How I Almost Died Today

[davro]

Hi All,

Thought I would share my near death experience and investigation of my Dax Rush flawed ball joint securing spacer design, the shoddy securing spacer design held for 7 years but today was it's final day. I don't have the pressed in ball joints but the old princess design ball joints with a single washer that has a single tab that locates on to the hub. Yes a single tab!
You really need one tab going up to locate the securing spacer to the hub and one tab going down to secure the spacer to the ball joint. This is the plan for the new securing spacer two tabs ...

Here is the securing spacer in place, with a gator that needs replacing.


Here is the side that decided to free it's self from the hub, because the securing spacer was not securing the bottom bolt of the ball joint from rotating only locating on the top hub, ...


Luckily I managed to bring the car to a gentle stop with metal shavings flying into my face with only a small amount of damaged to the inner wheel but if this happened at speed I dread to think. In all seriousness this is one of the worst designs I have seen in my life !

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNoAOdkNdfeICQA6gJouYUgiywv-7AIJMbB9r65PA-Sssg9u5qkWlgCgoOj3oKe-Q/photo/AF1QipPzMM4-P2NlKmWTsP52R7ocPrUkJxQAmY-tC2sB?key=UEtTMzBhTXZlRGdyeWR0QVZhS093ZmRXajhsc1Vn

[jeffw]

Looks like you should buy a lottery ticket!

You'd think with that clever camber compensation system in place they would have sorted the rest as well.

[Crunchie Gears]

I have seen safer clowns cars at the circus

The Gods where looking favourably on you that day Change you name to Jason as you clearly are the son of Zeus

[davro]

Lottery tickets bought

The Gods where looking favourably on you that day Change you name to Jason as you clearly are the son of Zeus

LOL Deed poll submission complete

When I got home after stopping about 20 times to check the thread was not coming loose, I took a little visit to my engineering spirit guide, an 85 year old retired tool maker he laughed and got the beers out! I feel a little worst for wear this morning after much discussion and beer quaffing.

I'm going to mill out a new securing spacers with two tabs on the CNC milling machine, just need to code up the CAD/CAM stuff, I will post some pictures of the new part once I get it made for confirmation that it's not as clown shoe as the current design.

Well that is my southern coast trip over with for this year so pleased I was no where near a cliff edge, luckily I manage to jack it up take the wheel of relocate the ball joint thread and tighten the ball joint, I found the old securing spacer on the cockpit floor as it nearly hit me in the face

[DJ.]

Glad you were going slowly when it went!

A car tried to drive over me as I was overtaking this morning too

[Fury1630]

I'm going to mill out a new securing spacers with two tabs on the CNC milling machine, just need to code up the CAD/CAM stuff, I will post some pictures of the new part once I get it made for confirmation that it's not as clown shoe as the current design.

Forget the tabs, I've wire-locked mine on, tabs aren't "class one locking" (as required for flight critical items in my line of work) Either drill the hex & wire lock it, or make up something that fits over the hex & wire-lock that. Makes it easier to get off when you need to dismantle it too.

[davro]

I'm going to mill out a new securing spacers with two tabs on the CNC milling machine, just need to code up the CAD/CAM stuff, I will post some pictures of the new part once I get it made for confirmation that it's not as clown shoe as the current design.

Forget the tabs, I've wire-locked mine on, tabs aren't "class one locking" (as required for flight critical items in my line of work) Either drill the hex & wire lock it, or make up something that fits over the hex & wire-lock that. Makes it easier to get off when you need to dismantle it too.

Thanks Fury1630 that is a decent idea and the best suggestion yet!
I did think about wire locking it but the bolt hex is very thin, I will try this first as plan A, but making a widget that fits over the hex bolt and then wire locking that is a decent plan B.

Just ordered some 304 stainless Safety Wire and some Twisting Pliers.

Cheers

[Matth93]

Shouldn't that locking tab thats on there have been bent both ways so one piece is onto the hub and another bit further round onto the nut of the ball joint

[steve m]

If it was my car, I would be buying two brand new ball joints, and thread locking them in,
also tightening them up FT

Mucking about with the old rusty "tried to kill you joint" would not inspire me to drive the car again

steve

[Fury1630]

Thread lock isn't class one locking either.
The joints that came with the Fury had a large diameter thin "washer", the idea being it got bent up around a flat of the hex & down onto the "wishbone" of whatever car it was made for. On the Fury there was nothing to bend it down over, so I bent it up around five of the flats & drilled the bit around the sixth for wire locking.

You only need a 1/16" hole for the wire, so it looks like there should be enough hex.