Dissapointed with QA1 rod ends and Spohn

Alright here is the deal. I ordered LCA's from sphon with rod ends a while back. I got them beginning of winter and put them on. I noticed when i put one on the rod end was not as loose as the others but still turned.....the swivel action. So now i take them out and the one rod end is locked up. I called Sphon looking to see if they could call QA1 and see about replacing them through QA1--since it's their product. Spohn just says they are not warrented. Seems like they could get a replacement from QA1 and say it's defective, because it obviously is. There is no way less than 100miles driving and no track time that end would have locked up. It seems they have to have some kindof replacement for defective parts. I guess they can just sell you junk and say no warranty. I am a little mad if you can't tell. It's just you spend 200bucks on some chromoly tubing and rod ends and 1 out of 4 rod ends doesn't even work :rolleyes: Costs them $15(probably less) for it and they won't make it right. I guess that's what loses customers.....

Dissapointed in the rod end and the way Sphon handled it. Just thought i would share. I will look into seeing if QA1 will replace it.....i guess i'll have to talk to them since Sphon won't.

"All of our spherical rod ended components come equipped with QA1 extra high strength, chrome moly rod ends with Teflon®/Kevlar® self lubricating race. When shopping around for spherical rod ended components, do not shop on price alone. The lower grade rod ends (which are much cheaper) will not hold their tolerances like the premium QA1 rod ends we utilize, this will cause substantial amounts of noise in a short time. We have had to increase our prices, but it is money very well spent in the long run, these rod ends will last a very long time. The rod ends supplied on our components are QA1 ENDURA 2000 Series (XMR12/XML12)."

straight from spohn's website, i would ask steve spohn again to see what he can do or like u said go right to QA1.

How stuck was it? Could you move the control arm with that end mounted? If so, and you can't spin the ball with your fingers, that's the best rod end you have. When you can spin them with your pinky is when they'll rattle.

Ditto... I'd be more concerned about the three that were "loose" rather than the one that seemed "tight". All four of the QA1's in my Spohn LCA's were very solid when they were new. What is the current condition of the three you felt were "loose"?

The QA1 ends do not carry a guarantee, whether they sell them to Spohn or direct to you.

Yea, loose in not a cool thing in Rod Ends...

I've got those same rod ends in my "custom" Billet aluminum LCAs and PHR and they were difficult to move by hand and took some serious force to get everything aligned.

If they are loose, and freely move by hand, then the rod end is shot.

The QA1 ends do not carry a guarantee, whether they sell them to Spohn or direct to you.

Figures, no one backs any of their work nowadays.....no one has the guts to.


I guess i didn't explain it very well, what i mean is that inside, (center part that is suppose to swivel) is locked up. It's not the end comming out of the chromoly its the ball joint inside, that is suppose to be lubricated and teflon coated. That is suppose to swivel for turns, and is locked up. I put the bolt in it and tried to use the extra leverage and is still wouldn't budge. I'll call spohn again....i had my dad call the first time. I might call QA1 and ask them, because if they are marketing these as high performance then then should last more than 100miles on nothing more than street driving.

If they are loose, and freely move by hand, then the rod end is shot.

Are you kidding me?? They all turned easily by hand when i pulled them out of the box. Why are they lubricated inside then? That means every rod end i have is junk? and i never even drove the car......wow is Spohn doesn't refund my money i am going to be upset. They were loose when i got them....i figured they should turn easily(the inside part that is teflon coated). I can turn the center of the rod on my car when they are installed--is that bad :eek:

If that's true then i just paid $200 for some damn chromoly tubing. each end is $30. And since they won't "garentee" anything it's $120 to replace them. If these turn out to be bad and isn't made right, then Steve just lost a customer and a lot of refurals.

*shrugs* I don't know what to tell ya. When I got my QA1s, I had to basically line it up using bolts for leverage; al though I would turn them by hand in small sparatic moves, but not freely turning; if a bolt isn't moving it, then yes, there is a serious problem.

I wish i had a set to test and see how they are suppose to be. Thanks for the help though 97FormulaWS-6.

Something doesn't "add up" here...

You've made two different statements.... in one place you indicate you put them on in the beginning of winter and have 100 miles on the car, now you are saying "i never even drove the car"..... which is it?

Is it just possible you actually bought these last summer?

If you felt that one rod end was messed up when you took them out of the box, why did you install them?

