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The endlink saga part II/Final update :-(

12K views 160 replies 39 participants last post by  megz974 
#1 · (Edited)
SO!
I have still not got all the pieces to make this complete. I have been calling the distributor for the past few months with no success. He contacted me when I got back into the country 7 months but since then I have been unable to get a call back. I have returned every part I have received and closing out on this.

The problems:
I have broken two of the pieces so far. Yes I know both of the reasons for breaking them were install issues.
The first was when it spun around on the very first day of I installed them. Easy fix, follow the instructions lol, needed to torque it to 74lbs for the adapter to eat into the metal.
Yep that fixed it (for the past year plus)

Second issue, it hits the swaybar bracket on the driver's side. Solution was to install in the reverse side of the swaybar alleviating the weird angles and that problem.
Yep that worked great too but brought up another issue.

Third problem, with the endlink installed on the opposite side of the swaybar and the car on a lift (body lift, tires hanging down), the link gets propped on the swaybar preventing the tires from fully hanging. You can imagine what happens to very stiff piece of aluminum, cannot bend so it snaps at the neck. It cannot hold the weight of both wheels, front brakes, control arms etc etc. But it seems only the already damaged endlink I installed on the passenger side (look at issue number two) broke, but I was unwilling to risk that.
Solution was using a nut between the link and swaybar, that worked, but I wanted a better solution (slightly longer stud in the top/swaybar section with a real spacer).
That is where I lost contact with the distributor.

I have waaay too much on my plate now to keep chasing him down so my calls have dropped to once a month with nothing from him, now I digress.

Now on to some things I have found:
The VXB heim links that someone here suggested are complete crap for endlinks!. The tolerances in them are soo off, they pop and worse noise than the stock pieces.
I will recommend Aurora if you go that route. I will have most of the specs for that setup if you wanna PM me in a week or two.

So sorry about that guys, I am out of this game. The links were great, but the service might not be so great.


Beginning:
Ok since the last one did not go so well, I am starting a new thread. I am copying what I wrote at the end of the last thread and just have this as a new beginning cos I have a lot of hope for this one.

Ok guys I started this mess, and I have tried a couple of ideas myself and I will have to agree with somguy2u and Inspar8r.

Someguy2u, yes you are right, shortening the shaft is really all that is needed to fix our issue cos the stock endlinks do work great for what the are. They are just as strong if not stronger than the heim-linked ones even the teflon lined ones. Also they have the luxury of lasting longer in bad weather since they are isolated.

Inspar8r guy, you are right, eventually the teflon lining will deteriorate and you will have noise again.

For those who want a pre-fabbed alternative:
Once again I am back with another solution that I think will really work this time. I have contacted the manufacturer and I have the go ahead. I will be making them for the front and rears. It will have a grease filled head much like the stock ones, but will be stronger and adjustable for when you lower your car or go stock. it will look something like this:

No the red pieces will not be a part of it, just the endlink itself.

So all you will need to do is to adjust it will both sides are perpendicular to the shaft (ie not pointing down or up like the stock ones do with lower springs). Viola, problem solved.

I will keep up on this one. Also I will NOT be taking deposits or anything like that. When they become available, I will simply offer it for sale probably through the forum store.
Just say AYE if you are truly interested still, so I have an idea what to tell the manufacturer when asked for a initial run quantity.

Sorry about this mess, hopefully Brandon can at least refund people's deposits back.

One more thing......will you guys be willing to pay extra for the aluminum version (just as strong, no chance of rust)?

The stock one can and does rust, but obviously it still lasts as long as you don't lower the car a lot. Check this out



Now here are some pics of the endlink installed and with the tires loaded (ie not hanging, makes a huge difference on how it works)

 
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4
#4 ·
Kponti

Are those powergrid/THK parts?

From what I know they come with a good pedigree.

I'd be down for some when the OEM ones I just bought wear out.
 
#5 ·
My biggest question:

Have they been tested, for how long and under what driving conditions and climate conditions?

I won't buy anything that has not been tested for 1 year, just because of how prone to deterioration these things are in.

PM'd you.
 
#8 ·
They will be tested for sure. I will try the first set out for a while before I put them up for sale.

Here is what I know of these particular joints, they are OEM Corvette head/joint. These aren't the ones offered on their website since the ones on the site do not have the lining on the inside of the ball bearing. So just check all the Corvette C5 and up for testing results lol
 
#9 ·
sweet. I'm down.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Cost will be less than $250.00 a pair/fronts, for sure. The rear might even be less than that. Just how much less for each pair? I do not know yet.

