no sales pitches, just a straight, to-the-point answer.

i'm getting ready to start gathering front suspension pieces for my camaro, and i want to know the benefits of a solid adjuster sleeve as opposed to a standard replacement adjustment sleeve.

i know spohn makes them, but any ideas on how they'd benefit me?

the car will be used for street driving, drag racing, and possibly some autox.

 

you've obviously never done an alignment on your car! the factory GM adjustment sleeves are pieces of crap! they just clamp around the threads of the tierods, the sleeves actually have lock nuts i.e. jam nuts, like alot, if not all, other vehicles. For instance, I work on toyotas and man are they a breeze compared to my camaro. oh also the factory adjustment sleeves are hard as hell to adjust unless they are like brand new. if you have any more questions just let me know. BTW do you work on your own vehicle? do you have a certain person you take it to for alignments? if you do or if you do them your self the sloid sleeves would probably be greatly appreciated.

 

i've got a shop picked out that will be doing the alignment for me.

it's kinda hard to justify the cost of the solids when i can get the regular ones for less than half the price. i work for napa, so i get a discount.

i was probably going to paint the replacement adjusters with a good quality paint anyway, so i don't see why they would eb hard to service...

 

well, unless you keep them lubricated somehow, they will corrode and become very stiff, I can see where you are replacing your old ones anyway, but painting them is not going to help very much over the long run. ask anyone who has ever had to do an alignment on one of our cars with old adjusters that have been on there for a while, especially if you live anywhere near salt water where corrosion accelerates. and If you paint them that may just end being more of a P.I.T.A. than actually helping, depending on the paint. and just to take from the websites here a little, they say " it increases steering fell and reduces flex" so take that as you will.

 

Autocrossing? Using "R" compound tires or slicks with big stick? Stock clamps flex. That's a good enough reason for me.



Oh yeah...and they're a heck of a lot easier to adjust.

 

I found a set from www.colemanracing.com , thanks to Dewey316. Came out a little over $20 shipped for the pair, including the jam nuts.
Jam Nuts/Steel (Right) Coleman Racing 2 #941-R
Jam Nuts/Steel (Left) Coleman Racing 2 #941-L
Tie Rods-Sleeves Coleman Racing 2 #RP-129-4
You have to hunt a little on the website to find these items, but here is picture of Deweys car for reference.

 

The best reason to use them has to do with after the front end has been aligned. If the stock sleeve clamps are not properly positioned they will hit the frame and bend the tie rods. This causes excessive toe-in. Not wnough alignment guys know this.

So I put the solid sleeves on and that problem goes away. As for a better price Frains90RS beat me to it as I too was going mention Coleman racing.

RBob.

 

I purchased mine because one of the stock pieces was actually bowed (I supposed these are stamped pieces like the LCA's and panhard). Though adjustment probably isn't a reason to buy them, like the guys say, my mechanic was very happy to see the after market version.

JamesC

 

How much torque do you have to put on the jam nuts to make sure they dont loosen??

 

for street driving with regular tires, or drag racing, dont worry about them. but if you put slicks or other ultra sticky tires on the front, the stress can supposidly bend them..... and i wouldnt doubt that it does from looking at them...

id either get the $20 coleman ones, or none at all.... choice is really upto you.



as for them rusting..... i just stay in the south, not drive in salt water, and dont worry about it.

 

i just made a set out of hex stock here at work took me about an hour to cut them to leagth machine the ends flat and drill and tap the holes.i even sent them out to be yellow zinc plated.i have about $5.00 invested in them,that was the cost of the hardware from a local hardware store.i have a pic if anyone wants to see them.

 

sure... post it up.

 

Hopefully Dewey has already tightend the bolts on his sway bar .
Nice lookin set up. I bet it drives great. I am hoping to do the same upgrades next (Just finished brake rebuild)

 

which one are you refering too?

if you are talking about the bushing by the radiator, that is tight

big bar = not great fit with stock retainers

the endlinks there are also tight... the look like they are at a funny angle, but part of the is the car being parked on a funny slope there, and the angle the picture got taken at.

someone mentions me tightening my swaybar everytime that pictures shows up...LOL

and yes , it does drive very nicely.

 

$20 isn't too bad.

they might be a worthwhile upgrade....

they look nice as well.

thanks guys.

 

hotchiks makes a nice set i bought out of jegs for 49 bucks. not only is it easier to align but it will hold the alignment longer then the stock pieces. much more stable looking too.

 

 

91banditt2, looks nice.

For anyone thinking about making a set check around first for a left hand 5/8" tap (I think 18 thread, will need to check that). The right hand 5/8" tap is common, so not much problem there. One end of the sleeve is tapped LH while the other end is tapped RH.

RBob.

 

Just ribbin' ya.
As much time and money that go into our cars, I know thing like that get a good look over before the project is done.
It looks really sharp, but I couldn't see spending $50 bucks for oversized nuts (he, he).
The $20 set seems like it would work just as well.

 

5/8-18 LH and RH is correct

i sent them out to be plated but they did a ****ty job on them.i'll probly end up painting them so they wont rust.

