Heim Joints and Castle Nut Question

S

spartacus216

Member
So, my Jeep came with Heim Joint steering when I bought it and it seems okay. The bolts were heavily worn so I replaced them but all I could find was the 3/4in grade 8 bolts with a locking nut. Should I bother switching to a castle nut for the safety of it or are the nylon lock nuts safe enough to not worry about it? If I did a castle nut, I would have to drill the bolt myself and somehow find grade 8 castle nuts which seems impossible to find? Do I even need grade 8 for that anyway?
...or should I just switch everything out to GM 1-Ton Tie Rod Ends or a completely different option? It would be a pain, being that they drilled out everything 3/4"
The threads are wearing out in the bars I have so I thought about calling up RPM Steering and having them make me new ones since the heim joints are brand new I have already.

Yeah, it's a weird situation, thanks for any advice :)

Note: I do wheel the Jeep but it's not trailered so I drive to wherever we go wheeling on the highway and have to make it back too. haha
 
spartacus216 said:
So, my Jeep came with Heim Joint steering when I bought it and it seems okay. The bolts were heavily worn so I replaced them but all I could find was the 3/4in grade 8 bolts with a locking nut. Should I bother switching to a castle nut for the safety of it or are the nylon lock nuts safe enough to not worry about it? If I did a castle nut, I would have to drill the bolt myself and somehow find grade 8 castle nuts which seems impossible to find? Do I even need grade 8 for that anyway?
...or should I just switch everything out to GM 1-Ton Tie Rod Ends or a completely different option? It would be a pain, being that they drilled out everything 3/4"
The threads are wearing out in the bars I have so I thought about calling up RPM Steering and having them make me new ones since the heim joints are brand new I have already.

Yeah, it's a weird situation, thanks for any advice :)

Note: I do wheel the Jeep but it's not trailered so I drive to wherever we go wheeling on the highway and have to make it back too. haha
Click to expand...
I’d just stick with the setup you have since that’s how it was designed. I’d just order a new set of bolts from RPM since they make the kit. Make sure your new bolts that you bought are fine thread and use the nylok while you wait for the new bolts. Just check it once in a while to insure it’s not coming loose.
 
I’m running the same on mine (not rpms) with stover lock nuts with no issues. I added red loctite for extra hold but haven’t had anything come loose in over a year. Sure you will be fine with new hardware and just keep an eye on things during maintenance.
 
spartacus216 said:
So, my Jeep came with Heim Joint steering when I bought it and it seems okay. The bolts were heavily worn so I replaced them but all I could find was the 3/4in grade 8 bolts with a locking nut. Should I bother switching to a castle nut for the safety of it or are the nylon lock nuts safe enough to not worry about it? If I did a castle nut, I would have to drill the bolt myself and somehow find grade 8 castle nuts which seems impossible to find? Do I even need grade 8 for that anyway?
...or should I just switch everything out to GM 1-Ton Tie Rod Ends or a completely different option? It would be a pain, being that they drilled out everything 3/4"
The threads are wearing out in the bars I have so I thought about calling up RPM Steering and having them make me new ones since the heim joints are brand new I have already.

Yeah, it's a weird situation, thanks for any advice :)

Note: I do wheel the Jeep but it's not trailered so I drive to wherever we go wheeling on the highway and have to make it back too. haha
Click to expand...
If you have an ACE Hardware nearby, they have a good selection of hardware including stover nuts.
 
Stay away from Nylok nuts. Every now and again, I’ve had Nyloks seize up and strip threads on installation.

Stover nuts work much better than Nyloks. If a Stover nut is to be reused, check to insure the run on torque is good.

Cross drilled bolts need to be used with castle nuts and Cotter keys. I find this combination to be the most secure.
 
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