9/16x18 Female Heim Joints

AidanDeBradney · Dec 15, 2015

using a mustang II steering rack on a project, and I can't seem to find 9/16x18 female heim joints anywhere. I've tried McMaster,qs components,grainger and multiple sites on the web. Does anyone have a link or resource for this ever illusive unicorn part?

LILCBRA · Dec 16, 2015

I didn't see anything 9/16, but you may find what you're looking for here:

Heim Joints / Rod End Bearings - Free Shipping @ Speedway Motors

AidanDeBradney · Dec 16, 2015

Nope, they don't have anything, thanks though

madspeed · Dec 16, 2015

here ya go

MXM: Spherical Rod End, Male, Chrome Moly, Slotted Nylon Race - Midwest Control Products Corp.

AidanDeBradney · Dec 16, 2015

Unfortunately that is male, they do not have female available, I emailed them :-(

madspeed · Dec 16, 2015

they make sleeves that goes over the male threaded portion that in turn makes it a female. Kind of opposite of Bruce and Caitlyn

AidanDeBradney · Dec 16, 2015

Is there a link to that?

LILCBRA · Dec 16, 2015

Bumpsteer Sleeves

Can give them a try, might open some options for your joint. Looks like they adapt 9/16 RH thread to a different size LH thread. It also looks like you may be able to use a generic Mopar sleeve?

Mancini racing Aluminum Tie Rod Adjusting Sleeve

I hope this helps-good luck!!!

AidanDeBradney · Dec 16, 2015

Thanks for the links, but I fear by adding those and the heims, I will end up with a track width that's too wide, even if I cut the the inner rods down. I may end up cutting the rods down and welding some 1/2x20 all thread on there, basically crafting my own inner tie rods. Thoughts?

jozsefsz · Dec 16, 2015

AidanDeBradney said:
Unfortunately that is male, they do not have female available, I emailed them :-(

They list this... MXF: Spherical Rod End, Chrome Moly, Slotted body, female threads - Midwest Control Products Corp.

Am I missing something? Worst case you're drilling & tapping?

AidanDeBradney · Dec 16, 2015

Your suggestion is to get a female heim, maybe 1/2" then drill it out and then tap it to 9/16". Hmm. Thank you.

jozsefsz · Dec 16, 2015

Right you are sir, sorry I wasn't more clear. A 9/16x18 should be drilled with a 33/64" bit ideally. So you'd pretty much be removing the 1/2" threads with the drill and re-tapping. This assumes the material of the 1/2" piece will be thick enough to safely support the 9/16" bolt and the loads. This seems a little easier than the other options like crafting your own inner tie rods. If you were willing to do that, I have no doubt you can do this successfully. Ideally you could find the right sized female joint, but if not, it seems like a fairly easy-to-try option.

LILCBRA · Dec 17, 2015

I don't know why I didn't think of that-great suggestion jozsefsz!! Probably the route I would go as well. I guess it all depends on how you would go about re-drilling and tapping. Holding the joint for a good straight hole will be the challenge. I guess the other challenge would be if you have a LH thread somewhere. Sometimes finding an oddball tap like a 9/16-18 LH thread can be challenging and sometimes expensive. But, if you were to go that route, if it ever caused you grief you would have the know-how and the tools to replace it instead of hunting for oddball pieces like you are doing now. If you don't have access to a machine shop or have any friends that are machinists, I would suggest taking it to a machine shop and asking them to re-drill and tap the end. They should have the proper equipment to handle a simple task like that. You may have to buy the tap since it is kind of an off size, but they should be able to handle it easily.

AidanDeBradney · Dec 17, 2015

This is great! My local nut and bolt supply warehouse has a 9/16x18 RH plug tap in stock, but they don't have a 33/64 drill bit available. Do you think I could get away with using a 1/2 bit? (I have a few 1/2 female heims i'm going to practice on to see if I can do it before heading to the machine shop).

LILCBRA · Dec 17, 2015

1/2" drill will probably work well enough, but tapping it may be a little more difficult since the tap will be removing a little more material. Granted it is only about .007" per side. If I had my Machinery Handbook here instead of at work, I could snap a few pics to illustrate, but the tap drill size is for approximately 80% thread iirc. By tapping a hole that is only .500 instead of .5156, you will end up with a little more thread which will probably not be a problem. In this illustration, imagine a little more material at the crowns of the internal thread. By drilling the hole a little smaller, that is what you will end up with. Wikipedia seems to have a good description/explanation here: List of drill and tap sizes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

jozsefsz · Dec 18, 2015

I'm more convinced now than ever that owning and restoring a II should confer an honorary mechanical engineering degree on everyone who does so. You guys are pretty awesome.

AidanDeBradney · Dec 18, 2015

AidanDeBradney · Dec 18, 2015

So it worked guys! Drill with 1/2" bit a re-tap. It is a bit tough with the 1/2 so I may fork out for the correct size bit just to make life easier. If anyone is on the Facebook, or Instagram, search for #tetanus544 and join in the Volvo-low-life fun.

jozsefsz · Dec 18, 2015

Nice work! That couldn't look more perfect, thanks for sharing the outcome!

LILCBRA · Dec 20, 2015

Looks good! Congrats!!

9/16x18 Female Heim Joints

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