ok so you know what i am running, i have a narrowed chevy dana60 front and i run a tie rod in the stock location made from avalanche threaded inserts for the 7/8" tre's. my tie rod is made from 1.5" 1/4 wall tube.

my tire rod is not really bent too bad but it is bent. i has taken a beating and now i have a bent tre. it is bent at the threads.

what i want to know is what to i need to make a rock bashing tie rod assy that will keep asking for more? should i convert to heims? do they make heims with a large threaded end yet the eye hole is small enough to use with a stock knucle assy?

what have you done or seen others do that works? i know some might say make a high steer but i have heard of problems breaking knuckles and studs off when using full hydraulic steering like i do so i really don't want to move it up.

I think it's almost impossible to build one that can't be bent without going totally nuts. But I built my own and it works well. It's 1.5 x 0.250 1028 DOM sleeved with 1.75 x .120 for an over all 1.75 x .375 tie rod. It uses the standard GM TRE on one side and a Dodge 1 ton TRE on the other (replaces the weak GM TRE with the stabilizer hole). I whacked it so hard that there is a serious rock scrape in it, with no apparent damage. This hit left gouges over about 5-6" of the bottom of the rod and stopped all forward progress (slipped off a rock and came down on it but moving pretty slow). Checked it with a straight edge and it's as good as new...

But, if you want more, go for 1/2" wall or even chro-mo maybe?

if your not bending the ends (which it doesnt sound like you are) just upgrade the tubing, either by going up in size or sleeving it. I would think sleeving with 1.75x.120 would help a good deal or go to 1.75x.375 wall. If this doesnt sound beefy enough go with 2" as prescribed above.

how about moving the tie-rod up and/or back out of harms way. .02

I am running a steerable rockwell in the rear and I will be running a .500 wall DOM tie rod. No worries on that one. May run it in the front if there is enough room.when the axle flexes to clear the suspension arms.

Originally posted by jeeper111
when the axle flexes to clear the suspension arms.
Wow, I didn't think those Rockwells were THAT flimsy!! :eek: I figured surely the suspension would flex before the axle! :p

I wanted the same thing so I built a bumper for the steering out of 1.25 x .250 DOM and welded it to the axle. So all my steering has to do now is steer! It seems to be holding up well. It will support the Heep if need be, but I don't see that happening. If it gets bent- so what... It does not have to be straight!

There are some pictures in my link in my sig.

KEVIN

dude get some 500 wall 3 inch dom, fill it full of cement...


or go to yoru local rail yard and get a section of track...

if you make it anystronger you will PUNISH your other components when they try to take hte strees of pushing boulders with your steering...

move it or skidplate idea...

I think 2 inch inner trailer hitch tubing would be a bit difficult to bend :D

Figure out how to put rod ends on the ends and your set. :D

Lots of space to work with when it came time to weld a hydro ram bracket to the fawking huge square driveshaft :flipoff2:

OK..... 3 words. Heat treated linkage.

Originally posted by High5
i know some might say make a high steer but i have heard of problems breaking knuckles and studs off when using full hydraulic steering like i do so i really don't want to move it up.

While I am not running full hydraulic I do run a hydroassist with a 2" ram and 1500 psi on a high steer setup and was concerned about shearing the bolts off also. I started feeling better after my high steer arm bent like a pretzel and my bolts held strong, here is a picture of the arm, notice the nice twist and the force came from the lower steering arm not the upper one...

http://www.tpijeep.com/carnage_007.jpg

And NO that is not the setup I am currently running so don't tell me that setup is going to get me killed or you killed... :D I run this now, mucho stronger and a good double shear.

http://www.tpijeep.com/steerarm_003.jpg

dude, that is the most :rainbow: I have seen in a long time.

As far as the tie rod bending, if you are not going to put on high steer, then try a piece of 1 1/4" x .250" wall stress proff. Has a good bit of memory, and is still hard to bend.

I used a pice of 4140 1.5" thick solid bar stock and himes and have had no problems yet

I have a friend who's dad is part of a club that has started running solid tie rods that are made out of hydraulic piston stock. I think that they are located in New Mexico. When you think about it, that is probably some of the toughest metal out there for the money. I think that it would take a lot to bend such a tie rod. Might want to check into that. Or you could just do the easy thing and sleeve what you have. If you sleeve it with .120 wall or .250 wall, you shouldn't have a problem. HTH

I used a pice of 4140 1.5" thick solid bar stock and himes and have had no problems yet

Have you landed on this pretty hard, how does it hold up??

