Part# DS34LH
Dimension Specifications: These Del-Sphere™ pivot joints can be used to replace spherical rod ends on custom built or any brand suspension part that has 3/4″-16 left hand threads. The thread length is 2.50″, the width of the housing is 1.50″, the diameter of the housing is 2.25″, the width of the spherical ball is 1.3425″ and has a 0.75″ through hole. You can bush down the through hole and utilize spacers on each side of the ball to mount these Del-Sphere™ pivot joints on any application. The Del-Sphere™ pivot joint comes complete with a jam nut, grease fitting and Allen wrench.
The suspension bushings on your vehicle have a significant impact on your vehicle’s ride, comfort, handling, acceleration, noise and vibration. When the vehicle leans (rolls), one side of the chassis moves up relative to the rear axle and the other side moves down.
The suspension’s arms must twist to allow for the axle housing to articulate, this causes the bushings to bind. If this bind becomes excessive, it will raise the wheel rate and produce sudden and uncontrolled changes in handling such as snap oversteer.
The factory minimizes this suspension bind by using compliant rubber bushings. These soft bushings help accommodate the necessary motion of the suspension’s arms during articulation. However, the rubber bushings do not provide much in the way of forward and aft support which can cause wheel hop during hard acceleration and braking.
It is common to replace the stock rubber bushings with polyurethane bushings to resolve the shortcomings of the factory’s soft rubber bushings. Polyurethane bushings eliminate wheel hop, reduce axle deflection, and improve straight line traction. However, the downside of polyurethane bushings is they prevent the necessary movement of the suspension’s arms during body roll, which in turn produces significant binding in the suspension when the vehicle is articulating.
The polyurethane bushings also place high stresses on the suspension arm mounts on the vehicle. Polyurethane bushed suspension arms do not allow for rotation of the arm during articulation because of the stiffness of the bushings.
Del-Sphere™ Pivot Joints:
The Spohn Performance Del-Sphere™ pivot joint solves the shortcomings of the factory rubber and aftermarket polyurethane bushings. Our Del-Sphere™ pivot joint incorporates a spherical ball which is surrounded by Delrin® bushing cups.
This combination allows the suspension arm to articulate like a spherical rod end (28 degrees of available rotation) during cornering but the spherical ball does not allow the bushing to deflect. Therefore the suspension arm remains completely bind free.
Think of the Del-Sphere™ pivot joint as a Delrin® bushed spherical rod end. After over a year of R&D testing here at Spohn Performance on a streetable spherical joint the Del-Sphere™ pivot joint is the final result. Designed and manufactured exclusively by Spohn Performance, we have taken street and off-road suspension performance to the next level.
This Del-Sphere™ pivot joint features a one piece forged and heat treated chrome moly housing, a heat treated and chrome plated chrome moly spherical ball, Delrin® bushing cups, heat treated retainer washer and snap ring, heat treated and chrome plated chrome moly threaded adjuster ring, an external grease fitting and a beautiful silver zinc plated housing finish.
Our Del-Sphere™ pivot joints are fully rebuildable and adjustable. You can completely disassemble the Del-Sphere™ pivot joint for cleaning, inspection, etc. You can also adjust the amount of friction on the spherical ball, the amount of tension can be easily adjusted by using our optional adjustment tool to tighten or loosen the threaded adjuster ring. The threaded adjuster ring is then locked in place by a set screw.
What that means is if over time, miles and abuse the tolerances open up you can simply tighten down the threaded adjuster ring and have your pivot joint as tight as it was the day it was brand new. We doubt you’ll ever need to replace the Delrin® bushing cups, but they certainly can be. Unlike a rubber bushing or spherical rod end, the Del-Sphere™ pivot joints are 100% rebuildable at a very low cost.
What is Delrin®, and why did you choose to use it? Delrin® is an acetal homopolymer made by DuPont. It is characterized as having an excellent combination of physical properties that make it suitable for numerous applications.
With extremely low moisture absorption and a low coefficient of friction (self-lubricating), Delrin® is uniquely tailored for wear applications in high humidity or moisture environments. Delrin® will maintain constant physical properties under high moisture conditions and out-perform nylon or polyurethane under these conditions. Delrin® has a 10,000 psi tensile strength and a 120 Rockwell Hardness rating making it ideal for our Del-Sphere™ application.
Adjustment Tool: Del-Sphere™ pivot joint adjustment tool. You can purchase this tool by searching for Part# DS34-W in our eBay Store.
