All 5-tons: Heavy Duty Torque Rod Ends

[unix84535]

There was nothing wrong with the originals. It was my OCD again . And, my push to make my truck safer for the civilian road. I recently replaced all the torque rods ends, again, no my M818. I replaced them with the "high-speed" heavy duty torque rod ends that are available through Erik's. These ends will fit all M39, M809, M939 and M939/A1/A2-series 5-ton trucks to include bridge trucks within those series with longer rear wheel centers.
http://www.eriksmilitarysurplus.com/torodendfor51.html
Again, my expenditures and experiences are your gain.

Each one includes the ball joint, castle nut, cotter pin, rubber dust shield and are pre-greased. There is no rubber to rot or tear away from the metal parts. It is a true ball joint with a zerk fitting so the may be periodically greased during vehicle maintenance. The rubber dust shield will help retain excess grease around the inner side of the ball joint. They are quite heavy, nearly 12 lbs. each, and have a very solid outer body. Once pressed into the torque rod, the rod is considerably heavier. The 1/4" lip on the outer edge allow the the torque rod to only press on in one direction. This lip will keep the torque rod from slipping to the outside if there is a catastrophic event. I replaced the cotter pins with the equivalent size in stainless.
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I bought a 4" dia, 1/4" wall, piece of steel tubing cut to 5" long for a pressing arbor. I chose the length in order to also use it to remove these joints as well as install. I had a channel machined at one end 1/8" in and 3/16" down to accommodate the ridge that encircles the face of the joint. The channel locks the arbor in place during pressing. I also bought a 1" thick X 4" dia. slug to span the gap of the tube. These two arbors will also work to press out the OEM ends.
Killed two birds with...two pieces...of...er, steel??
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To save on extra costs, I picked up a 20 ton shop press. What have I done without this thing?? No running around town to the shop to do jobs like this, I love it!
Pressing was fairly easy. I used plenty of anti-seize applied inside the torque rod eyes. They start off very smooth then tighten up as they go down. Make sure you start pressing at the chamfered/beveled end of the torque rod. There is a very slight taper on the ball joint and torque rod eye and pressing from that direction will match them up. About 2/3 the way in, they will start to pop every second pump of the jack handle. Press the 1/4" lip on the ball joint to the torque end and they are done.
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New ball joints pressed into the torque rods. I found the best way to install the rubber dust shield is to push them down the tapered seat until the outer edge of the shield touches the torque rod eye. If you push the center all the way down to where the tapered seat goes into the ball joint, the outer edge likes to flip up. The shields will not make a good "seal" and allow more grease to drip out. Make sure they are installed prior to seating and tightening the ball joint on the truck. The tapered seats will misalign during handling. I used a rubber hammer to manipulate them to where I needed them by tapping around on them.
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Assembly to the truck is the same as the standard torque rods. They are actually much easier to manipulate into the brackets due to the more flexible nature of them. The axle brackets can been pre-installed due to this. However, the top inner nuts on the trunnion bracket are still a PITA. I just disassembled the leaf spring and rolled it over to gain free access to the nuts. Do the top rods first getting the hard part out of the way. Tighten all castle nuts with hand tools, but never use an impact wrench. The force of the impact wrench will bind up the tapered seats and you'll never get them back out later on.
I regreased the ball joints with some Lucas Heavy Duty green grease. I have an air operated gun and it only takes about a 2 second shot to fill them. I plan to change the two upper axle joint zerk fittings to 90º. Due to clearance issues, It will make greasing those two joints easier than with the straight fittings.
This is the final product. I tested the articulation on a steep driveway at the storage yard and all appears to be OK. An extended road test is still waiting to be done.
I may paint the faces of the two ends visible on either side between the rear tires. The yellowy finish is kind of bothering me.
Anyway, another upgrade job I am glad I tackled.
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Nice job.
I had to do the same job on my truck. Removed all the Rear Axles in my 1970 M818 5 TON Tractor Painted the rear axles, springs and, Torque Rods. I replaced the old Torque Rod bearings with the rubber type. They were in the truck when I purchased it in 2020 hope that they last a long time. Had to remove the front axle and repair the pin on right side and install new boots, and replaced the inner bearings on the Spring support. My Torque Rod Bearings needed to be replaced. Almost finished this truck is used for Snow Plowing runway this year in Utah we had a lot of snow and it was very heavy.

 

[Superthermal]

From reading this monstrosity of a feed I was wondering what the end thoughts were from @simp5782 testing and others feedback. The "heavy duty" units are obviously way more expensive but have some clear advantages if they can hold up to the stress.

The advantages with the "heavy duty" unit I see are right off the bat...
1. A much lighter wallet and who doesn't want one of those easy to carry empty wallets?
Just kidding...
1. If the units mounting shaft/ball can actually rotate 360° inside the socket this will be a huge advantage since you will not need to be cautious of the angle of the rod when tightening things down. Example: with the older torque rod, if you have the suspension all drooped out and extended, then tighten everything down and then lower it, all the torque rods are going to be in massive sheer/twisting as the angle changes with the rigs weight on it and be even worse when the suspension is compressed. Additionally if the rig is going to be regularly used off road where suspension flexing is happening continually the heavy units I would think would be a clear choice. The originals do flex when relatively new without issue but for less of a lifetime.
2. The second advantage is there is little if any flex between the shaft/ball and the rod to compress when traction/torque is applied. This can eliminate one source of wheel hop. This wheel hop is exaggerated with larger tires as it extends the lever distance of the force applied to the torque rods trying to hold the axle from twisting. With the original style torque rod ends there is about 1/2" of flexible rubber between the shaft to rod connection where this compress and spring back loading will occur.
3. The axial twist looks to be decent. I wouldn't think these trucks get more than 20 degrees total twist on the axle but the heavy duty torque rod looks like it is good to go for it.
4. The heavy duty units should not be a problem for cold temps where rubber is more likely to crack
5. If they don't turn to mush, like the few units in Simp's equipment torture rig, then replacing them should be a one time ordeal. Just lube regularly and smile.
Since I don't see the heavy duty units for sale at Eastern on their site any longer ( I do see them at Erik's Military Surplus) is there a commercial part number that anyone has come across that might help sort out other suppliers or models of this joint?

