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Drag link and Tie rod alternatives for a RHD

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ducktapeguy

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During my last trip I managed to strip out the tie rod for the front left knuckle. Unfortunately, it's a special RHD tie rod that I haven't been able to find anywhere. I have been looking for one for the past 2 years and even contacted Crown Automotive, the only supplier for this part, and they told me they no longer manufacture it and the best option is to find a used one.

The tie rod in question. It has a slight bend in it and a tapered hole for the drag link. The knuckle on that side doens't have the second hole for the drag link, otherwise it would be a much simpler solutoin.

1787508460498.png

So now I'm looking at what I can find that can work in it's place or modify something. So far the options are

1. Later model cherokees use the same tie rod specs and similar setup, but I don't know if I can flip it around and make it work for RHD. The bend is in the wrong direction.

1787509403730.png
2. Ford also uses the same tie rods, but I haven't seen a similar Y-style setup on their cars
3. I could modify a setup. The cherokee drag link almost looks close enough but the bend is going in the wrong direction. I could go with a hi-steer option and flip the tie rods (possibly) I don't know if that's going to affect anything else and how that will affect steering. Even if I cut off the fixed end from the cherokee setup and and thread it for an adjuster sleeve that might work.
4. Custom made tie rod. Ideally I'd like a straight tie rod going from knuckle to knuckle and have something that accepts standard tie rod ends. I'd just need a way to connect the drag link to it somehow.
5. I could possibly rebuild the threads on the OEM tie rod, weld it up and recut new threads. I don't know how the heat of welding will affect the ball joint. Also, I'm still in the same position that if I need to replace it in the future I'm stuck again.
6. Last resort might be to swap to Heim Joints. Then I can double up the joint on the knuckle with an over/under configuration. I don't really like the idea of heim joints and would prefer tie rod ends.

If anyone knows of a similar style tie-rod that can be modified to work, I'm all ears. Even if I have to make some custom adapters, do a tie rod flip, ream out the taper for larger tie rods, etc.
 
What is/was used on other models of mail Jeeps and might they work? I’ve seen XJ and TJ right hand mail Jeeps. Some pieces might need modifications to work, but maybe…
 
What about #1 and using a Rhd Cherokee piece if you can find it? Late model do you mean XJ or the current Cherokee? I was thinking XJ
 
I'm not 100% sure, but the other postals have a 2 hole RHD knuckle which allows the drag link to mount directly to the steering arm vs. the tie rod. And there are some RHD tie rods that have integrated TRE (i.e. the tie rod end and tie rod are all one piece). Still looking at those to see if I can make it work and if I can even get them.
barrys said:
What about #1 and using a Rhd Cherokee piece if you can find it? Late model do you mean XJ or the current Cherokee? I was thinking XJ
Click to expand...
I was looking at XJ stuff, they seem like it would be closest to a CJ

So far the easiest solution that might work is a Rusty's Off road YJ tie rod upgrade. This uses standard jeep TRE's and looks like it would be easy enough to flip them around with little/no modification.

1787552558515.png

Another option I just thought of is swapping over to FJ40 components. I also have an FJ40 and just looked underneath and realized the components are pretty similar, and RHD FJ40's were a lot more common than RHD Jeeps. The tapers are slightly different, I don't know if they're close enough where it's be a drop in replacement or I might have to ream out the knuckles.
 
Another option is to take the original tre to a welder/machinist; have them increase the diameter by welding, then machine it to the correct diameter and retap the threads.
 
ag4ever said:
What you show is the same as my Overlander.

Would this work?

Speedway Generic Kit

View attachment 122856
Click to expand...
After an entire day of searching I found that tie rod kit right after my last post, it's scheduled to arrive on Thursday so I can hopefully have it all fixed by this weekend. Have you used this one before? It looks the same, but I'm not sure if the taper and diameter are the same.

