Engine stabilizer links...when to replace?
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
not trying to sound like a dick...but I'm looking for info about the stabilizer links. Swing arm is being addressed. Trying to stay on topic
Any way...ive been looking around the internet and found some heim joints with bronze bearing surfaces. And then some with nylon. Cant find small joints with the rubber insert. Wonder if either of those would be suitable. The bushings in my joints are frozen in situ, and will not move. Might experiment with those some
Any way...ive been looking around the internet and found some heim joints with bronze bearing surfaces. And then some with nylon. Cant find small joints with the rubber insert. Wonder if either of those would be suitable. The bushings in my joints are frozen in situ, and will not move. Might experiment with those some
Not exactly a sleeve. It's still got the spherical internal part like you'd find in a conventional heim joint (or rose joint, for our Brit friends). But it's got a looser fit, and that clearance is taken up by the rubber bushing.
After 29 years, mine weren't rusted, but I expect that rubber loses suppleness over time.
After 29 years, mine weren't rusted, but I expect that rubber loses suppleness over time.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
The stock rod doesn't have heim joints, they use a simple clevis and pin at each end. Frankly they are not worth messing with, just bite the bullet and get a new rod with proper heim joints. You'll soon understand why we recommend them! I bought a H-D aftermarket one, #33814-98A, or one very similar.
I just started going to school on these during the course of my winter rebuild project, so take this for what it's worth:
When i first took off the stock stabilizers, I tried moving the inner ball part to test if they were frozen. Discovered them to be immovable, so went ahead and got new ones.
When the new ones came in, I was confused to discover that, if tested by hand, they felt essentially immovable also. Didn't make sense.
So I talked to my guy Chuck out at my local HD dealer. Chuck's one of those guys who's been at this for 40 years, and he explained about the rubber bushing. That lead me to the realization that my mistake was expecting these to wobble freely like a conventional heim joint. That's not how they are made.
All that still leaves the question of why the MoCo spec'd the version that they did, and the further question of what would happen if you replaced the stock type with conventional, free-motion joints.
I might try that someday, just because I'm curious. For now, I'll stick with the new, OEM type that I bought. Having learned how they are designed, it seems like a good idea to replace them periodically.
Here's a quick vid:
When i first took off the stock stabilizers, I tried moving the inner ball part to test if they were frozen. Discovered them to be immovable, so went ahead and got new ones.
When the new ones came in, I was confused to discover that, if tested by hand, they felt essentially immovable also. Didn't make sense.
So I talked to my guy Chuck out at my local HD dealer. Chuck's one of those guys who's been at this for 40 years, and he explained about the rubber bushing. That lead me to the realization that my mistake was expecting these to wobble freely like a conventional heim joint. That's not how they are made.
All that still leaves the question of why the MoCo spec'd the version that they did, and the further question of what would happen if you replaced the stock type with conventional, free-motion joints.
I might try that someday, just because I'm curious. For now, I'll stick with the new, OEM type that I bought. Having learned how they are designed, it seems like a good idea to replace them periodically.
Here's a quick vid:
Last edited by 0maha; Jan 27, 2019 at 12:34 PM.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 280
Likes: 21
From: Usa
I just got two new, oem stabilizers off ebay. I imagine after 28 years and however many miles electra glide has gone, my originals are tired. I think the rubber should have *some* flexibility. But mine are harder than an old mans toenails. Hopefully after I replace the other worn rubber bits, I'll have a bike that doesnt have spooky tendencies
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Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
Why? To reduce the things an owner has to service. I've had my all-metal s/s ones for over a decade and they are fine - free moving and easily serviced occasionally with a little weather-proof grease.
I wonder if the stiffness of the stock version was part of the design. Then again, compared to the forces involved, that stiffness is probably immaterial, and your thought of maintenance free is probably it.