Unfurtunately since these pieces are used in Porsche's, Corvette's and BMWs, the price reflects it. But I believe they will be worth the price. The particular piece I am sourcing is from the 997 Porsche (Carreras, GT3, Turbo etc etc) modified to fit the IS300 perfectly. The main testing I will be doing is to make sure the fit is as accurate as needed. The parts themselves are off the shelf and are being used in a lot of cars already.

Ok so on eta, I will be getting the first set installed this week.
Once the pieces needed to make it fit are mass machined, we will be looking at a couple of weeks after that. Lets just say 3-4weeks from now I can start taking orders if everything works w/o a hitch.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Ok parts came in and now I am convinced it will work great without a hitch.

The stock angles are so messed up ie not only is it angled up and down in a weird way, it is also off in the left to right angle.

With the way the my endlinks are, it will fit perfectly and reduce that both horizontally and vertically back to stock levels and thus no noises.

Will take pics of my car and another car (stock) so you can see what I am talking about. The parts will be installed this weekend.
 
#16 ·
shhweeet. looking forward to some pics and results.
 
#19 ·
Yes parts are in, I was going to install yesterday but the lower bolt kicked my ass. I could not break that stock bolt to save my life lol. Will need to get it to a shop with air tools to break those bolts.

In the meantime, I have some some pics of the retarded angle the stock endlink is with any kind of lowering. I will be posting them soon
 
#21 · (Edited)
Ok had the bolt loosened this morning, will try to get this thing on this week and post some pics. after which I will test them for a short period to make sure they stay on without a hitch.

This should be ready and for-sale in about two-three weeks. I will have to contact the board admin. and see how they wanna do this.

BTW this is with just Eibach Prokits and stock shocks that lower the car about an inch.
Can you imagine what the springs like the Hotchkis (1.75-2.25") etc makes the endlinks look like?
 
#24 ·
True and thats the way it will be mounted. The way it is now, there are no weird angles where it enters either the control arm or the sway bar. That was the main issue I was trying to address. The length corrected makes for much better angles for the ball joint.

So far no more noises
 
#25 ·
I made a set just like these for my IS after the last scam fell threw.






Made these for i think around 75 bucks for the whole set F&R. Got all my stuff from VXB.com check them out kponti might save you a little money. then spending the 300.00 you are now.
 
#93 ·
All positive criticism at this point, I admire your creativity. But damn, that setup must be loud as hell, especially once those metal joints get some dirt and rust on them. I would appreciate the response though as far as your expirience up to this point?
 
#26 ·
^^The problem with the one you made is that it works....for a while. For most people in the snow-belt or who daily drive their cars in rain etc etc....no go! Salt, road grime and weather elements WILL eat at the joints eventually and the resulting squeaking is actually more annoying than the popping it makes.

One more thing, your pictures are with the car suspended in the air (unloaded). Mine is with the car on ramps (ie loaded). When you have tires on and the ground and the weight of the car is on the endlink, the length becomes an issue (as you can see in my stock pics)
 
#27 ·
Eh they worked for me, they are made 1" shorter then stock, w/ up to a 3" of adjustment for a tighter sway bar where in my case is need for extra understeer for drifting, and to adjust them isn't hard just a matter of trail and error with the setting that is comfortable with the user. There are dust/boot covers for the Heim joints, i felt i didnt need them in my application due to the fact my car sits in a garage then gets loaded on a trailer and taken to races so it doesn't see the daily abuse that everyone else's IS does. But if you use Heims in general they are bound to get road debris, dirt and what not in them. How are you planning on preventing this not to happen?
 
#28 ·
check out the picture my first post above. I am using grease packed and sealed ball joint much like the oem one. stronger than the stock oem, teflon lined, and fully adjustable. These joints are what the manufaturer makes for Porche cup car racing.
these will not deterioate on a daily driven car like the helm ones do.
 
#30 ·
You people must be lowering your cars ridiculously low to cause that stress on the end links. I'm on Cusco's dropped to their suggested height, which leaves no tire to fender gap and my stock end links are almost perfectly aligned and haven't bent after several all out track events and autox sessions.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Actually your endlinks are NOT perfectly aligned. Go look at it with the suspension loaded ie tires on the floor, then come back and tell me what you see.

Also no one has bent an endlink that we know off, however the ball joint or the teflon lining it does wear out. This results in the ball being able to move around in the capsule instead of only sliding. I took my stock endlink apart (I also took one of the ones I bought apart), its got a teflon lining in the joint, that encapsulates the ball along with grease. The abnormal angle of the endlink from lowering forces the teflon lining to wear out creating some space or wiggle room for the ball. That makes some of the popping you hear.

PS: The pictures you see above is the Eibach Prokit which lowers less than an inch. I have about 2+finger gap between the tire and the fender (and I have pretty big hands).
 
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