I am considering using 4140 for control arms, do you think that's a good idea??

thanx-

You need an Aqua'Rod Tie Rod!!!!!!! :smokin:

reinfoce the fawk out of it.

to paraphrase Emmit Brown:
forgive the crudity of the drawing I didn't have time to make it to scale

I've been using 11/4 and 13/8 1018 solid bar stock for years. If you hit one hard it will bend but it will not make you stop your day the 13/8 will stop a 20 ton press when trying to bend it. AS far as control arms go I wouldn't use less than 13/8" and I don't think 4140 is neccessary just go beefy 1018 is really cheap and strong I buy 13/8" for less than $50 for a 20' stick!

I sell super duty tie-rods!
What do you want?
1.5x3/8"?
1.75 x .5" DOM 1026?
Bigger?
Email me and tell me what you want for OD and wall, pluss the dimensions and I can do anything you want. Prices are very competitive.
pjensen@jssinc.on.ca

ok its not the prettiest thing and i dont have one but i know 3 guys running this and they swear by it

http://www.baertrax.com/bf.htm

Wow - you wern't kidding. That is REALLY fugly!
:D

Phil
$189 for a TJ tie rod from them? Mines $115 with ends and mines stronger, AND powdercoated ;)

You could try these guys http://performanceunlimited.com/steering/tubingspecs.html
One of my buddies is using their "Trail Proof" tie rods and loves it.


BTW, I have NO affiliation with them WHATSOEVER.

Originally posted by Keith
dude, that is the most :rainbow: I have seen in a long time.



Go fawk yourself, if I wanted your opinion I would of asked for it, so sit down and shut the fawk up! If you have a better way to get full bumpstop to bumpstop steering come on over and enlighten me, I am not working on a stocker so sometimes you have to get a little creative to get the results you want....

1-ton TJ check your PM

I'd be looking to move it up and/or back. I did both. Here's a pic if you're interested:
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/azredjeep/vwp?.dir=/Dions+60%27s&.dnm=Dsc00377.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

Bad link for me. The guy in the glasses was kind of scary due to the extreme zoom... :D

Phil

Originally posted by Cajun
You could try these guys http://performanceunlimited.com/steering/tubingspecs.html
One of my buddies is using their "Trail Proof" tie rods and loves it.


BTW, I have NO affiliation with them WHATSOEVER.

http://performanceunlimited.com/steering/img90.gif

HOLY DOGSHIT AND DUMPLINS!!!

That 1.5" OD one is BEEFY!!!!!!

Think it'll fit my TTB Ranger?? :confused: :flipoff2:

I could sell you a 1.5x.5 1026 DOM tie-rod for less than half their price though :D

HTH,
Phil

Originally posted by 1TONTJ
I could sell you a 1.5x.5 1026 DOM tie-rod for less than half their price though :D

HTH,
Phil

How much are you getting ends for???? 1-ton Ford.

High5,

In my opinion, if you make it much stronger than it is, you will simply shear TRE's or SRE's instead of bending the tube.

I built one out of 2 1/4 wall tubes sleeved together.....next time I bumped something it just snapped the TRE shank like a toothpick.

You can't just make one thing unbendable / breakable...stuff needs to be matched.

Maybe try a slightly larher tube or better material...but don't get nuts

Originally posted by BillaVista
High5,

In my opinion, if you make it much stronger than it is, you will simply shear TRE's or SRE's instead of bending the tube.

I built one out of 2 1/4 wall tubes sleeved together.....next time I bumped something it just snapped the TRE shank like a toothpick.

You can't just make one thing unbendable / breakable...stuff needs to be matched.

Maybe try a slightly larher tube or better material...but don't get nuts

I agree totaly! Currently on my front 60 I'm running the factory 1 ton solid tie rod W/ 1.25X.125 DOM pressed over it and 1.5X.125
(I think that's what it was) pressed over that and after the 1st REAL hit to it she still bent a little. I figure It's probably good that nothing else went so I'll continue to run it like it is. Besides it has more clearance now;)
Dave

I bought a Rock Rod from Scott at Rockstomper it is 1.25 0.219 with a sleeve of 1.5 .120. Pretty stout setup! I also have the draglink. Rockstomper Rock Rod (http://www.rockstomper.com/catalog/steering/rockrods/rockrod.htm) http://www.rockstomper.com/images/products/steering/rockrods/rockrod1.jpg
The Rock Rod is on the left.

Originally posted by bigdude


How much are you getting ends for???? 1-ton Ford.

