Uprated heim joint / spherical rod ends for WCM & other Sevens; WCM a-arm repair

[Bruce K]

My vehicle is a 2004 WCM S2K. Three seasons ago, at the 9,000 mile mark, I installed a complete set of all-new and theoretically uprated teflon-lined heims. At the conclusion of the 2015 driving season, I suffered an off-road racetrack excursion which busted a front a-arm. Here's some important knowledge:

 

1) If you break a WCM a-arm, it's best to have a new one fabbed locally, per Loren the WCM constructor. Too many variables between a-arms down through the years. You'd have to ship Loren the old one and hope that it is not so heavily damaged as to be unidentifiable. I removed the unharmed a-arm from the opposite side (they are mirror image) and had a local shop build a new one.

 

2) I recommend AGAINST teflon-lined heims. After only 3 season, 6 of my front-end rod ends were at least a bit clearanced. I called Rod End Supply (800-284-2902 or 913768-1017) for a solution. They produce a patented line of heims incorporating oil and fiberglass-infused nylon lining. Talk to Dan for an extensive education, but all top 5 Baja competitors have switched to this product, including Brandon Walsh. According to Dan, every teflon-lined heim on Brandon's racecar was formerly replaced after each 250 mile event. At this time, there are 1,500 miles on Brandon's nylon-lined heims and counting. Dan says to expect about 8 times the service life from these nylon heims compared to teflon. The price was reasonable at $18.52 per heim in chrome-moly ($10.91 per heim in mild steel). Rod End also supplies Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart, among others.

 

Also, to obtain the latest edition of our "WCM S2K & Other Sevens Repair & Upgrade Manual", email Bruce at bruceakopitz@gmail.com. Cost is FREE.

 

Happy motoring!

[WestTexasS2K]

Thats some good info there Bruce as usual. Will you put that in the service manual.

[xcarguy]

Bruce,

 

Good info on all...especially the heims. :cheers:

[powderbrake]

I was told the same thing several years ago by QA1, that the Teflon liners would not last, and I replaced my heims with the steel. Lets see how these nylon lined ones work out. The light weight of the Ultralite should result in long life.

[Bruce K]

Thats some good info there Bruce as usual. Will you put that in the service manual.[/QUOTThanks for the compliment, Loren, and good to hear from you. The information concerning nylon heims is now in the current edition of the manual.

[RGTorque]

not sure why people are having issues with teflon joints. i had all of mine replaced several years ago and did not have any issues. this included track days, years of auto cross and street driving. during a recent alignment found 4 or 5 (of 32) needing attention, and those because of binding due to poor alignment. that being said, if we have an EVEN BETTER option, why not go for it?

Edited July 31, 2017 by RGTorque

[Bruce K]

The teflon heims that got hammered on my car were all on the front. It's just speculation, but the front gets more angles of load. I was impressed that those five Baja race cars had driven 1,500 miles on the nylon heims without a failure anywhere - front or rear. Their loads have to be spectacular. The Baja results augur well for a long service life for nylon heims on typical Sevens.

[jimrankin]

Don't forget to replace all of the standard bolts with the correct sholder bolts t eliminate the other source of both rattles and loose fit. there are previous post about sholder bolts here on the forum.

[Bruce K]

All of the posts on shoulder bolts, aluminum links and more have been collected into the manual in the chapter on heim joint replacement. Email bruceakopitz@gmail.com for a copy of the current edition of the manual.