flipping ball joints

[K@rlos]

I'm gonna be lowering my Westy soon, will be using adjusters but I'm also very tempted to go the flipped ball joint route too. Has anyone got an opinion on this method?

Pro's, con's etc

Karl

 

[ozziedog]

Hi there, This is exactly what I am contemplating and have been following all the experts etc and the consensus of opinion is the Transporter Haus ones / type seem to work well without loss of travel and therefore suspension. There are no known failures or balls falling out as far as we are aware 8) 8) As soon as adjusters come into play that seems to be when the travel starts getting limited and comfort / suspension also :shock: :? .Thats my take on it all, but like everything else,,,, I could be completely wrong :lol: :lol: . I know I got to lower mine as I can`t get in and out of the garage with the pop top on . If you are following the other thread on general, there is talkabout sports bras being required etc :lol: but ,,,,,,,,, nobody has mentioned jock straps yet !!!! Obviously an extra incentive to lower even further. If I loose too much suspension,, I am in mortal danger of loosing my dentures and I ain`t the most handsome creature even with them in :roll: :lol: :roll: . Decisions decisions HHHHHMMMMM !!

Ozziedog,,,,,,,, Keeping my choppers in for now at least.

 

[dubdubz]

unless you decide to go old technology [but works] in the form of K&Linkpin front beam then the only really way to get lower and get a decent ride is with the reversed balljoints.

My only concern is how they will wear and an inclusion of a grease nipple would be an excellent one which Alex has considered after I mentioned it to him. So only time will tell how a heavy conversion like my westy and some miles will fair. My guessing is several 10000 of miles before any degradation....

D

 

[Graham L]

Well I've got the transporterhaus ones fitted as we act as midlands agents for Alex, they are fitted to our shop bus and I have to say even though I've only done about 150 miles so far the ride is really good although I think damper choice is quite critical, I'm about to fit bugpack coilovers to stiffen it all up a bit as with 2 in the front its possible to get the wheels to foul the arch (although I am a big chap :lol: :lol: ). I think Clem had the same problem but he's got adjusters in his beam wheras mine is a stock beam no adjusters.

Definitely recommend them for a lower ride, you are not going to be scraping the floor but then not everyone wants that :mrgreen:

 

[mattd1984]

Im using the Red9 Ez Coilover kit. This has dropped the front about 4" and with the adjustable dampers the ride is really nice. Off topic I know.

 

[cyberdyne systems]

The main problem with a stock beam and these lowered spindles is that as the springs are quite soft the full travel will either create one of two problems (depending on the tyre height) either the tyre scrubbing the floor under the wheel arch (taller tyres) or the beam end plates hitting the ground (lower profile tyres). This is usually when you go down a dip or some road that causes full travel, it doesn't tend to do it on smoother roads. I have tried fitting adjustable shocks but these won't stop the travel so the problem remains - though with the beam end plates being scraped so many times its loads better.

The main way round it seems to be coil over shocks that stiffen up the travel. A narrowed beam's springs would be a bit stiffer or if you have a pre '71 model year then the k & l route will give more clearance. I have witnessed a k & l beam fitted while retaining (stock) balljoint spindles, not sure if its a straight fit of the trailing arms, but the angles won't quite be correct, with adjusters you could correct the stock spring tension, but not the angle.

 

[K@rlos]

Well I've got the transporterhaus ones fitted as we act as midlands agents for Alex, they are fitted to our shop bus and I have to say even though I've only done about 150 miles so far the ride is really good although I think damper choice is quite critical, I'm about to fit bugpack coilovers to stiffen it all up a bit as with 2 in the front its possible to get the wheels to foul the arch (although I am a big chap :lol: :lol: ). I think Clem had the same problem but he's got adjusters in his beam wheras mine is a stock beam no adjusters.