Get me an application, or part number and I can check my supplier for you.

Phil

Originally posted by High5
i want a tie rod that won't bend!!!!

wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up the fastest:flipoff2:

Originally posted by psf4x4


wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up the fastest:flipoff2:

Wow, that was really useful!:rolleyes:

Originally posted by psf4x4


wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up the fastest:flipoff2:

"Hey, would you like a chocolate covered pretzel?"
:flipoff2:

Phil

Originally posted by psf4x4


wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up the fastest:flipoff2:

GOT CORN!

Originally posted by JeepinIan


Wow, that was really useful!:rolleyes:

just trying to help...

high5 did you ever weld a piece on your front diff so your ram doesn't get caught anymore...i kind of like wheeling with a tweeked tie rod. adds to the difficulty level:rainbow:

Originally posted by psf4x4
high5 did you ever weld a piece on your front diff so your ram doesn't get caught anymore.

yep and it works good too.:D

Originally posted by psf4x4


wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up the fastest:flipoff2:

if you don't want any on your hand, you could always put it on your neck.

Originally posted by Hayraker


if you don't want any on your hand, you could always put it on your neck.

:flipoff2:

Originally posted by 1TONTJ
I could sell you a 1.5x.5 1026 DOM tie-rod for less than half their price though :D

HTH,
Phil

are yours heat treated too? I was under the impression that the heat treating is what gave the material it's ability to flex and spring back as well as his do...

If your not concerned about the weight check out[URL=www.wagonermachineshop.com].They make tie rod and drag links out of 1.125 cold rolled steel and tapped to your specs.For $150.00 per set.:D

Originally posted by CrazyHorse


are yours heat treated too? I was under the impression that the heat treating is what gave the material it's ability to flex and spring back as well as his do...


Who heat treats a tie-rod? Really?

I make mine out of 1026 DOM - it flexes enough to see without a memory.

But I'm curious now if someone is heat treating a tie-rod. Would it really help?

Phil

Originally posted by 1TONTJ



Who heat treats a tie-rod? Really?

I make mine out of 1026 DOM - it flexes enough to see without a memory.

But I'm curious now if someone is heat treating a tie-rod. Would it really help?

Phil

the ones from Performance Unlimited are showing in their technical specifications that they heat treat theirs to 485 degrees for 4 hours... I dunno much, except that I ran their trail proof ones on my dana 44, and never bent them, flexed them good a couple of times, (4-6" of deformation) but never permenantly bent them...

I have landed on it real hard and it is still strait. It was holding up the hole truck. I have also used it to jack up the truck with to. So far it has held up fine.

Originally posted by CrazyHorse


the ones from Performance Unlimited are showing in their technical specifications that they heat treat theirs to 485 degrees for 4 hours... I dunno much, except that I ran their trail proof ones on my dana 44, and never bent them, flexed them good a couple of times, (4-6" of deformation) but never permenantly bent them...

I wonder abuot the 485 degree for four hours thing. Just so happens I have an oven at work that we use to stress relieve a lot of different materials (Mostly 316ss and 410ss) but we havnt done any regular steel. Ours usually heat to about 1200 degrees and hold for 3 hours then cool slowly just to relieve stress so we can finish turn and mill and hold close tolerance. I would like to find out how they heat treat at such a low temp (probably in the cool down process) cause if it's not too hard (like quenching in oil etc...) I have alot of stuff I cuold use the process on.
Dave

How about one of these:

http://home.insight.rr.com/rpark/P2110002.JPG

Smaller one is 1026 dom 1 1/4" OD 5/16" wall
Larger one is 1026 dom 1 1/2" OD 3/8" wall

I can seriously see some other part breaking before this heavy 3/8" wall dom. I've got a better chance of breaking a 7/8" TRE than this.

And let me tell you, damn the larger one is HUGE. These were made by 1tontj (phil j) in a matter of just days.

Thanks Phil,

Bob

Thanks for the plug Bob - glad you are happy.
Oh, and your custom tie-rod shipped out 24 hours after you sent me the specs. Just took UPS three days to deliver it (not bad for them though).

Phil

sleeve it and bend it out of the way.

Worked for me.

j

not sure what kind of full hydro setup you are using but heres how i protected my tie-rods and ram. :D

you guys and your silly dom rods........:flipoff2:


get ahold of air ride ( formely air bag ) and have him build you a camo rod. heat treated 1.5 solid 4140 cromoly. next best thing would be a dozer blade

Originally posted by camo
you guys and your silly dom rods........:flipoff2:


get ahold of air ride ( formely air bag ) and have him build you a camo rod. heat treated 1.5 solid 4140 cromoly. next best thing would be a dozer blade

Don't know the exact difference but mine is 4130 and it's pretty strong.

