Improving drag link ends

[Robert Foreman]

The drag link is made from cold drawn seamless tube. I have made new ones and even a left hand drive one by mistake. 
  You can save an old one with a worn 1/4" hole by boring it up further and putting a top hat steel pellet in with the 'head' thickness machined to lock the cup in.

[Dave Mann]

On the original set up the total lost motion is 0.030" to 0.090" which I find requires no improvement.

[squeak]

I have made a new one using seamless tubing from aircraft suppliers. They were able to supply concentric tubing which avoided the task of boring both ends. I do think the result removes a potential fatigue point in the bored out arrangement. I have not heard of cracks in this area but for me it was simpler to manufacture.

[Charles P]

I have made a new one using seamless tubing from aircraft suppliers. They were able to supply concentric tubing which avoided the task of boring both ends. I do think the result removes a potential fatigue point in the bored out arrangement. I have not heard of cracks in this area but for me it was simpler to manufacture.

How was the inner tube fixed to the outer?

Charles

[squeak]

Charles I had a look and the inner tube abuts each inner ball joint cup and thus held in place by the through cross bolt.  The aircraft tubing is a perfect sliding fit and would take to a plug weld for belt and braces , I did not. Regards  Russell

[Bob Culver]

It is 10 years since i had one apart and cannot remember. What stops the inner cup fretting on the bolt? Is it a tight fit and clamped by the tube distorting?
Teh shim adjustment is fine if you have a jig to facilitate compressing the assembly for trial and error. I use two long threaded rods and simple end plates.The springs when effective presumably shield the arms from a lot of minor reactions.

Before I learned that new steering arms are avilable I contemplated a belt and braces bracket. But I have since found arms cracked at the turned seat radius.....  Which might eventually occur even with replacements if treated brutally..

[squeak]

The correct bolt has no thread till it emerges and the cup is solid. The cup is a tight fit and difficult to remove, in an earlier thread someone described levering it out from the bolt hole with a small screwdriver.

[Charles P]

To update this thread I found that making a new side tube kept on sliding down my to do list. 
I then spotted that Tony Betts will sell you a whole new drag link - tube, cups, ball ends, caps for £75. Makes sourcing the the cold drawn tube, boring the ends and slots seem hard work compared to what I consider a very reasonable cost for a bolt on replacement.

   

Charles

[Ruairidh Dunford]

It's an absolute bargain and well worth buying - you will most likely want to put the double locking nuts "down the way" at the steering column end though.

[Charles P]

It's an absolute bargain and well worth buying - you will most likely want to put the double locking nuts "down the way" at the steering column end though.

Just what I thought.
I like an engineering project but this is faster and simpler.

c