Steering twist?

Hey guys, I have a 97 with approx 6" of lift. I am working on a custom straight tie rod steering set up as we speak, so this problem will soon be alleviated. However, I am curious how much steering twist is acceptable? I know that there has to be room for the parts to move, but lately I have gotten some clunks out of the steering on my rig, and yesterday I sat under it and I could twist my tie rod- which in turn moved everything else- about an inch both ways. So, I am guessing this is too much movement which is why I have clunks. However, everything seems to be tight, so I am wondering what the fix is? Thanks for any and all recommendations.
josh

I'm not sure I understand the question. The stock tie rod is straight, so I don't know why it's a big deal to replace a straight tie rod with a straight tie rod.

Anyway -- the tie rod ends are ball joints. They are designed to allow several degrees of rotation, but there should not be any change in length as they rotate. If the tie rod ends are sloppy enough that the length of the tie rod changes when you rotate it, replace the tie rod ends immediately because they're likely on the point of falling apart.

I know what you're talking about.

a clunking/loose feeling when changing steering directions is a direct result of the twist of your solid tierod.

I'm assuming that you're running an inverted-T type setup. basically, the ONLY way to eliminate the clunk of the twist is to run crossover steering where the draglink mounts directly to the pass. side knuckle.

if you can live with the side-effects inhrent of the inverted-T design, then don't bother messing with it. a little clunk is really no big deal. (reducing the angle between the draglink and the tierod will reduce the severity of the clunk/wander) but this also requires trackbar relocation to keep all the angles happy.

Sorry, I should have specified better. The length of the tie rod does not change at all. I can just twist the whole steering linkage, meaning if I grab the tie rod and twist towards the truck, it rotates the drag link up, and moves the steering damper, and the TRE at the pitman until it hits and makes a clunk. I can then twist it all back down until the tie rod ends stop it. So, my question is if that is too much movement or if it should be tighter than that? THanks for your help.
Here is a pic of what my steering looks like now.

josh

Could still use some help on this....

How much track bar relocation is needed ?

I put a drop pitman that helped with some of the steering angles. I got it from HERE assgas:

looking at that pic, i'd say that the angle on that end where it attaches to the passenger side is way too much. That joint looks like it could be binding, or did and is now loose.

jjvande said:

looking at that pic, i'd say that the angle on that end where it attaches to the passenger side is way too much. That joint looks like it could be binding, or did and is now loose.

Click to expand...

jjvande, What do you do to reduce that angle ? Mine looks just like that :worship: