DROP LINK HORROR

[Chimpaholic]

Some of you will know from my other post that I have been trying to track down the source of some nasty suspension noises.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I figured a good place to start was the front drop links.

And it seems I was right, both drop links were horribly worn out.

Nothing strange there, but take a closer look at the N/S one in the photo below.



It seems at some point in the car's life the UNF thread on one of the shafts became damaged.

Some idiot then decided to try & recover the worn thread using a UNC die nut

You cant see too well in the photo but the shaft had become frighteningly waisted

Today I replaced these worn & deadly little drop links for a proper rose jointed pair from Leven and now my suspension no longer makes nasty clacking sounds.



These Leven drop links are works of art, heavy and clearly very high quality.

All stainless construction with proper heavy duty automotive quality rose joints they make others I have seen look decidedly weedy.

The rose joints are protected by rubber boots and the joint itself is greasable via a needle point type grease gun.

You hear a lot of people say their handling has been transformed by one component or another, & I am mostly left feeling a bit sceptical.

But after a short test drive; for the first time I feel my car handles like a proper sports car.

Brilliant

[crackedfinger]

It may be a bit harsh to expect a inspection to pick that up, you have to remove it to see that it has been fooled around with. Just a point form your pic, if you mount the shock facing the other way it is easier to adjust the settings wit the wheels still on.

[Bassfiend]

Hmmm ... have a nasty rattle/thumping that comes from my OSF suspension over bad surfaces and (fairly frequently) when releasing the brake pedal after braking ... still got to try to work out what it is.

Phil

[taylormj4]

Drop link loss wouldn't be too critical unless you happened to be right on the limit at the time (which is probably when it would go I guess ). However, perhaps you should check that the clown hasn't done this to other more critical joints such as the steering ?
Matt

[Chimpaholic]

Quinny said:

Sounds like the TVR specialists who checked tha car out before, ain't so special after all eh??

And people pay good money to these places





Nice job on the joints, and they certainly look top notch....I'll be investing in a set of those for mine next time they're due, as the existing ones are starting to show a bit of corrosion

Thanks Quinny, the Leven drop links are things beauty I will let you know how the rears perform when I fit them next week.

They are a proper engineered solution to replace the rather marginal original design.

The lower rad grommets are definitely missing so you were right to get me looking in that area too.

I know the drop links had been very closely looked at by the TVR specialist as I recently had new wishbone bushes.

Both the drop links were appallingly worn, the N/S one was deadly in my opinion.

Who ever ran the die nut down the shaft should be ashamed of themselves, how can you send a customer away in a car knowing the drop links were like that?

Why go to all that trouble to remove, bodge & re-fit totally worn out parts that cost no more than £80 a pair.

Scandalous in my opinion.

Edited by Chimpaholic on Monday 9th August 07:59

Edited by Chimpaholic on Monday 9th August 08:00

[Adrian@]

PLEASE NOTE that the threads on OE drop links are not UNF they are a metric fine (without search through invoices for the box I bought 2 years ago I cannot remember the actual and I have not got a link to check) Adrian@

[Chimpaholic]

Adrian@ said:

PLEASE NOTE that the threads on OE drop links are not UNF they are a metric fine (without search through invoices for the box I bought 2 years ago I cannot remember the actual and I have not got a link to check) Adrian@

UNF - Metric Fine - just showing my age

The point is some idiot decided it was a good idea to chew a coarse thread on a totally worn suspension part.

Go figure!

Edited by Chimpaholic on Monday 9th August 08:53

[Adrian@]

My thoughts are that, I had to buy these nuts in specially as to replace the nylocs on jobs that I work on and I cannot remember if they were 1.0 or 1.25, but not readily available off the shelf and its not my style to cut a thread on top of the old thread... It is hard to see that being seen when it is bolted up but also hard to miss when the wishbone was replaced, and really the mechanics call to contact the owner to regarding the link locking into position with that thread. Adrian@

[crackedfinger]

Just noticed one more thing in the last pic, my tie rod ends are secured using nylocs which I think is standard, not the castle nuts and pin, is that also a mod?

[Chimpaholic]

crackedfinger said:

Just noticed one more thing in the last pic, my tie rod ends are secured using nylocs which I think is standard, not the castle nuts and pin, is that also a mod?

Told you I was old school

The track rod ends are Mk 1/2 Escort because thats what TVR used.

Mine are new old stock, a split pin is how they were secured back in those days.

Actually I would trust a split pin over a Nylock any day.

Just look at any race car and you will see locking wire used on lots of components, a split pin is the same principle.

Its a physical locking method and does not rely on friction like a Nylock does.

Although admittedly not an issue on something like a track rod end, Nylocks should also never be used near heat and there is a lot of heat under a TVR bonnet.

Also Nylocks should always be replaced if removed but seldom are.

Call me old fashioned but give me a split pin any day.

[crackedfinger]

Chimpaholic said:

crackedfinger said:

Just noticed one more thing in the last pic, my tie rod ends are secured using nylocs which I think is standard, not the castle nuts and pin, is that also a mod?

Told you I was old school

The track rod ends are Mk 1/2 Escort because thats what TVR used.

Mine are new old stock, a split pin is how they were secured back in those days.

Actually I would trust a split pin over a Nylock any day.

Just look at any race car and you will see locking wire used on lots of components, a split pin is the same principle.

Its a physical locking method and does not rely on friction like a Nylock does.

