Benefits and Drawbacks to Different Types of Suspension Joints #1
–Rubber Joints
No matter what type of link suspension you are building. There’s going to have to be some type of suspension joint at the end of each suspension link to allow the suspension to move. Now there’s many different types and there’s benefits and drawbacks for each one.
On a stock suspension system they use mostly rubber type joints. This is a piece of rubber with a steel sleeve vulcanized to the outer edge. As well as to the inside of it for the bolt to go through. This is a stock replacement joint for a Jeep TJ suspension.
The rubber joint is there to remove any possible vibrations that would happen in the drivetrain before they can be transmitted up into the passenger compartment. Which is great for a vehicle that you’re going to drive on the road every single day. The downfall is they don’t articulate very well. And when you take your vehicle off-road and force them to flex, they tend to wear out prematurely and you need to replace them. The other downfall is that you usually find them in some type of fixed link suspension system that gives you no adjustability in your suspension at all. And that’s why you will rarely see this type of setup in any type of high quality aftermarket suspension system.
Learn More: How to Choose High Quality Rod Ends