Hi, I was reading the haynes kit car manual and it says rod ends on wishbones and the like wear out very quickly. As ive never had them fitted to a car how often should they be replaced? What are the signs of wear? Who are good qulity suppliers of these?
Cheers
Adam

depending on the quality of the joint, it might last 0-5000 miles (i say 0 because you can buy ones that are no good even before they have been used!).

Signs will be looseness etc.

Nick skidmore had a good offer on some the other day.

There’s been a lot of discussion on here before about the rose joint vs. ball joint. Unless the cars for track use the rose joints might be a bit of a costly pest. Teflon ones appear to be the best to go for.

[Edited on 20/3/08 by Mr Whippy]

Clean and lubricate them with WD40 after every run.

Really not the best idea for road cars.

I've still got plenty.

They are pukka aerospace items off Westland Helicopters.

They are large enough and are made with the best materials so will last like £50 rod ends. They would have cost £200 ish ea when supplied by Westland

As I bought them cheap they are on offer cheap, £5 inc. the post 10% off for 10 or more.

The vast majority of cheap rod ends are not fit for suspension use. If buying retail spend at least £20 per joint.

Be careful when choosing rose joints. Some cheaper ones are designed to be greased and run dry they are full of play which leads to very rapid wear.

The best ones are teflon/ptfe lined but these should NOT be lubricated. The lubricant attracts dust and grit which the ptfe does not like at all. Result = rapid wear. Ptfe lined rose joints should be kept dry and clean. There are some rubber boots available for this.

Unless the car is for almost 100% circuit use, rose joints are not really suitable IMHO.

Lastly, paying big money is no guarantee of getting the joint that is best adapted to your application.

Spherical bearing info - SKF

[Edited on 21/3/08 by MikeCapon]