Put it behind the axle like mine :flipoff2:

Originally posted by camo
you guys and your silly dom rods........:flipoff2:


get ahold of air ride ( formely air bag ) and have him build you a camo rod. heat treated 1.5 solid 4140 cromoly. next best thing would be a dozer blade

Yeah, I'll go ahead and hook it up to my camo 60...DOH. I'll stick with my cheap dom. :flipoff2:

Originally posted by wngrog
Put it behind the axle like mine :flipoff2:

Whoa! That's where stock rovers are. I still had to bend mine to keep it out of the way. Works great now though.

j

i think you just need to learn how to drive, as in don't smash the t rod on the big rock. just drive over it:flipoff2:

Originally posted by gunracer1
i think you just need to learn how to drive, as in don't smash the t rod on the big rock. just drive over it:flipoff2:

Funny. You sound just like my wife.

j

I run a 1.5" x .375" wall non welded tierod in my fullsize. This is a one piece tierod.

http://www.mo-offroad.com/Tie%20rods.htm

Check it out.

Originally posted by TJBob


Yeah, I'll go ahead and hook it up to my camo 60...DOH. I'll stick with my cheap dom. :flipoff2:

Yeah, I bet his cromo stuff cost more than $150 for tie rod and drag link ;)

Phil

Originally posted by MudzerK5
I run a 1.5" x .375" wall non welded tierod in my fullsize. This is a one piece tierod.
Check it out.

All the tie-rods we are disccussing are one piece AFAIK.

Mine is anyway.

Phil

Originally posted by MudzerK5
I run a 1.5" x .375" wall non welded tierod in my fullsize. This is a one piece tierod.

http://www.mo-offroad.com/Tie%20rods.htm

Check it out.

Wouldn't a sleeved tierod be stronger? I was under the impression that 2 pieces of steel, the same thickness, was stronger than 1 piece.

Originally posted by JeepinIan


Wouldn't a sleeved tierod be stronger? I was under the impression that 2 pieces of steel, the same thickness, was stronger than 1 piece.

I'd be interested to hear if that is true and why? I can't see why it would be. If the ID and OD are the same in the end, then what's the difference?

Maybe one of the engineers can asnwer that one.

Phil
Once in a while we find a use for engineers ;)

Originally posted by 1TONTJ


I'd be interested to hear if that is true and why? I can't see why it would be. If the ID and OD are the same in the end, then what's the difference?

Maybe one of the engineers can asnwer that one.

Phil
Once in a while we find a use for engineers ;) Not being an engineer, I believe that it has something to do w/ the way the metals "stretch" in a bend. A solid piece has further to bend in relation to the id/od than a 2 piece as it will be bending 2 pieces in an id/od relationship.
I may not be explaining it correctly here, but think about a tube bending, the outer radius bends further than the inner radius, and the bigger the difference between the ID and the OD, the more stress on the tube wall.
When you have a sleeved rod, the differences in the radius id/od bend length is less on each tube.
basically in a single tube, you only have 1 wall to make the "stretch", a sleeved tube has 2 walls to distribute the "stretch."

Originally posted by JeepinIan
Not being an engineer, I believe that it has something to do w/ the way the metals "stretch" in a bend. A solid piece has further to bend in relation to the id/od than a 2 piece as it will be bending 2 pieces in an id/od relationship.
I may not be explaining it correctly here, but think about a tube bending, the outer radius bends further than the inner radius, and the bigger the difference between the ID and the OD, the more stress on the tube wall.
When you have a sleeved rod, the differences in the radius id/od bend length is less on each tube.
basically in a single tube, you only have 1 wall to make the "stretch", a sleeved tube has 2 walls to distribute the "stretch."

Cool info. Thanks.
Maybe we'll have to try building a two piece and see if it can deflect more.

Phil
Though deflections overrated ;) The 1.5"x3/8 won;t need to deflect ;-)

if you are still looking for a bomb proof tie rod set up, let me know. i build them out of 1.25" or 1.5" stress proof. no weld on ends or anything. it drilled and machined for whatever you are using, heims or tierod ends. i can bend it to fit up and around, but it takes a big bender, and i have to bend it twice as far as i want it to stay. i have never heard of anyone breaking or bending any. the ends or steering arms will go first. email me if interested.