Rose Joint Drop Links anyone?
Discussion
Ive got some of the Steve Heath drop links, and they are very good, adding some sharpness to turn-in. However I find the smaller rose joint only lasts around 20k miles and usually fails because it snaps through.
Steve seems to have ceased trading, so I started looking on Ebay and you can buy replacement small rose joints that look like they will fit, quite cheap too, only a few quid. So I'll try some replacements for durability. They only take half an our to fit (tops) because you don't have to remove the whole thing, just one bolt and you can replace the small joint.
Then I started looking some more and I can get the large rose joints too, and the bracket at the bottom looks easy to make, so I reckon I can make the whole kit for around £45 plus P+P. This will be with an uprated smaller rose joint which will be more durable.
I'll make up a few sets and post up some piccies, but let me know if you're interested, at least in principle....
Steve seems to have ceased trading, so I started looking on Ebay and you can buy replacement small rose joints that look like they will fit, quite cheap too, only a few quid. So I'll try some replacements for durability. They only take half an our to fit (tops) because you don't have to remove the whole thing, just one bolt and you can replace the small joint.
Then I started looking some more and I can get the large rose joints too, and the bracket at the bottom looks easy to make, so I reckon I can make the whole kit for around £45 plus P+P. This will be with an uprated smaller rose joint which will be more durable.
I'll make up a few sets and post up some piccies, but let me know if you're interested, at least in principle....
Blimey! I'll order enough bracket material for a few sets then.
Jeff the SH ones are M8 on the smaller rose joint. The upgrade will take it to M10.
If you want to upgrade your existing ones (I am thinking of doing this to mine anyway but mainly for testing purposes) you will have to drill out the hole in the upper drop link and tap for M10, then drill out the horizontal hole in the lower bracket for an M10 bolt.
On the other hand with the M8 replacements at only a few quid, and they are quite small you could even keep a spare in your boot, it might not be worth bothering to upgrade the existing ones. As I said they last 20k miles or so, which is comparable to the ARB bracket clips anyway.
Jeff the SH ones are M8 on the smaller rose joint. The upgrade will take it to M10.
If you want to upgrade your existing ones (I am thinking of doing this to mine anyway but mainly for testing purposes) you will have to drill out the hole in the upper drop link and tap for M10, then drill out the horizontal hole in the lower bracket for an M10 bolt.
On the other hand with the M8 replacements at only a few quid, and they are quite small you could even keep a spare in your boot, it might not be worth bothering to upgrade the existing ones. As I said they last 20k miles or so, which is comparable to the ARB bracket clips anyway.
Aha - finally goaded Steve out to comment. Nice to hear from you! Is the purple shed still running?
Thanks for the pointers. Yes maybe it's better to stick with replacement M8 joints when using your brackets, as they are quite cheap I'll consider them a consumable.
With the mileage most wedgers do, they'll last for many many years anyway - I tend to get through one every 3 years or so. Always the offside, so far....
Yes I'll definitely do some more research and road testing before laying out for a big batch of components. The initial outlay looks to be quite low.
Thanks for the pointers. Yes maybe it's better to stick with replacement M8 joints when using your brackets, as they are quite cheap I'll consider them a consumable.
With the mileage most wedgers do, they'll last for many many years anyway - I tend to get through one every 3 years or so. Always the offside, so far....
Yes I'll definitely do some more research and road testing before laying out for a big batch of components. The initial outlay looks to be quite low.
Hi Gavin,
the drop link is what connects the end of the Anti Roll Bar (ARB) to the lower wishbone.
On the standard Ford Cortina design used on the wedge, there's a rubber bung coupling the drop link to the ARB. This provides some flexibility but also negates some of the stiffness of the ARB, especially when the rubber bung perishes.
If you replace the link with a mechanical bearing and get rid of the rubber you will allow the ARB to act more directly on the front suspension. This gives less roll when cornering hard. The downside is the lack of play at low suspension deflection gives slightly more unstable reactions when driving in a straight line at high speed - you could get more tramlining, etc.
I'll try and post up some pics of it installed on mine. The bearings commonly used are spherical bearings or rose joints, and allow rotation in two axes at once, a bit like your wrist.
the drop link is what connects the end of the Anti Roll Bar (ARB) to the lower wishbone.
On the standard Ford Cortina design used on the wedge, there's a rubber bung coupling the drop link to the ARB. This provides some flexibility but also negates some of the stiffness of the ARB, especially when the rubber bung perishes.
If you replace the link with a mechanical bearing and get rid of the rubber you will allow the ARB to act more directly on the front suspension. This gives less roll when cornering hard. The downside is the lack of play at low suspension deflection gives slightly more unstable reactions when driving in a straight line at high speed - you could get more tramlining, etc.
I'll try and post up some pics of it installed on mine. The bearings commonly used are spherical bearings or rose joints, and allow rotation in two axes at once, a bit like your wrist.
Since the first post I haven't done a lot except lust now when I was looking at my drop links when doing the ARB clamp the other week.
I noticed the aly hex bar at the bottom of the drop link assembl has corroded quite badly, almost rotted away in fact (over a period of 5-6 years).
I suspect it's galvanic action causing the corrosion. The small benefit though is that it's a sacrificial anode so it's protecting the rest of the metalwork slightly.
Anyhoo upshot is I'll be making some replacement and have enough hex bar to make 4 or 5, so that's the bottom bit taken care of.
I noticed the aly hex bar at the bottom of the drop link assembl has corroded quite badly, almost rotted away in fact (over a period of 5-6 years).
I suspect it's galvanic action causing the corrosion. The small benefit though is that it's a sacrificial anode so it's protecting the rest of the metalwork slightly.
Anyhoo upshot is I'll be making some replacement and have enough hex bar to make 4 or 5, so that's the bottom bit taken care of.
Hi Keith I've done a bit of machining to make the lower hex aluminium part, so far.
As mine have corroded further, I'm surprised they are holding together but they are currently still OK.
Once I've made one set of bottom bits and tried them out then further sets should be fairly straightforward. I have to be in the workshop a bit over the next few weeks so should have a chance to finish them off.
The rest of it is just bolting bits together so should be just a matter of ordering the correct size rose joints.
As mine have corroded further, I'm surprised they are holding together but they are currently still OK.
Once I've made one set of bottom bits and tried them out then further sets should be fairly straightforward. I have to be in the workshop a bit over the next few weeks so should have a chance to finish them off.
The rest of it is just bolting bits together so should be just a matter of ordering the correct size rose joints.
Ha ha - OK Steve's been playing with the lathe I see... Well it saves a few grammes but at the expense of some torsional stability.
My version has a bigger size hex bar plus a heavier duty lower rose joint. As I found the only weak point was the small rose joint which could occasionally snap once I had put a LOT of miles on it.
My version has a bigger size hex bar plus a heavier duty lower rose joint. As I found the only weak point was the small rose joint which could occasionally snap once I had put a LOT of miles on it.
The other problem is that the original SH lower bracket only just has enough of a gap so that the lower rose joint is touching the insides on full suspension extension, which can cause bending stress.
A larger rose joint would have less lateral movement. My bigger lower bracket will have a much wider slot to allow far more freedom of movement.
A larger rose joint would have less lateral movement. My bigger lower bracket will have a much wider slot to allow far more freedom of movement.
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