Larger TREs

[andyr354]

I spent an hour reading threads in the search but did not find exactly what I was after.

Are there TREs that have a larger shank but still taper fits in the stock knuckles?

I am going to be changing rigs soon and don't want to invest a bunch of cash in this one. I just want to upgrade the tierod only to get by. If there were some easily available TREs at the parts store that would be good.

Bent the TRE at the draglink and the messed up the end of my sleeved tierod this weekend.

Andy

 

[sgtmack]

I used tie rod ends from a late 80's Ramcharger. They have the same taper as stock, and the threads are 3/4". Buy some 1" ID tube, and a couple 3/4 " inserts, and you have a stronger tie rod. And it was pretty cheap to do.

 

[John90XJ]

Another cheap option is a tie rod assembly from a V8 Grand Cherokee ZJ. It's lacking a tube like the XJ and is a long TRE on the PS and a short one on the DS with an adjuster like the draglink. It's very beefy and would be a cheap way to add some strength and still fit the ends into your knuckle and draglink.

 

[Ivan]

Below is a post I saved from a while back that pretty much covers what you are looking for. I built my beefier tie rod set up using the suggestions below....

"The factory tie rods are 11/16 and are fairly strong but its the size tubing used to connect them that is the weak point. If you have access to any race shops you can get some 1/4 in wall chromoly tubing threaded on both ends for 3/4-16 left and right hand thread about 39 inches long and use 1990 dodge 1/2 ton ends and it all bolts on. This doesn’t replace the drag link but how often do you bend that? The whole thing cost a total of 80 bucks and it very strong.

I don't have pics but I used the dodge TRE's ES2847R and ES2848L with a 3/4" shank. You need exactly 3' of tubing and the threaded inserts giving you roughly 38" of tierod. The dodge ends have shorter shanks. It's pretty beefy though. You can get the tubing and the 3/4 threaded inserts at mountainoffroad.com or spidertrax.com for 40 bucks. At 1.25" inch OD and roughly 3/16 ID, there ain't no flex to it like the stocker. The BEST part of this mod IMHO is the 3/4" shank on the dodge TRE's."

 

[andyr354]

Looks like a possible winner, except for the cost.

Ballistic fab has 3/4-16 inserts on sale right now for 1.0ID x 1.5OD tubing for half price.
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Monthly-Special--34-16-10-15-Tube-Adapter_p_7-1457.html
For two inserts, two jam nuts, and 3' of dom it adds up to $38.73, but shipping is almost $16

The Tierods are around $40 each though.

makes it a $130 project!
(EDIT: Found some Duralast brand TREs at autozone for $20 each, alot cheaper than Moogs if they are decent. Would knock the project cost down to $90)

Might as well let somebody else do the work
http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=STBLT&Category_Code=S6

I also already have a set of 1 ton TREs with jam nuts I bought for another project a few years ago from Parts Mike. Maybe I should just buy a reamer and some dom and go that route.

 

[andyr354]

second Q, will the 1.5" OD tubing clear the diff cover at full lock?

 

[Ivan]

second Q, will the 1.5" OD tubing clear the diff cover at full lock?

No clearance problems on mine, and I even have a PSC diff guard....

 

[HaleYes]

second Q, will the 1.5" OD tubing clear the diff cover at full lock?

No problems with mine. I have a Warn Diff guard.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=80453&highlight=batman


Hale

 

[tgoff]

Some more info on this as I installed a new tie rod this weekend. I needed some new tie rod ends as my old ones were toast so I figured why not upgrade the tie rod at the same time. I used 3' of 1.5" OD .25" wall DOM with 3/4" x 16 tube inserts for the tie rod and Dodge tie rod ends ES2847R ES2848R. For parts store searching purposes use 1991 Dodge Ramcharger. Total amounted to around $100 even for the rod ends and all the hardware (jam nuts etc.) which I feel is worth it.

Here are some pics
You can see that the Dodge tie rod end is slightly larger than stock (3/4 vs. 11/16)

Here is the tie rod installed on my heep.

 

[RyanM]

Thats a nice upgrade for those with stock steering!

 

[shelbyluvv]

Good post! Just subcribing for future reference.

 

[monkeyevil]

Might as well let somebody else do the work
http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/...go ry_Code=S6

We had some TRE sourcing issues for this upgrade, so I have taken it off our site.

Also we didn't really sell very many of them. Sorry about the broken link