way around and have had no issues, But YMMV
I'll get a picture.

i believe it

 

[Stingray]

personal preference

drag link needs high misalignment spacers, which reduces your 5/8 bolt on the heim down to a 1/2" which is the same as the stud on on an fj80. high steer arm and pitman arm are already reamed for the fj80 end so no need to change it.

ive snapped studs off fj80 ends on my tie rod a couple times, drag ink doesnt see as much force or abuse as the tie rod so the fj80 ends hold up fine on it.

I did do Misalingment washers on all of it for clearances so far seems to work well. Hydro assist, and no twisting.

 

[Stingray]

 

[Stingray]

Shitty Pics, But you get the idea

 

[MurderYota]

Just ordered the 3/4 5/8 kit. We’ll see how it goes. The heavier tie rod and drag link will be way better. My tie rod keeps bending at the ram mount.

 

[TRINDU]

if i was building a hardcore toy front axle the tie rod would have 3/4x5/8 heims with safety washers and the drag link would have 555 fj80 tie rod ends

Or why use 80 instead of gm 1 ton?

 

[rockyota83]

Or why use 80 instead of gm 1 ton?

holes in toy passenger side high steer arm are too close together so gm 1ton tre rub each other, ive broken a couple of gm 1ton tre on the 14b steer axle too

emf 1ton tre(chromo) would probably fit though

i really dont think it matters too much, fj80 or heims are both good

 

[YotaAtieToo]

I honestly don't think gm 1 ton tre's are much stronger than Fj80s. Similar to u joints, it probably has more to do with the manufacturer.

 

[rattlewagon]

Im running the ruffstuff 7/8 kit. Would have used regular 80 ends, but the used arms I got were already drilled out so it made the decision for me. They do touch, I had to take the grinder to them a bit.

They have been on since 2014 (had to go into photo bucket to get the photos) and they all have a little slop in them now, but are still holding up great for a trail only rig.

These are the heims vs the stock mini truck parts

Spacers were moved, thats not how ive been running them, this was mockup/me learning. Just showing how close they are.

 

[rattlewagon]

The other nice thing about the 80 ends, is they are shorter. More spacers came out here, but at first, the leaf would hit the bottom of the heim bolt when stuffed, stopping it from turning, or using it as a bump stop. lol

 

[rockyota83]

The other nice thing about the 80 ends, is they are shorter. More spacers came out here, but at first, the leaf would hit the bottom of the heim bolt when stuffed, stopping it from turning, or using it as a bump stop. lol

ive destroyed a pitman arm after having my tre get stuck on the leaf spring while winching up a waterfall, i couldnt turn left anymore and had to drive a few miles out the trail so every left turn i had to turn right and back up in reverse to turn left

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I just ordered the 7/8" heim tie rod kit from ruffstuff. Do the kits come with safety washers?

 

[MurderYota]

I just ordered the 7/8" heim tie rod kit from ruffstuff. Do the kits come with safety washers?

I don't think so. My wheelin buddy Hodgiemoto got the 7/8 kit. I dont remember it having safety washers.

 

[rockyota83]

last time i ordered some i got them from barnes4wd, couldnt find any on ruffstuff, maybe they have them now

looks like they still dont offer them, only offer "misalignment safety washers"

Safety Washer

Barnes 4wd safety washers are designed for use in single shear heim joint applications. They reduce the chance of a heim joint failure and provide a small amount of misalignment.

www.barnes4wd.com

 

[MurderYota]

last time i ordered some i got them from barnes4wd, couldnt find any on ruffstuff, maybe they have them now

looks like they still dont offer them, only offer "misalignment safety washers"

Safety Washer

Barnes 4wd safety washers are designed for use in single shear heim joint applications. They reduce the chance of a heim joint failure and provide a small amount of misalignment.

www.barnes4wd.com

Ok then, yes they do come with misalignment spacers. They don't call them safety washers.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

The ruff stuff steering kit has misalignment spacers that will not allow the hime to pop off if it fails. The pics above have the drag link spacers up side down.

I also don't like how tall the ruff stuff spacers are.

 

[AK_F250]

I also don't like how tall the ruff stuff spacers are.

They sell them in narrow, regular, and wide for several heim and bolt diameters. I used to turn them down until I figured that out.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

They sell them in narrow, regular, and wide for several heim and bolt diameters. I used to turn them down until I figured that out.

Yes, but not for the steering style spacers. Unless something has changed.

 

[rockyota83]

the safety washers are good if youre not interested in going down a bolt size, which is what i like with the 5/8 heims

 

[YotaAtieToo]

the safety washers are good if youre not interested in going down a bolt size, which is what i like with the 5/8 heims

They come with safety washers on the tie rod that don't drop bolt size. Drag link is tricky, like you said. Hard to misalign with without dropping bolt size.

I'll have to look at what's on my samurai with 3/4 hiems.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I thought that the point of a safety washer was to prevent the heim from separating from the ball and coming up over the bolt.

I guess I'll wait to see what I receive. Maybe I'll just weld a tab onto my steering arm to make it "double shear", but really just to prevent the heim from falling out.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

I thought that the point of a safety washer was to prevent the heim from separating from the ball and coming up over the bolt.

I guess I'll wait to see what I receive. Maybe I'll just weld a tab onto my steering arm to make it "double shear", but really just to prevent the heim from falling out.

Thats exactly it.

The debate was weather or not the ruff stuff misalignment/washer deals reduce bolt size or not. Most people believe the 3/4x3/4 hiems don't leave enough meat to be reliable. But then running a 3/4x5/8 with a misalignment spacer drops you to a 1/2" bolt. Catch 22 type deal.