I would think any load should be applied to the bearing ends and not the housing for the bearing.  Meaning the bearing would be support on each side.

Those are interesting would like to see Mustangsteve and Daze opinions on them.

Mach173 wrote:

Hi
I was thinking of fabricating some strutrods bearing for my 73.I dont wanna destroy the old rod, instead use it. I have seen a solution that RRS i Australia manufacturs.  My idea, use a spherical bearing with a holder thats wld to a plate. Bolt the plate to the chassi with 4 bolt. Insert the rod with a sleeve and now its fully adjustable. Will the bearing holder resist the force from the car when breaking/accelerating ? Its a snap ring that holds the bearing in place on one side.

 
I personally would hesitate to use that bearing in this type of application.
I don’t think that bearing is designed for loads along this hole axis., but rather radial loads perpendicular to it. The snap ring and the lip on the bearing holder does not look like would be safe to restrain the bearing in a lateral direction.
I guess that it could be used if some type of safety restraint was made to capture the spherical ball in case it pulled loose from its housing.

Last edited by Rudi (12/05/2022 10:34 AM)

First step would be to check the load ratings of the bearings, and what loads the strut rods have. From what I remember, the axial load limit is around half what the radial load is on a rod end bearing. I haven't checked but I'd think a fully encased rod bearing would carry more load than one with a snap ring.

I’d be hesitant, if I did do it I would probably use a spiral retaining ring instead of an internal circlip.  There are spherical pivots out there for the stock radius rods. 

https://opentrackerracing.com/shop/racing-strut-rod-bushing-set-1967-1973-mustang/

Uniball, that's its name! Neither BB nor I could remember its name.