Steering Misalignment Spacer

Where the steering link connects to the upright, small geometric misalignments between the rod end bearing and its mounting surface can cause the rod end to bind as the suspension travels. That binding prevents the joint from moving freely and translates into bump steer — unintended steering input as the suspension compresses and rebounds. This spacer resolves that by allowing angular misalignment at the joint, letting the rod end articulate correctly regardless of minor angular offset between mounting faces.

Beyond bump steer correction, a properly aligned joint distributes clamping load evenly across the bolt shank. When a rod end is forced to work at an angle without a misalignment spacer, the fastener experiences side-loading that works against torque retention. Adding this spacer brings the mating surfaces into proper alignment so the bolt can be torqued correctly and hold that torque under race conditions.

Installing this spacer requires switching to a longer steering link bolt — the M10 x 1.5 x 50 hex bolt (010601028A) — to account for the added stack height at the joint.