Anybody with some real world experience vs. rod ends?

 

I have the del-spheres on both the front lower and the rear control arms, so far so good on mine but don't have a lot of miles on them. I also have rod-ends on a watts link rear that are also doing fine but lower miles.

To the extent they can be rebuilt (I bought a full set of the delrin inserts just in case) they are cheaper than rod ends when thy wear out (the bearing set is $4 for each end versus $30+ for a rod end.) To the extent they are lubricated and have no metal to metal contact, they should last longer; my assumption has been they will last at least as long as a ball joint?

I went with the del-sphere as it is a single piece versus the roto-joint that has the thread welded to the outer housing and should be stronger. As far as ride goes, the delrin bearing insert is very hard and for all practical purposes is a rod-end.

 

Well since there both very similar I went with the roto-joints;Why?
One main reason the roto-joints use less individual parts to do the same job as the Del-spheres.

 

Hello,

Both items are similar in design and how they actually operate. Like Bluz28 mentioned is our Roto-Joint is one solid piece in the center, not four pieces. We feel this offers a more solid component and less items to offer noise. Our Roto-Joint is also built fully by us, every component to the Roto-Joint is designed and machined right here at UMI. I don't know where our competitors item in made..

If you have any additional questions please ask. Thanks!
Ryan