That is until they bend or break. I've seen it happen. One broke the rod about two inches from the bottom, and the other two broke at the weld joint where the rod meets the end.

This wouldn't be an issue if the end link mounted to the lower control arm like most other cars. MINI's have the added stress of having to turn with the strut and these particular rod ends just don't have enough angularity to cope.

Good discussion, everyone!!

Jim

 

The Powergrid endlinks are the best links you can buy for the front end. These are balljoint type endlinks - like the factory design, not rod ends. High misaligned rod ends will not work either...the few I have looked at articulate 22 degrees and a typical non-high misaligned rod end articulate about 14 degrees. The Powergrid endlinks articulate 53 degrees on two axis.

NoModMini,

I'm confused...the broken bolt in the pic above does not show signs of either pure compression or tension failure. Although one side may have compressed, the other is in shear...when the link binds, the primary force responsible for failure is shear. A shear load need not be two identical forces working in opposite directions...resistance, bind, to a shear load will also cause a shear failure...??? This may appear as though we're taking the OP's subject off point, but there have been a large number of endlink failures in the mini community. Most, if not all have involved the front endlinks - because manufacturers are not paying attention to how this car works. I have similar complaints about some of the adjustable coilover kits.

Semantics aside, a garden variety rod end will not work in the front end. A ball joint type endlink as all that will work with piece of mind.

 

unpossible!!

 

Don't get me started with the unpossible around here...

 

Wait, if you only have one side attached and you're still breaking, or about to break, end links there's something wrong with your sway bar or the end link is too long/ too short.

 

Articulation, read a couple of posts up...

 

Edit: I'm not getting into this again...

 

I know what the problem is...like Meb said.. . Heims arent made to take that side force. I just need to replace them thats all...No biggie...

 

No need to be sorry! I know that Aurora is a premier manufacturer of rod ends, and they make a good product. What I'm saying is that they and other manufacturers make a variety of rod ends, in the same size, that have differing mechanical properties that suit the particular application. One can buy, for instance, a 1/2" Aurora rod end in different series, such as:
SPM = 6,340 lb rating
MM, KM, or SM = 6,660 lb rating
CM = 8,338 lb rating
AM = 16,228 lb rating
XAM = 31,390 lb rating

The main difference in these are the material and heat-treatment of the body and shank. The shank is usually where they will fail. The XAM series is the one I was attempting to point out that has the step shank. Not only does it have a larger threaded shank, but is also heat-treated alloy steel. The lower rated ones are plated carbon steel (non heat-treated).

 

Good discussion, good discussion. To respond to the response to my response.... I work about a zillion hours a week and don't spend a whole ton of time on the forums. To describe the manufacturing process would either require me giving lessons on lathe operation, or would require me to assume that you already know how to use a lathe. And if THAT were true, then I wouldn't have to tell you how to make the parts. You'd already know.

I'm not giving online turning lessons.

If you want the abridged version...
1. measure
2. buy parts
3. buy bar stock
4. measure
5. cut stock
6. face bar stock
7. spot drill
8. drill
9. chamfer
10. tap RH
11. measure
12. flip over part
13. repeat 6-9
14. tap LH
15. clean/deburr
16. assemble

 

Most every aftermarket end link made for the Mini is a flawed design, but for the Powergrids. The rears can take anything pretty much, but the fronts can't. It has nothing to do with how strong the Hiem is, by the way Aroura is a middle of the road hiem, no where near top quality. Meb has it all right, so go back and read his post. All but Powergrid being the best. There are better.
The OP's links are nice, but it short time will start to bend at the hiem in the fronts, and then fail. In fact they might just break because of how strong they are, which could send him into a tree depending when it happens. I'd rather they be softer and bend, like the Altas do..

 

I guess I just don't see where the question was even posed.

 

Me either, but I watched the entire rod end manufacturing process at a bearing factory near my office last week...didn't even know they were there. Very labor intensive...in this case.

 

Page 1, Post 11.

 

Okay I see it now. I guess I just glanced over it the two or three times I read the thread lol.

 

Jim and all,

The project to fabricate one's own end-links is a great one. Congratualtions.

Jim's end-link failure most likely due to bind from not using 'high angularity' rod ends, Aurora or any other make. Have poped two myself before tumbling to this simple fact. Takes very little to bind those babies up and pop the rod. Did it the first time in my own driveway, 50 feet from the car port.

John Petrich in Seattle

 

You can find ball joint type rod-ends on mcmaster (along with anything else you would need to make your own endlinks, or anything else you can imagine for that matter) with approximately 50 deg. of travel for about 35 bucks, right hand and left hand threaded. They are also teflon lined. I would ask for/try and find what the spec is on the "alloy" steel though. They will probably tell you if you call, they're used to dealing with picky engineers, great customer service, and the shipping options give a new meaning to rush delivery.

 

If just "high angularity" from anyone works, avoid mcmaster in that case as they are usually over priced, and go direct to the manufacturers. Just check that the specs are in line with what is required.

 

I guess Powergrid works if one doesn't want to fabricate, or source all the different parts. Unfortunately for me, MaMaster Carr can't help with another application...their metric inventroy is fairly basic. So, off to the machine shop.

 

Got the endlinks installed today after experimenting with different hardware solutions.

The verdict? They are a bit noisy from the link body assembly (2 rod ends, 2 nuts, and the shaft) all rotating freely on the fixed ***** and moving until their limit (hitting the head on the affixing bolt). With the radio on, I can't hear/feel it unless there is a break in songs or a dead spot between tracks on the iPod.

I could feel the difference in stiffness just in installing them as I could flex the stock endlinks by hand when removing them from a pre-loaded bar. Installing the links with no preload proved about as easy as I expected.

These links are good for a race car for sure, but I am not too thrilled with the noise level on my street-driven Mini. I may go back to stock for now and experiment with teflon-lined joints that do not move back and forth so freely. Anyone want this set for an autocross car?

 

Did you test the articulation up front? I performed this test with the front end on jack stands and both springs removed...with a floor jack, I raised and lowered the suspension as my son turned the steering wheel...

 

Actually, I only installed the rears. After this dicussion, I elected not to use the heim jointed links up front at all for fear of failure. I may yet come up with a solution involving a mount to the control arm but for now, I want to address the noise problem!

 

could the oem ones be cut and modified to become adj, or is that just daft....
has anyone here used white line ones for the front end?

 

No, the stock ones can't be modified, at least not with any semblance of strength. They are quite flimsy and cutting/threading them will only make them weaker.

 

The Waymotorworks endlinks look to be a solid design.

- drew