Although admittedly not an issue on something like a track rod end, Nylocks should also never be used near heat and there is a lot of heat under a TVR bonnet.

Also Nylocks should always be replaced if removed but seldom are.

Call me old fashioned but give me a split pin any day.

Ahh! Glad you're in the know with that. I would hate for a tie rod to let go(!) I completely agree with you on the nylocs & heat issue.

[Adrianw]

Hi,
I had a similar problem when I purchased my griffith. I had been away from the TVR marque for a while but was rather surprised when over taking a couple of cars down hill and pulling back in, the car decided to behave like bambi on ice. I replaced the droplinks and anti-roll bar bushes with some after market items, which initially transformed the handling. Unfortunetly they worn so quickly that after 18 months, I got fed up with the rattling and went
back to the original rubber one. Happy days, no more rattling and the handling now is spot on. :-) (The Leven ones came highly recommended and I would have purchased a pair if their were still available )

[peaktorque]

Your last pic has just proven my thoery that my rose joints have been fitted (not by me) on the wrong side of the wishbone 'lug'.

I thought they sat at a bit of a strange angle

[chimaera1855]

damn ur GAZs look really good.how are they so far????i am upgrading my absorbers pretty soon.was thinking of racing reds or GAZs.and LEVEN drop links are the same as STEVE HEATH????

[Adrianw]

Hi

The Leven droplinks are in a class of their own and should not be compared to other offerings

1) Rubber gaiter - to ensure that joint dont dry out and start wearings
2) Better gauge materials, more resistant to pitting (if your drive in the winter)

I have gone back to rubber, because of it offers better b-road compliance and I hated the rattling

[Chimpaholic]

chimaera1855 said:

damn ur GAZs look really good.how are they so far????i am upgrading my absorbers pretty soon.was thinking of racing reds or GAZs.and LEVEN drop links are the same as STEVE HEATH????

My GAZ Gold Pros are proving excellent so far.

I needed to:

1) Go up 2 clicks on the front to stop a slight bobbing effect (Thanks Derek it worked a treat)

2) Replace those hideously worn out and butchered front drop links

I still need to:

1) Fit the Leven rose jointed rear drop links

The Leven drop links are not the same as the Steve Heath ones, the differences are:

• The Leven rears have rubber bushing at the top end, the SH ones are rose jointed at both ends

• The Leven links use a rubber gaiter to protect each rose joint, the SH ones are open to the elements

• The Leven links are all stainless construction, not sure about the SH ones but they are anodised so I don't think they are stainless

• The Leven links have a grease nipple to lubricate the rose joints, not sure about the SH ones

• The Leven links use a very high quality heavy duty automotive grade rose joint

I believe Steve Heath pioneered the use of rose jointed ARB drop links and for this he should be commended, it is well documented the improvement in handling after fitting this design can be very pronounced.

I have no connections with Leven but I did have a chat with them about the links before buying them, what they said made a lot of engineering sense to me.

I don't think it would be fair for me to say the Leven links are better that the SH ones.

You would really need to hold both and compare them next to each other.

However I can confirm my Leven links are truly superb quality.

It seems to me the design has been extremely well thought out by a true engineer and have been made to race car standards.

The handling improvement on my car was astonishing, but you have to remember how awful my original drop links were.

I do wish I had fitted these links a long time ago, I am really looking forward to fitting the rears at the weekend & seeing how they perform.

A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PRODUCT.

Hope this helps?

Edited by Chimpaholic on Tuesday 10th August 14:16

Edited by Chimpaholic on Tuesday 10th August 14:34

[Chimpaholic]

Adrianw said:

Hi

The Leven droplinks are in a class of their own and should not be compared to other offerings

1) Rubber gaiter - to ensure that joint dont dry out and start wearings
2) Better gauge materials, more resistant to pitting (if your drive in the winter)

I have gone back to rubber, because of it offers better b-road compliance and I hated the rattling

Just to clarify what you are saying here.

• You fitted the Steve Heath drop links and they rattled

• You went back to the original rubber design

• You would have fitted the Leven ones if they had been available at the time

Have I got this right?

Did you also have trouble with the ARB polly bushes or would you say these are a good mod?

To me the Leven drop links look unlikely to fail any time soon but they are after all newish to the market.

Is there anyone who has had the Leven links on for a while who can report on their durability?

[haircutmike]

Had Leven rears on for about a year and the fronts about 6 months, (I believe I had the first front sets).

Checked recently all OK.

The ride is quieter with these, (compared to old 2 year old SH links, imho).

Handling on my car has always been good, (a combination of springs, dampers, polybushes, camber angles, tyres as well as the drop links) as it is set up more for the track.

If all your suspension is in fine fettle, these can only add to the improvement.

A recommended addition

[Chimpaholic]

haircutmike said:

Had Leven rears on for about a year and the fronts about 6 months, (I believe I had the first front sets).

Checked recently all OK.

The ride is quieter with these, (compared to old 2 year old SH links, imho).

Handling on my car has always been good, (a combination of springs, dampers, polybushes, camber angles, tyres as well as the drop links) as it is set up more for the track.

If all your suspension is in fine fettle, these can only add to the improvement.

A recommended addition

Thanks Mike,

I was hoping you would respond, I did see your list of mods included the Leven links.

It looks like you led the way here.

A really great product from Leven then that's streets ahead of anything else available.

My rears go on at the weekend to complete the set

[chimaera1855]

so i guess Leven then.how much for front and back???