Ironically, speedway motors is where I bought the drag link and tie rod ends for the jeep. And when I stripped the tie rod, they were one of the first companies I contacted to see if they could ship me a new custom tie rod to Alaska. I just never bothered looking at any of their other stuff and since it's not specifically marketed as a RHD tie rod I never saw it during my initial searches.

ag4ever said:
Another option is to take the original tre to a welder/machinist; have them increase the diameter by welding, then machine it to the correct diameter and retap the threads.
Click to expand...
I was going to do that with the original TRE to keep as a backup so I tried to make sure they didn't overheat the ball joint when welding it. But if the one from Speedway works out, I'll just buy an extra one as a spare and never have to worry about it again. I still like the Rusty's off road setup because it uses commonly available TRE's but I doubt I'll ever need to change it again.
 
Rusty’s is a great shop. I live fairly close to it and have been there with my Scrambler and spoken to Rusty himself a few times. If you ever need anything or have questions for them, I’d be happy to drive up there and talk to Rusty for you.
 
Didn't see this, work's been insane. Posting without reading everything above in detail, likely repetitive.

The key is that the RHD setup differs entirely from stock CJ stuff because the drag link comes to the tie rod instead of the knuckle. There's a hole in the TRE as pictured above.

Flipping things around often ends up with the taper for the TRE going the wrong way unless the tie rod is straight and spins around to adjust. I ran into this when using the stock FSJ steering for my 44 upgrade. I drilled the drag link TRE taper out and did a weld-in tie-rod-flip bushing to get the taper for a CJ TRE facing the right way, then did a custom DL. I left the CJ TRE as a "fuse" to keep from damaging the RHD steering box. (I've now added the Redneck Ram assist to further help take stress off the box).

As long as you find something that can be spun/flipped around without causing taper issues (or go the route I did and drill/weld a bung) you can upgrade and get to more "normal" stuff.
 
ag4ever said:
What you show is the same as my Overlander.

Would this work?

Speedway Generic Kit

View attachment 122856
Click to expand...
I find it hard to beliieve that the taper in the TRE hole is going both ways... that would result in a much weaker connection to my thinking, half the shank would be sitting in there unsupported?

This is the kind of situation where I think putting that end on the other side for RHD is likely going to result in the taper going the wrong way for you. If that hole is actually tapered both ways it would work, but... :confused:
 
ducktapeguy said:
I'm not 100% sure, but the other postals have a 2 hole RHD knuckle which allows the drag link to mount directly to the steering arm vs. the tie rod. And there are some RHD tie rods that have integrated TRE (i.e. the tie rod end and tie rod are all one piece). Still looking at those to see if I can make it work and if I can even get them.

I was looking at XJ stuff, they seem like it would be closest to a CJ

So far the easiest solution that might work is a Rusty's Off road YJ tie rod upgrade. This uses standard jeep TRE's and looks like it would be easy enough to flip them around with little/no modification.

View attachment 122834

Another option I just thought of is swapping over to FJ40 components. I also have an FJ40 and just looked underneath and realized the components are pretty similar, and RHD FJ40's were a lot more common than RHD Jeeps. The tapers are slightly different, I don't know if they're close enough where it's be a drop in replacement or I might have to ream out the knuckles.
Click to expand...
This would be where I would go for a stock upgrade that would work.
 
Chipster1990 said:
Rusty’s is a great shop. I live fairly close to it and have been there with my Scrambler and spoken to Rusty himself a few times. If you ever need anything or have questions for them, I’d be happy to drive up there and talk to Rusty for you.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the offer. Since their setup is meant for a YJ I was going to contact them to get some measurements for their steering setup. If the tie rod from Speedway motors doesn't work out I might still need to do that.

bigwalton said:
Didn't see this, work's been insane. Posting without reading everything above in detail, likely repetitive.

The key is that the RHD setup differs entirely from stock CJ stuff because the drag link comes to the tie rod instead of the knuckle. There's a hole in the TRE as pictured above.

