sleeving a stock tie rod

Has anyone out there sleeved their stock tie rod ? I tried Sch 40 pipe but the I.D. it is just a shade to small.

I bent mine this weekend and want to do a cheap and stronger fix till I can go with a different setup.

I wouldn't bother. V8 ZJ tie rods are like 10 bucks in the junkyard. I've beat the hell out of mine, bounced it off rocks with 33s on the ends without doing any more damage than a scratch.

Jeeper john did one for me a while ago. So did webdog. Hit them up.

You can sleeve it,but your still stuck with wimpy tie rod ends. the ZJ swap is a great bang for buck upgrade and larger tie rod ends.

im guessing if you sleeve it that youll need jam nuts, like rough country uses on their beefed up tie rod.

ZJ is a less time and labor intensive option i would think.

If you cannot find a used ZJ V8 tie rod for cheap, go with an aftermarket tie-rod, sucha ironman 4x4fab. YOu can get his with or without TRE's. The TRE's threaded ends are 1-ton-ish but stock taper, so you do not have to drill out the knuckles for larger TRE's.

I have andy's tie rod with some Moog TRE's I got for cheap on ebay. Its pure BEEF. If you bend/break it, you are doing omething wrong.

I did that .worked fine for years.

I run a sleeved stock tie rod. First drilled a half dozen holes through the stock tie rod, inserted sold bar stock and rosette welded. Then I grabbed some 1x1 (or was it 3/4x3/4 ?) angle and welded that on the outside to "box" it in.

I have bent tie rod ends while shoving the tie rod back against the diff cover but I have not yet bent the tie rod itself. I am very very happy with it.

What I really like about it is that it is plenty strong enough that you can feel it when the tie rod hits something unexpected so you know what just happened and can try a different line before you bend something. Its only when going too fast and not paying attention that I have bent a TRE or shoved the tier rod against the diff cover.

$10 in scrap metal plus a coupe hours cutting, welding and to R&R the tie rod. Easy day and fun if you get a kick out of making sparks/melting melting metal.

John

i welded a piece of 3/4" angle iron to mine and beat on it for years. just make sure the point is up or down to resist bending