Definitely recommend them for a lower ride, you are not going to be scraping the floor but then not everyone wants that :mrgreen:

Not after a real slammed ride, just want a tasteful drop tbh and to stop you and Egotrippin from taking the piss :lol: :lol:

 

[Paulwillie1000]

Im using the Red9 Ez Coilover kit. This has dropped the front about 4" and with the adjustable dampers the ride is really nice. Off topic I know.

me too, and i agree, very good

 

[Bondo]

have you seen these

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26102" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks daz

 

[TransporterHaus]

There are no known failures or balls falling out as far as we are aware 8) 8)

There's quite a few sets of these flipped spindles out there now. I'm pleased to say both TransporterHaus & t2d - we do talk to each other about our firms products - have had no ball joint failures, no ball joints falling out and no ball joints needing replacement

I have witnessed a k & l beam fitted while retaining (stock) balljoint spindles, not sure if its a straight fit of the trailing arms, but the angles won't quite be correct, with adjusters you could correct the stock spring tension, but not the angle.

Ball joint trailing arms will not fit in a king pin beam without them being machined on the bearing surface. These modified ball joint trailing arms used to be offered by Harry Harpics some years ago. IMO if the trailing arm is machined to fit the smaller king pin bearings then it needs to be case hardened or induction hardened because all the hardened surface of the trailing arm will be lost when the piece is machined and running them in 64-67 roller bearings will wear the arm and destroy the bearing quickly. There is a difference in the position of the tubes on the split / bay beams - split ones being closer together and smaller tubing too.

Coilover shocks are a good idea with our spindles, and they also give you the option to dial in and raise the ride by upto 1.5" if the ride is too low for you.

At the end of the day the ride quality is simply superb with flipped spindles and you will not get this quality of ride with beam adjusters.

We are continually developing our spindles - more and more of the machine work is done to aviation / MOD standards on CNC, we have upgraded all our custom tooling to solid carbide to give better results and longevity. As of the last batch we upgraded the insert material to EN8M steel. We have also been testing spindles with more material milled off them to give more threads through the lock nut - we did try to get slimmer lock nuts made but the costings were ridiculous!

Also a big new product coming soon to compliment the drop spindles. More details soon.

 

[mattd1984]

Interesting to hear they work with coilovers. Now if only I could find 500 sheets 8)

 

[creationblue]

The main problem with a stock beam and these lowered spindles is that as the springs are quite soft the full travel will either create one of two problems (depending on the tyre height) either the tyre scrubbing the floor under the wheel arch (taller tyres) or the beam end plates hitting the ground (lower profile tyres). This is usually when you go down a dip or some road that causes full travel, it doesn't tend to do it on smoother roads. I have tried fitting adjustable shocks but these won't stop the travel so the problem remains - though with the beam end plates being scraped so many times its loads better.

These are wise words to anyone wanting a lowered bus, there is a trade-off. Im running 14" steels with 185/75 tryes, WW dropped spindles 2.5" drop combined with Red9 EZ rider 2-4" kit. With the Spax coil-overs at their highest setting and stiffest damping the tyres rub like fook on anything other than smooth tarmac and driving about at 20mph pisses everyone off behind you!!! , but the look is good IMO. So to counter this i tried running 165/65/14s and dropping the spax down to the desired look. This counteracted the tub-rubbing but caused the beam to bottom out due to the lower tyre profile.........not ideal either! So using a spacer I raised the piston in the Spax up an inch then wound the coil-over right to the top of its travel, now with the damping turned to its hardest setting and the 185s back on I no longer get the rubbing (unless its a particularly deep dip at speed) and the beam clears the tarmac. The ride is a bit bouncy but my latest gripe it that the Spax make a terrible graunching noise, i stripped them down and put copper slip on the fixings and sprayed them with WD40 and this works for a while, but then the noise returns and its not a pleasent sound that makes you think the whole thing is gonna colapse, this combined with the rubber bushes working themselve off dosnt fill me with confidence :? And as im always taking my family with me i feel i should do something about it.
So im now thinking of putting the leaves back in and using an adjuster as im only looking for another 2.5" drop or so combined with the spindles, this im hoping with give a good ride without the noise of the coilovers.