Heims or Johnny joints

pcole0920

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
Location
Lexington NC
About to start building my long arms for my ZJ and was wondering what to go with heims or Johnny joints and the pros and cons of both. Rig is a ZJ with d44 up front and a 14bolt in the rear. Front will be done radius arm style
 
Call ironman4x4 fab and give your measurements to him and he will give you the best setup money can buy
 
I do only heims and have never regretted it. They have 0 slop and are a lot stronger than JJ's. It can be argued that a JJ is rebuildable and a heim will eventually get sloppy. A very worn out heim has way less slop than even a brand new JJ does out of the box. If you do heims however, go big. The week link is always going to be the shank so for a lower arm (or link)so it's best to go with 1.25s. Ruff stuff or bust!
 
I have Heims on my buggy and I don't hate them, but I wish I had went the JJ route. The Heims are very noisy, like wtf was that noise, noisy.

I sell 10x more JJ than Heims. As my Heims wear out I will replace them with JJ's.

My 2 cents.
 
XJsavage said:
A very worn out heim has way less slop than even a brand new JJ does out of the box.
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There is absolutely no way that's true. Out of the box, a johnny joint is indistinguishable from a comparably sized spherical rod end as far as lateral endplay goes. 99% of the time, you'll need a pry bar to rotate the ball in either of them.

Johnny joints will cook themselves on race cars. That's not a problem for most folks here, though.
 
I like the heims in my buggy and I'd go that route again. I think their stronger and im always a fan of the simpler the better...
 
shawn said:
There is absolutely no way that's true.
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Oh? A JJ is a bushing. Even though you can't move them "by hand", they're a rubber bushing inside of a metal case.
 
You will probably be fine with a Johnny Joint. Ive had very few issues out of them but due to the way JJ's are designed you may run into a misalignment issue with them since only one end of your control arms can pivot instead of both ends like a "normal" suspension. For that reason alone you may want to look at a rod end. I don't know your setup so its hard to say the JJ would or wouldn't have issues.
 
I'm putting joints on the end of ford radius arms. So from what I'm hearing rod ends would be the best. 1 1/4" I'm guessing?
 
CarolinaTruggies said:
Which FK rod ends are you buying for $30???
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I don't run monster heims. IMO, penis envy is now heim envy. everybody seems to want to run 1 1/4" or bigger. I've running 3/4" by 3/4" FKs for years and abusing the piss out of them. ask the guys I go with. also my truck isn't light. FSJ with tons, steel beadlocks and 43 SXs. Include the iron block 360, SM465, 203/205 and I've got plenty of weight to test them to their limits.

http://www.filthymotorsports.com/heim_joints_s/71.htm

sorry they're $32.
 
I am still running leafs, so no personal experience with either. However, I do wheel a lot, and with a lot of rigs with different set ups.
I have seen many 3/4 heims break and bend. I have seen some really sloppy JJ. I have seen and heard some really loud Heims too, of all sizes. I have one friend who is running JJ or Super Joints, not sure which, I do know they are rebuild-able. His works, never broke, but he is a maintenance freak, they do get greased EVERY pre trip go through. I have NOT seem any of the 1 1/4 size heims fail.
When building suspension links, IMO it's better to go with the "there's no success, like Excess theory. Just seems to make sense to me
and less headache later.
 
McCracken said:
I don't run monster heims. IMO, penis envy is now heim envy. everybody seems to want to run 1 1/4" or bigger. I've running 3/4" by 3/4" FKs for years and abusing the piss out of them. ask the guys I go with. also my truck isn't light. FSJ with tons, steel beadlocks and 43 SXs. Include the iron block 360, SM465, 203/205 and I've got plenty of weight to test them to their limits.

http://www.filthymotorsports.com/heim_joints_s/71.htm

sorry they're $32.
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First off $32 for a 3/4" heim is a ripoff I dond care what brand it is.
Barnes4wd sells 1 1/4 for $3 more so that is usually my choice.
Also just to add to the fire I have rebuilt a lot more jj's than I have seen high quality get loose. Take note I said high quality heims not the cheap metal on metal with the ball crimped in place crap you find in speedway magizine.
 
this is why I said quality heims. everybody and their brother runs to tractor supply and buys the $6 specials and they bend and break. i'm sticking with my story and will continue to run them. I've ran the same set, barring 2 that I messed up when I redid my links, for at least 8 years and they're just now getting to the point where I'm thinking about replacing them. I've replaced my links more than my 3/4" heims.
 
First off in the world of rod ends a Barnes or RSS is a bottom to middle of the line joint.

A JMX series FK is one of the best heims you can put on a vehicle and $32 for a 3/4 is a reasonable price for one. They make RSS, Barnes, QA1 and Midwest control or any injection style joint look like junk. They are well worth the money if you can afford it and will outlast a injection style joint a minimum of 3x longer and at that point they are a better value than the cheaper ones. You can generally only justify putting a high end FK or Aurora rod end on a race vehicle do to 1.25 joints retailing at $88 a piece.
 
CarolinaTruggies said:
First off in the world of rod ends a Barnes or RSS is a bottom to middle of the line joint.
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Alex
If that is how that you feel why do you keep buying them from me?
Brad
 
You messed words 5-8 in there, I'm not talking about the 4wd industry, I'm talking about the joint industry over all. Every joint out there is generally built for a certain application, whether it be aerospace, machinery or on the back of a tractor. Barnes and others are plenty good for the application in which they are being used because 98% of our sport doesn't require every one to have the top of the line, and that's why I use them(to answer your question). It would be a waste of money to putting something better on a vehicle if its not going to benefit it. 98% of the vehicles out there are going to have zero issues out of your joints, Dan's, QA1 and Midwest Control.
Switch applications and look into the bearing of a name brand shock (not FOA junk!) Look at what kind of joints they're using, its a RK or Aurora and its not a injection style race. How often have to people seen a tiny 1/2 joint wear out? Its a PTFE or fabric based liner in a 3 piece joint. Its because that's what works for the application and its a upgrade over a injection style joint.
I'll stand behind what I said, I think that the JMX FK is one of the best joints you can buy IF you can justify the money for your application, but many don't have that application.

If you can produce a quality affordable joint with a PTFE liner you would rule the 4wd market.
 
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