Drop links

[missfixit70]

Just done a quick pre mot check, rears seem to be ok that I got from him, but the second set of fronts (that he supplied as replacements for the first set that failed in less than a year) have now gone (about a year again?) on the top rubber gaiters Can't be bothered chasing him up again, so I'll be calling Ian on monday for a pair of fronts.

[cheffy34]

Need to check mine aswell then must admit the second pair he sent me seem to have done considerably better than the first ones

[mikeonb4c]

Just done a quick pre mot check, rears seem to be ok that I got from him, but the second set of fronts (that he supplied as replacements for the first set that failed in less than a year) have now gone (about a year again?) on the top rubber gaiters Can't be bothered chasing him up again, so I'll be calling Ian on monday for a pair of fronts.

Cripes - didn't know they were supposed to have a gaiter. Mine don't have any, but could that be an MOT issue?

I fitted Vectra ones to mine. They were well priced and they seem to be holding up well after 2yrs

[grb]

After enquiring as to the dimensions of the parts http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0364262988 supplied by http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/JTM-Motor ... QQ_armrsZ1, Jake sent me a sample, and here's how it compares:



I can't vouch for the longevity of such a part, but the fitment looks pretty much comparable to the stock item.







Gareth.


+ Anyone else run with these particular parts for any length of time ?

[mikexgough]

Mine are okay but I was going to get some in for my spares box........ will get them from Ian or one of the Jap parts places rather than from the ebay seller ..... thanks for the info guys n Kirsty...

[mikeonb4c]

I don't know which is what in those pics but my Vectra ones had a slimmer shaft than the originals. It's not been a problem and I can't help feel the real deciding factor in practice is whether the bush assemblies at the ends are sufficiently durable.

Interestingly, when I took my old ones off, one of them already had a slimmer shaft than the other

[grb]

I don't know which is what in those pics

shiny = new
rusty = old





Gareth.

[thepickles]

How do you know when they need replacing

[missfixit70]

After enquiring as to the dimensions of the parts http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0364262988 supplied by http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/JTM-Motor ... QQ_armrsZ1, Jake sent me a sample, and here's how it compares:



I can't vouch for the longevity of such a part, but the fitment looks pretty much comparable to the stock item.



Gareth.


+ Anyone else run with these particular parts for any length of time ?

This is the guy that supplied the parts that failed twice on me in less than a year each time - the rubber (which I described as a gaiter Mike as it covers the joint) perishes in no time. The rubber on the original ones I took off was still intact, just the joint had worn after 13 years.

How do you know when they need replacing

You'll see the rubber perish which allows crap into the joint and/or you'll get a knocking noise going over bumps as the joint loosens. If it gets too loose this happens (courtesy of Freewheeler)





I think these were the originals after about 12 years, just fell apart in his hands.

[tay]

everyone seems to be changing droplinks at the minute.just finished doing mine,front and rear,as i was getting the telltale knocking/creaking effect going over speed bumps.also changed the torsion/anti-rollbar brackets and rubbers.the original ones didnt look too bad,no split seals anywere,but when off there was loads of play in them compared to the new ones.

[busguy]

Jake, who was the subject of my previous posting, also sent me a droplink from a 'new supplier' which he considered an improvement. This is identical to the one Gareth has in his photograph in the earlier post.

Here is my reply to Jake, the ebay supplier a week or so ago.

Hi Jake
Thanks for sending the new link through.
It is better than the other one as it now has the 20mm wide flange at the back albeit with the cutaways for a spanner.
I don't think it is as good as the OE two nut version with the 25mm flange but I am not able to try fitting it at the moment.
Can I suggest you still get hold of one of the OE spec ones and compare?
This is definitely better than the previous one you sent but you need to compare shaft diameter, thread length and how the two bigger nuts really do work well on the OE version. On this new one the actual locking nut only has an 18mm wide face in contact with the mounting bracket. The bigger 25mm OE ones have nearly 40% more face to face contact.
Let me know how you get on.

My view at the moment is that I would not fit this shaft expecting a long life. I think the guy wants to get it right and I hope he obtains an OE pattern shaft and identically copies it's better engineered features.

[Ian]

I'm keeping a close eye on this, and may well be changing the suppliers the Bongo Shop uses in the near future.

[missfixit70]

Right, I got a pair of fronts from Ian today, they're the exactly same ones that Jake was supplying & I had 2 sets fail within 2 years, so I dug out my old original OEM ones that I took off a couple of years ago, very different in construction, as already said, finer pitch thread, shouldered nuts on both sides to clamp it up, sealed metal casing & thicker shaft, but the crucial difference is the rubber gaiter/boot that is the point that keeps failing on the cheaper replacement parts. When they are stretched to the fullest extent & have the rubber boot tightly stretched, there is too much strain on it IMO, leading to premature failure of the boot (on the cheaper ones) I think these are the Vectra droplinks that are designed for a different vehicle with less travel needed.
When compared to the OEM droplinks, when they are at "full stretch" the boot isn't under any strain, there is much more rubber available to take up the slack, the OEM 15 year old droplinks had no problems with the boot, it was the joint that was worn.


Newest to oldest left to right



New one, removed one & OEM old one at full stretch, the OEM one's boot got pushed back a bit as I was trying to clean it off to get a serial number



New (vectra/cheaper) pattern one at full stretch, straining the rubber boot



Removed failed pattern (vectra/cheaper) replacement (2nd one in 2 years) at full stretch



Removed (2 years ago - loose joint) OEM NGK (orginal fitment - 13 years old) at fullstretch - no strain on boot



New pattern (vectra/cheaper) replacement showing boot "at rest" - no real available "slack" to allow movement without straining the rubber



Old OEM NGK (original fitment) at rest - recessed donut shape & more height of rubber to allow slack in the boot for movement



I have spoken to Ian about this Hopefully we can source some OEM or equivalent with bigger boots.

The others will be ok as long as you don't drive around too many tight corners

[missfixit70]

Jake, who was the subject of my previous posting, also sent me a droplink from a 'new supplier' which he considered an improvement. This is identical to the one Gareth has in his photograph in the earlier post.

Here is my reply to Jake, the ebay supplier a week or so ago.

Hi Jake
Thanks for sending the new link through.
It is better than the other one as it now has the 20mm wide flange at the back albeit with the cutaways for a spanner.
I don't think it is as good as the OE two nut version with the 25mm flange but I am not able to try fitting it at the moment.
Can I suggest you still get hold of one of the OE spec ones and compare?
This is definitely better than the previous one you sent but you need to compare shaft diameter, thread length and how the two bigger nuts really do work well on the OE version. On this new one the actual locking nut only has an 18mm wide face in contact with the mounting bracket. The bigger 25mm OE ones have nearly 40% more face to face contact.
Let me know how you get on.

My view at the moment is that I would not fit this shaft expecting a long life. I think the guy wants to get it right and I hope he obtains an OE pattern shaft and identically copies it's better engineered features.

What is the name & serial numbers on the rubber of these new ones? they look exactly the same as the old ones ( & the ones that Ian supplies) to me.

[missfixit70]

The pattern part ones (vectra?) are - YACO 30070 48
The OEM ones are - NGK 54692 1C11R