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Tie rod end fitment issue

nutt7

nutt7

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I have a 76 d44. It had a bent tie rod when I bought it so I went to the jy and got a newer style from a 10 bolt with the the super long reverse thread tre, sleeve, and short tre. My research showed that the taper and size are the same on the d44 and 10 bolt knuckles.

On the driver side, the castle nut tightened down a bit too far. The center of the cotter pin hole sits at the top of the castle nut after proper torque, but it still secured it so I ran it. Fast forward, those tie rod ends need replacing so I bought some moog (made in USA) components to replace them. Same issue. The tapered hole is smooth and not wallowed and the passenger side is fine.

I would run it again, but it squishes the boot so it balloons out and the lip isn't hugging the tre. I want these to last, and I can't afford a new knuckle. I also can't afford the cost or time of drilling and adding a drop in sleeve either...maybe if I had a big a$$ drill... I checked without the boot, and there is a little gap between the knuckle and the joint, so I know the joint is safe but the boot seems likely to tear. The boots at least survived the week, about 100 miles of urban driving.

With my mad geometry skills, I was thinking of using a beer can to cut a thin sleeve to use on the taper. I don't foresee an issue as long as everything fits and torques right. I don't see anything moving or loosening if I can rig up an acceptable sleeve...thoughts?
 
You could shim it,but I'd use something more substantial than an aluminum beer can...like a feeler gauge,or at least brass..

Its a critical part,and fudging isn't recomended of course--the right thing to do would be to see if another tie rod end has a larger stud that will fit properly..


That said,I remember using a brass ferrule off a compression fitting on the drag link stud,when I converted my '69 GTO to power steering from manual steering--I got the P/S box off a Buick Special,and found the pitman arm on it had a slightly larger tapered hole for the draglink,and like you,I found if I torqued the nut to spec,the cotter pin hole was above the nut just far enough to miss the slots in the castle nut,and the drag link stud was drawn too close to the pitman arm and it bound up on it...

I probably could have used the Buick drag link,but the car was already crushed by the time I went back to the junkyard..so I did the "wrong" thing and fudged it..and it worked,for as long as I and a friend owned the car,at least 5 years,and it never loosened up or gave any trouble..
That doesn't mean its OK either though!..
 
I hear ya! I was thinking aluminum can because it's thin. Much thicker and I feel that it will not allow the hole to be high enough.
 
Well theres nothing wrong with shimming the nut with washers to get the castle level with the cotter pin hole. Thats not going to solve your boot dilemma though.
 
Stomis said:
Well theres nothing wrong with shimming the nut with washers to get the castle level with the cotter pin hole. Thats not going to solve your boot dilemma though.
Click to expand...

I might do that, the cotter pins do grab though...they will keep the nut from backing off.

JoshHefnerX said:
That aluminum is very soft will probably deform under stress and cause problems.
Click to expand...

How do you mean? I thought about this too, so please elaborate. It seems like it would have nowhere to go, unless something wiggles loose. I can make a shim that will wrap around the taper perfectly.
 
The aluminum from a soda can is not hardened or a hard alloy. It's very soft. The back and forth force of the tie rod will probably eventually squash that aluminum deforming and that will cause it to loosen up - wallowing out the hole. Aluminum is used in suspension on new vehicles, but it's of a better alloy and is heat treated.
 
If you can crush a soda can with your bare hand, there's no way in hell it should be used on a vital part of the steering. It will crush, maybe fall apart and create a gap at the bottom of the nut so it backs away from the cotter pin. Then the cotter pin falls out and the nut backs off completely.
 
Don't you normally spread your cotter pin ends so they cant just fall out? Not that the slop from the can falling out wouldn't be bad, I just don't see it being any worse than a bad ball joint
 
I just don't see the aluminum escaping from that area unless it turns to liquid or powder :dunno:...but I asked for advice and I got it. I think I'll heed that advice and leave it alone. Worst case, I have to replace the boot. Boohoo.

If I end up shredding too many boots, maybe I'll try it and pay close attention to that area for looseness. I suppose I can always, you know, save money and do it right too.:grin:
 
Actually, if that aluminum got pounded on enough, it might just turn to powder. But before it got crunched enough to do that, it would have gotten thin enough to allow slop in the taper, causing the possibility of of a wallowed out tapered hole.
In other words, everything would be tight when you first torqued the nut down, but the aluminum could get a lot thinner and migrate to the parts of the taper not under load. Thus you would have the same effect as if you had not tightened the nut down properly.

I still like the idea though, you just need some material closer to the hardness of the original metal.

Not sure if this link would be any help or not. First of all, its for Fords, and second of all he does not give any size specs. But, if you know the sizes of your TRE and the hole it fits in, you might E-Mail the guy and ask what size his shims are.
Who knows, he might have one to fit.

http://www.mustangsteve.com/tierodbushings.html
 
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