Heim vs Johnny Joint

Don Bulee

Don Bulee

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 13, 2021
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297
Location
Mex
Hello, big question for you my wise masters!!! there is a shop near where I live that manufacture a lot of jeep stuff... they offer control arms which I'm looking to replace, since my skyjackers poly bushings wear extremely fast... so they offer two kind of tiers, the bushing-bushing (which I have already read that is a no-go for flexing matters) and the bushing-heim joint, but the big question..... are the heim joints any good for the daily drive application and... do they wear fast? the biggest reason to change my current skyjacker is because I'm tired of purchasing their 40 dlls bushings each 6 months.... I am a weekend warrior but I have no issues sacrificing the comfort for performance and I rarely see highway on my rig since I live in a small town (my job is 5-7 minutes from my house). the obvious reason for not going with Core 4x4 is the price, the shop I'm talking about are way cheaper than any other big brand.. they sent me the next pictures so I understand how they will be mounted and how they will look..

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Jerry Bransford said:
I wouldn't have any heim joints anywhere in my suspension or steering system. They are metal-to-metal and wear too fast.
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Thank you Jerry!! I am looking for something that lasts more than my skyjackers bushigns, so I understand that the heim joints will wear even faster.... so back to the Core 4x4 idea then? hahaha
 
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Will they make arms for you and you supply the Johnny joints? Not sure how much it would cost to get them into Mexico, but I’d be looking into that first
 
Mike_H said:
Will they make arms for you and you supply the Johnny joints? Not sure how much it would cost to get them into Mexico, but I’d be looking into that first
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I live near to the border, they live next to the border as well.. so no big trouble on that... the issue with them making the arms with the JJ is that the price elevates considerably... I will ask them for a quotation and see if the arms with JJ are still a good option... if not, Core 4x4 tier 2 sounds like the best path to follow...
 
As others have said, a heim joint has no business in your suspension / steering setup.

If you want Johnny Joints you're going to pay for them. Buy once, cry once though. They're rebuildable, they last a long, long time, and you get what you pay for and then some. If you plan on keeping your TJ a long time, the upfront cost of them won't matter too much in the long run.
 
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Chris said:
As others have said, a heim joint has no business in your suspension / steering setup.

If you want Johnny Joints you're going to pay for them. Buy once, cry once though. They're rebuildable, they last a long, long time, and you get what you pay for and then some. If you plan on keeping your TJ a long time, the upfront cost of them won't matter too much in the long run.
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thank you Chris, I think I've made a decission, will get the core 4x4 tier 2 that have a JJ in one side of the arm.. maybe the front first and then the rear ones... or something like that...
 
Don Bulee said:
thank you Chris, I think I've made a decission, will get the core 4x4 tier 2 that have a JJ in one side of the arm.. maybe the front first and then the rear ones... or something like that...
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That's a good way to go. I suppose if you ever want to upgrade the other end to a JJ that should be possible as well. Good choice (y)
 
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Don Bulee said:
I live near to the border, they live next to the border as well.. so no big trouble on that... the issue with them making the arms with the JJ is that the price elevates considerably... I will ask them for a quotation and see if the arms with JJ are still a good option... if not, Core 4x4 tier 2 sounds like the best path to follow...
Click to expand...

If you're heading down the tier 2 path, see what they would charge to make their arm with the heim, but leave the heims out. Currie makes the JJ threads in a variety of sizes, so you might be able to "game" the system.
 
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Mike_H said:
If you're heading down the tier 2 path, see what they would charge to make their arm with the heim, but leave the heims out. Currie makes the JJ threads in a variety of sizes, so you might be able to "game" the system.
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so kind of, they make me the control arms without the heim and I just install some JJ that may be able to fit? that's a good idea!
 
Don Bulee said:
so kind of, they make me the control arms without the heim and I just install some JJ that may be able to fit? that's a good idea!
Click to expand...

Yeah. I'd see what they say. Heims and Johnny joints in the size ranges we play with are all basically the same size shanks. The control arms that Currie sells are 1"-14, but they offer JJ in many different sizes

1675195140058.png


https://www.rockjock4x4.com/product...s/complete-johnny-joints/forged-johnny-joints
Lowers are 2.5" joints and Uppers are 2" joints.
 
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Mike_H said:
Yeah. I'd see what they say. Heims and Johnny joints in the size ranges we play with are all basically the same size shanks. The control arms that Currie sells are 1"-14, but they offer JJ in many different sizes

View attachment 396614

[URL]https://www.rockjock4x4.com/pr...s/complete-johnny-joints/forged-johnny-joints[/URL]

Lowers are 2.5" joints and Uppers are 2" joints.
Click to expand...

then.... if I'm looking only for the lowers.... whatever 2.5 inch JJ will fit my TJ and I should only be looking for the thread size? like per example.... these RockJock 2.5" should fit for my TJ? thanks!

1676401440479.png
 
Rickyd said:
1-1/4"-12 for lower arms
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I beg to differ. I cut the welded, non-adjustable ends off my Currie arms, then drilled and tapped them for forged ends to make both my upper and lower control arms double adjustable. These are the taps I bought to do so...

1676416017592.png


And, just so you think I'm not blowing smoke, here are the control arms with double adjustable ends

1676416063083.png

I also have a RH tap around that I used to chase the RH threads. Mine are definitely 1"-14. Maybe they've changed them in the last few years...
 
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Mike_H said:
I beg to differ. I cut the welded, non-adjustable ends off my Currie arms, then drilled and tapped them for forged ends to make both my upper and lower control arms double adjustable. These are the taps I bought to do so...

View attachment 400515

And, just so you think I'm not blowing smoke, here are the control arms with double adjustable ends

View attachment 400516
I also have a RH tap around that I used to chase the RH threads. Mine are definitely 1"-14. Maybe they've changed them in the last few years...
Click to expand...

I stand corrected.i assumed they would be the same as the savvy long arm or my rough country short arms.whats the link dom o.d. ? Makes sense. Smaller diameter would keep the links from hitting the shock mount on droop as soon

I plan on doing the same thing to the other end of my rough country arms so they are double adjustable and have jj's at both ends.i figure that will work great until or if i build a mid arm.
 
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