There are many solutions around. FYI once the bearings in the rod ends go, its over it will sound like a farm tractor. However when you do keep them lubed and working properly, they are not noticeable at all. As for LCA's, I used the roush billet ones on my old one. They use factory bushings but the lca is way stiffer.

Well I just called Jim for the replacement rod ends. Will make sure I grease them up well when I reinstall and hopefully all will be well.

Found a potential solution for lube here: http://www.sealsit.com/rodendboots.asp

I would prefer not to have to clean and re-lube my rod ends once a month. If I have to do that it's really not worth it for me (DD).

You have to pre-lube them once. No disassembly required after. Just once a month get under it and spray them over with lithium grease. Keeps the moisture out and the grease in. Nothing special.

Anyone modifying a car has to realize that as you modify you have to make compromises. The only compromise here is maintenance.

Right. I just don't want that to be a bi-weekly or monthly thing. If I can get a boot to keep everything clean and debris free and only have to service once a quarter or so then that would be worth it to me.

There is a whiteline rep on this forum I believe. Contact him and ask for 4 bearing cups. They are made of poly and cup the bearings in with grease. The inner (propeller portion) bearings have no room for cups but the supplied O-rings are good enough there. The main issue with the wear on the new stuff is that out the box they do not have any lube on them.

I am contemplating buying another watts link for my new car as well. If I do, I will definitely use the whiteline cups on them.

I received my replacement rod-ends, Seals-It rod-end seals, and Seals-It rod-end boots today. The Boots are going to be a PITA to fit over the rod ends but once on they will be able to keep the things absolutely flooded with grease. I'll have to use the seals for the propeller end but they look like they're going to do a good job at keeping the grease in and the elements out.

As long as I'm healed up by Saturday I'll be working on the car then.

Post some pics when you do. I'd like to see how they work

This is what the rod-end boots look like:

http://hondaswap.com/gallery/data/597/IMG_0309.JPG

With everything installed it will be a completely sealed unit, so all of the grease should stay in and nothing from the outside should contaminate the rod-end.

And these are the rod-end seals:

http://www.racecars360.com/Corvette_...apeimage_2.png

They should do a better job than the rubber o-rings.

The rod end in the second image is what I had in mind where it has the grease nipple built-in so you can inject more into it without taking it apart. Seems like a good solution with the caps. Where did you find those or is that a stock image from the webpage?

I ordered from http://www.sealsit.com/

I haven't been able to fit the rod-end boot on just yet. I think I might have ordered a size too small. We'll see. If I can get the tiny opening wide enough to slip the rod-end in (thats what she said) it looks like it will be sized right, but it's just a matter of spreading it wide open (haha!) to slip it in (oh god).

:nice:

Oh, since my S2000 is disabled at the moment I have been driving around on the 5.0. It sounds hilarious. The rod-end noise is TERRIBLE.

Just lube the rod ends by hand before doing the job. Take the spherical bearing spray it with lithium grease, then rotate it inside itself by hand to get the grease in the bearing surface. Talking about this makes me want to get a new fays2 for my 5.0L. Wonder if someone is selling a used one on the classifieds. /me runs off to check.

Lithium grease spray or should I use the lithium grease from the tube/tub? Or how about that Valvoline synthetic heavy duty grease? I have a tub of that in the garage. My plan was just to get the bearing completely coated and then pack the boot full of the stuff so it swims in it. :D

Lithium grease spray for when you initially grease them, will help in getting the boots on too. Then if you can muster the strength some lithium from the tub inside the boots. The valvoline synthetic grease, did not work too well for me in the past, it ran off and did not stay put. Lithium grease was sticky and sealed the bearings better. If you cant pack them with lithium grease after you put on the boots, then sneak the spray straw in and fill them up, or fill the boot with grease and then install on the bearings. The spray is a liquid, but when it dries it hardens to a thick grease.

The rod end seals may be a problem to fit inside the propeller, it simply has no provisioning for it. Don't bend the propeller tabs, that thing is hardened and you can weaken it. Although, cutting the washer out the seal and then installing it should work the same.

Good luck.

Thanks for the tips. I'll stick to the lithium, then. I suppose filling the boot with the spray should work just as well as filling it with the paste.

If I can't fit the seals in at the propeller end I'll try and modify them as you suggested.

All I see on the site are the seals, I was wondering about the rod end itself in the second picture. Is that your rod end with the grease nipple or a picture you found online?

EDIT: NVM found the picture online. Now I just gotta find those grease-able rod ends if mine ever get loud.

Oh, I didn't even notice that rod-end had a fitting.

RBC bearings makes some with the fittings.

So I was planning on swapping the rod ends this weekend but I may just put the Panhard bar back on as I am 99% sure I'm selling the car. :|

:( going to replace it with something or just play with the s2000 for a while? Wanna sell those recaros cheap? :nice: lol