If the Heavy duty units are not the way to go, who has fresh off the grill units that don't have years of sitting time already pulled out of their service life?
@MyothersanM1 How is your rig working with the Heavy units? Any thoughts?

 

[simp5782]

From reading this monstrosity of a feed I was wondering what the end thoughts were from @simp5782 testing and others feedback. The "heavy duty" units are obviously way more expensive but have some clear advantages if they can hold up to the stress.

The advantages with the "heavy duty" unit I see are right off the bat...
1. A much lighter wallet and who doesn't want one of those easy to carry empty wallets?
Just kidding...
1. If the units mounting shaft/ball can actually rotate 360° inside the socket this will be a huge advantage since you will not need to be cautious of the angle of the rod when tightening things down. Example: with the older torque rod, if you have the suspension all drooped out and extended, then tighten everything down and then lower it, all the torque rods are going to be in massive sheer/twisting as the angle changes with the rigs weight on it and be even worse when the suspension is compressed. Additionally if the rig is going to be regularly used off road where suspension flexing is happening continually the heavy units I would think would be a clear choice. The originals do flex when relatively new without issue but for less of a lifetime.
2. The second advantage is there is little if any flex between the shaft/ball and the rod to compress when traction/torque is applied. This can eliminate one source of wheel hop. This wheel hop is exaggerated with larger tires as it extends the lever distance of the force applied to the torque rods trying to hold the axle from twisting. With the original style torque rod ends there is about 1/2" of flexible rubber between the shaft to rod connection where this compress and spring back loading will occur.
3. The axial twist looks to be decent. I wouldn't think these trucks get more than 20 degrees total twist on the axle but the heavy duty torque rod looks like it is good to go for it.
4. The heavy duty units should not be a problem for cold temps where rubber is more likely to crack
5. If they don't turn to mush, like the few units in Simp's equipment torture rig, then replacing them should be a one time ordeal. Just lube regularly and smile.
Since I don't see the heavy duty units for sale at Eastern on their site any longer ( I do see them at Erik's Military Surplus) is there a commercial part number that anyone has come across that might help sort out other suppliers or models of this joint?

If the Heavy duty units are not the way to go, who has fresh off the grill units that don't have years of sitting time already pulled out of their service life?
@MyothersanM1 How is your rig working with the Heavy units? Any thoughts?


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[Mos68x]

Wes, you suggesting to not get them? Or was that just a fluke failure? If not a fluke, then perhaps we should pour our own polyurethane bushings instead to avoid the “NOS” stuff. I already got burned the steering knuckle boots so I’m not interested in repeating that on a different part.

 

[simp5782]

Wes, you suggesting to not get them? Or was that just a fluke failure? If not a fluke, then perhaps we should pour our own polyurethane bushings instead to avoid the “NOS” stuff. I already got burned the steering knuckle boots so I’m not interested in repeating that on a different part.

I wouldn't pay the money for the heavy duty torque inserts. They didn't last no time
I also could feel the shift of the axle when stopping and taking off as well even just after install. That little give the joint had was noticeable

They lasted 7months of nearly daily use.

 

[Mos68x]

In that case, I guess I’ll work on some DIY poly bushing versions. Hopefully, the poly will hold up to the abuse, my truck isn’t a trailer queen or pavement princess so it should be a good use study for poly’s durability. I haul water, so I’m usually tipping the scales @ 47k down dirt trails and washes. I have the original style bushings so I’ll need to find extras to mod to at least the 2nd version with backing plate. If anyone has any that are torn up, let me know.

 

[Superthermal]

In that case, I guess I’ll work on some DIY poly bushing versions. Hopefully, the poly will hold up to the abuse, my truck isn’t a trailer queen or pavement princess so it should be a good use study for poly’s durability. I haul water, so I’m usually tipping the scales @ 47k down dirt trails and washes. I have the original style bushings so I’ll need to find extras to mod to at least the 2nd version with backing plate. If anyone has any that are torn up, let me know.

I have seen polyurethane mixed for motor mounts and the like and that is a great idea for this application. Figuring out the right durometer might take some trial and error.

 

[MyothersanM1]

@MyothersanM1 How is your rig working with the Heavy units? Any thoughts?

I haven't had any issues with mine. I just keep them greased up. My experience as for as driving characteristics have seemed to be near identical to the OEM ends. However, my truck is just a hobby truck and the heaviest load it gets these days is load of parade goers!
Changing out 12 torque rod ends is a huge task and not one I want to take again anytime soon. So, the HD ends stay.
I have appreciated @simp5782 sharing his experiences with the heavy payloads he hauls. I don't think I will ever get close to his capacities, but the information is well received.

 

[topo]

I have some old ends I saved when I replaced the ends, I will need to check the threads is that what you want?

 

[Superthermal]

I have some old ends I saved when I replaced the ends, I will need to check the threads is that what you want?

@Mos68x you and @topo are practically neighbors! Would be interesting to see if you could pull off some polyurethane units.