- City
- SoCal
- State
- CA
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.