What suddenly caused you to remove them from the car and look for a rod end that is locked up, when you haven't driven the car?

Is it the "ball" or the threaded end that was loose? Having a hard time understanding exactly what is wrong.

You are correct those are two different statements, and can't both be true....What i mean by "not driving" it is super low miles.....100 miles. I got them for my birthday in Nov and put the car up near the end of the month...since it snows here early in MI. So no i did not drive them all summer. I have no reason to lie.....if they were used hard or even for a while i wouldn't mind.

The reason they were removed, was during this winter i pulled the rear end to paint it, since i had installed the brackets a month before in Oct (since you want dates and think i am lying....you want the recipts??) I did this so the brackets wouldn't rust and need something to do

If you felt that one rod end was messed up when you took them out of the box, why did you install them?
I have never used rod ends before,therefore i had no way to know how they were suppose to be....now that the one, that was sticking is locked up, I am ASSUMING it was defective, Or are they suppose to lock up after 100miles?


I know where you are comming from Injuneer since you know him personally.

the balls inside the end move freely on 3 and the ball on the one is locked up. They are very securely attached to the Chromoly

Just checking. :)
Havn't heard to many bad things about his products but it sure would look good if he stood behind it if it is bad. ;)

I will take it that you didn't use any type of seals on the rod ends; such as the Seals-it ones?

Dirt and debris is instant death to rod ends; If Nov in Mich is anything like Buffalo, then the salt was flying as well as the dirt. That will do both things you described; lock up, and wear out (loosen) brand new joints VERY quickly. I'm got about 3K on my QA1s with Seals-it seals and they are just like brand new, solid as a rock and stiff to move, although not as stiff as new, still stiff.

It hadn't snowed here yet when i drove it (never seen snow-always put away before it snows and they salt the roads), so there was no salt on the roads. This car is only a weekend car. I go to college during the week, and the Camaro is at my parents house....which means it sits inside a graged 5 out of 7 days a week, usually 6 out of 7. So the car was driven probably 8 times before i put it away. I live on a paved road and usually just hit the freeways and in town(always paved roads).

I have the seal-it seals and milled down the spacers to fit (just recently when i was putting the rear end back in), when i came accross this one that is locked up. So no, i did not use the seals in that short time.

The think is are they suppose to be tight or loose? I am getting different opinions from everyone? Are the balls suppose to rotate easily? The thing is though, they moved very freely when i got them....the balls that is....i called them because at first they weren't chromoly and they said yes they were...if i had know how the end should have been i would have called then.

There was something else that i forgot to mention, after i first installed them on the first turn and acceleration--there was a loud pop and it made the car jump and almost go off the road. I just assumed something in the suspension was bound up, and just released....maybe it was the end going out. It drove fine afterwards, never made any noise so i never checked them.


O well nothing will be done about it anyway......no one stands behind anything anymore. All i know is when i got them i could move the ball ends easily, and one was tougher and now one won't move. Maybe it was bad, maybe i ruined it in those few miles on paved roads. All I know is if it was my business, i would just send someone the $10-$15 part and be done with it. Or at least sell it to them at cost. It's just smart business....why lose the money the customer that was going to spend in other componets which i had intended to purchase from them over a $15 dollar part? And lose potential customers when he tells others of the problems? Seems like that would cost more than $15.


You guys should bring your car to my shop someday..you might see me in a magazine someday lol..then you will see customer satisfaction....for the cars i work on right now they mostly family and locals, if it doesn't fix it--labors free....if it breaks in a month replace it for free---some of those are on U.S. Mail carriers cars....those see some rough miles too ;) (200+miles per day on backroads with 400 stops) People were replacing brake pads every month, now they can go 4+ months with 400 stops (40mph-0mph) a day. I guess some people when you go out the door they don't stand behind their product and others....stand behind it fully.

Well i'm done complaining. And don't think I am just bad mouthing Spohn, because they have nice set-ups and actually this is a Qa1 product, but i think it could have been taken care of differently, and i just wanted to complain and vent a little, because it's frustrating to spend that money and have the end go out. If i had a million dollars, it probably wouldn't bother me as much...lol. Thanks for letting me vent guys.

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I know where you are comming from Injuneer since you know him personally.
I make no secret of knowing Steve Spohn. Thanks for casting aspersions my integrity.

I never called you a liar, but in fact, I did notice two different statements, which you acknowledged were inconsistent.