 

Check out the price of a 5\8" left hand thread tap first..... then the aftermarket price may not look so bad.

 

the tap didn't cost any thing but if i had to buy it?it would of cost $11.60 through J&L supply

 

That's pretty cheap. More like $50CDN through my Tool suppliers.

 

Would one be justified in expecting the solid adjustment sleeves to more tenaciously hold an alignment setting?

 

Part#TLH-69675C
$11.17

www.jlindustrial.com
5/8-18 LH tap


not trying to prove any one wrong just sharing the wealth

 

no no, don't think of it like that at all. it's excellent that everyone has posted such useful information. i'll probably be ordering the parts from coleman racing.

thanks again everyone

 

For ONLY $20, go with the Coleman pieces, I should have. Thanks for the info back there, Efrain and Dewey.

Ed

 

bumping this back up to the top, i just ordered the sleves and jam nuts from coleman racing.

thanks a bunch for all the information everyone.

 

nm

 

I just ordered a set of the solid tie-rod adjuster sleeves from coleman racing.

Thought I mid as well since I am doing a complete front end rebuild.

 

What is your opinion of adjuster sleeves that are made from aluminum??

I bought a set a few months ago from - you guessed it, Ebay - for around $20. There are quite stout to look at them. Hexagonal threaded body with jam nuts - look a lot like yours 91banditt2.
I'd say there is about 1/4 inch thickness of material around the threaded hole for the tie-rods.

Risk of the aluminum breaking or enough material for the job at hand? Currently has 15" wheels and biggest I will ever go is 16 or 17 by 9" wide and probably will stick to an 8" wide rim realistically.

Hhhhmmmmmm???

K

 

as long as you catch enough threads and dont cross thread it, it shouldnt be a problem... i mean, its probly still stronger then the tapped sheetmetal stock ones.

 

Why aren’t you guys using the Swedged Steel tie rod adjusters instead of the Standard Steel tie rod adjusters? The Swedged steel is gold irradiated finish and thicker.

Also wouldn’t a 4-1/2 be better? From the picture Frains90RS posted it looks like a 4-1/2 would allow more tread contact without bottoming out.

 

i ordered a set of edelbrock ones. i got them for 35 from opg...an elcamino mag i had laying around that had ones for a camaro. if i had know about places like coleman racing i would have bought theirs but the edelbrocks look great with the brushed aluminum look and the logo. no all i need are new inner tie rods. they are double the price of the outers and i cant get my old ones to tighten cuz the bearing just spins in the casing.

 

Wow these edelbrock tie rods sleves are nice! Silver powdercoated steel and they are only $37 at summit part number EDL-5250.

 

I think the solid ones are a frigging great idea myself. The stock sleeves require a specail tool to adjust during alignment, and even with that tool are very easy to collapse - which is also can easily happen by over tightening the nuts. It seems to me for integrity benefits over a hollow sleeve, and ease of adjustability they're worth it.

 

How long did it take you all to get your adjuster sleeves from coleman racing? I just placed an order Sunday night. I hope to have them by friday.

 

89 IROC Z -- when i ordered mine, the only 2 available, were the steel and alum. had i known they had gold irradiated ones i would have recomended them.

88Camaro350 -- when i ordered mine, the service was very fast, it only took 2 days or so for me to get my order of stuff.

 

I just put the coleman racing tie rod adjusters on my car at the same time I put new tie rods and center link I had also previously replaced the idler arm, well when I was doing the alignment I adjusted the toe and jounced axle as your supposed to, to make sure everthing comes back as its supposed to, and all my measurments went out of whack. has anyone else had the same problem? My new tie rods a the economy line from NAPA. I couldnt afford the premium stuff. Maybe thats the problem.

 

I think the economy line from NAPA is TRW. They aren't bad parts. That shouldn't be the problem.

MOOG and TRW are both made by federal mogul.

I have a question about the tie-rod ends. When I put my new ones into the solid sleeve do I screw them both in halfway? Till they meet in the middle? Or does one side need more thread? Sorry If I sound retarded but I have never done front end work before.

I have a question about the front control arm bushings. Is there anyway to change them without a press?

 

i took a cold chisel and a dead blow hammer and beat the crap out of the reverse edge or the one that is inside the hole in the arm. it f-ed up the bushing but i was putting new ES ones in so i didnt care. then i took a dead blow hammer and hammered home the new ones. it worked. i had a hard time with the rear lcas so i used a balljoint press and did it that way. you can use a piece of pipe as a spacer and a vise but when i did that i bent the handle of my vise and it eventually snapped off.

 

to get them out, use a drill, and drill out the rubber, then use a chissle and go at the shell.

 

How about the reinstall? Just hammer them in?

 

you need to get the same amount of threads showing on each side of the tie rod sleeve.when you have the tie rods and sleeves in you should try and get them about the same leagth as what you took out.

then of course you'll need to get it to an aligenment shop after.

 

I just got the coleman pieces today. Look decent. A lot better than stock ones that for sure. I may be tackling this project friday but I'm not sure I will have to see.