So I plan to use heim joints in my '14 SG shift linkage. Bought a couple from a popular ebay seller. Said they are made by FK Rod Ends. Anyway, they arrived and one heim is very loose spinning around freely while the other is tight and will not turn freely.

I am not familiar with how heim joints should operate. Can anyone educate me?

 

They should turn with very little resistance,but NO movement up and down in the housing.[no slop,no rattle I mean to say]
Try a drop of oil on the sticky one,before you return it.

 

I think he's more concerned about the sloppy one.

 

FK is a high quality brand. My guess is the ebay variety are asian counterfeits.

You can buy top quality rod ends at most industrial bearing suppliers.

For mail order, I get mine from The Chassis Shop. They sell Aurora. The best there is. Not cheap.
http://secure.chassisshop.com/partlist/15996/

 

^^^^This.

The heim joint is designed to transfer motion without any slop at all, while still being able to accommodate a decent amount of twist between the pieces that it joins together.

I've seen people make trailer hitches out of them, and they are an interesting alternative to a regular trailer ball joint hitch.

All the best,

Shane

 

McMaster Carr is another source for joints. Got mine from there.....left and right hand threads and I think they we around $5 each.

 

Thanks for the responses. The price of these line up with the cost of FK. I contacted the seller and they will send a replacement. If these do indeed work out, then maybe later I will upgrade to some nice chrome pieces with a nice shifter rod.

 

That's what my Screamin' Eagle shift linkage has, and it'd held up well for the past ten years.

 

The ones I got from NAPA were kinda stiff but 6 months later no issues.

 

I used these. Worked well.


http://www.dkcustomproducts.com/Pair...DK-HJ-PAIR.htm