Flipping things around often ends up with the taper for the TRE going the wrong way unless the tie rod is straight and spins around to adjust. I ran into this when using the stock FSJ steering for my 44 upgrade. I drilled the drag link TRE taper out and did a weld-in tie-rod-flip bushing to get the taper for a CJ TRE facing the right way, then did a custom DL. I left the CJ TRE as a "fuse" to keep from damaging the RHD steering box. (I've now added the Redneck Ram assist to further help take stress off the box).

As long as you find something that can be spun/flipped around without causing taper issues (or go the route I did and drill/weld a bung) you can upgrade and get to more "normal" stuff.
Click to expand...

Rusty's was the only aftermarket setup I found that had a straight tie rod without any bends, so in theory it should be possible to flip it around for RHD. They also have an offset tie rod setup that looked pretty close, but I would've needed to have the LH and RH threads flipped around to make it work.

I was looking at a lot of crossover and over the knuckle setups, in theory if I took an OTK setup and used it in the stock orientation I should be able to flip it around to get everything facing the correct way. Or get a standard setup and do a tie rod flip. I was trying to avoid that since I had already gone through a lot of trouble to get the steering geometry correct to eliminate the tie rod roll, I didn't want to have to go through all that again.

bigwalton said:
I find it hard to beliieve that the taper in the TRE hole is going both ways... that would result in a much weaker connection to my thinking, half the shank would be sitting in there unsupported?

This is the kind of situation where I think putting that end on the other side for RHD is likely going to result in the taper going the wrong way for you. If that hole is actually tapered both ways it would work, but... :confused:
Click to expand...

That was my initial thoughts too, but it does appear to be tapered on both sides. Although it seems like it would be inherently weaker to have less contact, a lot of TRE flips that don't use bushing are the same way and I've never heard of a problem. I'm guessing the majority of the load is supported at the base of the taper, so the unsupported area near the nut doesn't contribute (or reduce) the strength very much. I'm almost certain that even in stock configurations, the taper of the knuckle and the taper on the TRE aren't perfectly matched. In order to account for elongation and manufacturing tolerances it's very likely only the a small fraction of the stud near the base of the taper makes contact.


1787781518238.png
 
The unknown is the threads and if they are the correct hand. If it is meant to be on the passenger side (LHD vehicle) then I would imagine the threads are going the wrong way. But I suspect AMC used off the shelf parts and these might be the same parts with the ends flipped on both sides, so it might fit right in. Speedway also sells just the single TRE as a separate part.

The other ‘all in’ option is to replace the outer knuckles with a version that can be milled for flat top arms and do a flip kit. Not sure what knuckles would work on a D30 though. Most are for D45 or D60 axles.
 
I’d never go through that on a D30 personally.

Looks like the tie rod threads into both TREs, so if you flip the whole thing the thread direction changing is irrelevant. As long as it flips on both ends, right?

If that drag link hole is tapered both ways, then I think he’s onto something.
 
Good news is the parts arrived today and they look like it'll work. The hole for the drag link is tapered from both sides so it can work in either direction. The actual ball joint appears to be a little bit smaller than the OEM one, but I don't think that'll be an issue since I'm only running 31's.

1787802769007.png

Unfortunately there seems to have been an error in the length and the tie rod is exactly 3" too long. So I just contacted speedway and hopefully get this resolved.
 
That is awesome!

Have you tried the new joint in the old rod to see if the threads are compatible, or just planning to swap the whole thing from knuckle to knuckle?
 
I’ll definitely be keeping a spare or two.

I haven’t tried the new joint in the old rod I’m waiting for the correct tie rod before I disassemble everything. Also my old rod is unsalvageable since it’s been welded. But both threads are 11/16-18 so they should work. The only thing I haven’t checked is if the threading is reversed like you said, but that should matter if I’m replacing the whole tie rod.
 
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