Horizontal Uniball vs Vertical Uniball

[Tech Tim]

I know that this has been covered in a few threads already, but after reading all the threads that came up with the search Uniball, Uniball orientation, Uniball horizontal (and Vertical), I still have a few questions and would hoping some of you could enlighten me.

From what I read, the main advantages to running the Uniball horizontal is strength and travel. It is the shear load on the bolt, versus the load of the Uniball pushing up out of the cup and with the bolt running horizontal, the up/down travel is not limited to the Uniball.

Has anyone seen a vertical Uniball failure?

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[151fab]

With the bolt horizontal it puts the uniball in its strongest orientation. Putting the bolt vertical usually makes fabbing the arms and spindle easier.

[Tech Tim]

That makes sense, but I am real curious if there has been vertical Uniball failures?

[rojodiablo]

That makes sense, but I am real curious if there has been vertical Uniball failures?

Yes. Toyota Tacomas have the vertical uniball, and the socket has been deformed due to excessive topping out. And, spindles can break if there is a hydro bump that hits the top of the uniball. As for totally shearing off, I have not seen that except when the entire arm got torn off the truck- and the uniball was the least of the problems on that one. It's a pretty good design for most moderate use rigs.

[Bulldozer]

Yes. Toyota Tacomas have the vertical uniball, and the socket has been deformed due to excessive topping out. And, spindles can break if there is a hydro bump that hits the top of the uniball. As for totally shearing off, I have not seen that except when the entire arm got torn off the truck- and the uniball was the least of the problems on that one. It's a pretty good design for most moderate use rigs.

Exactly what he said.

I like vertical uniballs but there must be some reason trophy trucks use horizontal, and I presume the is the added strength.

[Tech Tim]

Thanks for the input guys.

I like the strength of the horizontal mounting, but the max amount of angle I've found from uniball spacers is only 37 deg and would really like to squeeze a bit more steering angle. It's one of those cake and icing too things. Want the ultimate steering and the ultimate strength.

[Tech Tim]

So here is an interesting question. Has anyone ever tried to use a Johny Joint or similar like the Alcan Orbit Eye in place of a Uniball?

Stolen from Alcans site:





I realize it couldn't be done in a verticle application, but how about in a horizontal position. Alcan says their O Eyes will pivot 46 degrees, that would give me more than I want for steering angle.

I would guess the weak points would be the aluminum spanner nuts?

[151fab]

That's going to depend on your application. Depending on their strength, those might be a good idea for the street because they will reduce the noise and vibrations sent to the frame. In a more aggressive application I would think the poly would deform too much and might overheat or wear too quickly. Also, some of those units use a hollow bolt (big no-no) to lube the ball and almost all of them use a bolt that, in my opinion, is too small of a diameter for anything more than light prerunner usage. It might be hard to package that unit into your spindle at the lower pivot, those tings are huge, and still end up with reasonable scrub while keeping the a-arms nice and long..

[partybarge_pilot]

Alcan says their O Eyes will pivot 46 degrees, that would give me more than I want for steering angle.

That's 46 DEG total, 23 per side....... Want to buy some........

[Tech Tim]

That's 46 DEG total, 23 per side....... Want to buy some........

Yikes... nope.

I was hoping to find 45 degrees. The closest I've found were some Uniball spacers that have 37 degrees, maybe thats the closest I'll be able to come without designing my own Timmy Joint with all new Ultra-high misalingment spacers.