suprabad said:
I'm assuming the bushings are what went away on them?
Do you remember what material the bushings were constructed of?
It would be a starting point as far as choosing correct material for longer wear.
I can't find my parts list, but looking at McMaster's offerings, I'm pretty sure the one I used is 59915K484. It has a PTFE liner/race, for sure. The ball is 440 and the housing is 303. They're rated for static load of about 3000 lbs. They seemed like a great idea, but wore quickly to where they were annoying. I could feel the ball clunking in the housing.
The problem is surely the constant high-frequency pounding due to all the patches in the pavement. The liner just can't take that. Plus, they're right there up front, getting grungy water and dust and crap thrown at them. Maybe some seals would make them last longer, like these:
http://store.summitracing.com/partd...art=SIT-WS3750&N=700+-209895+115&autoview=sku
I'd bet these rod ends would last a long time on an industrial machine, but on the road, they get loose fast.
Asterix