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*Edit* Results on page 7!
Link: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/exploring-off-the-shelf-tie-rod-upgrades.42228/page-7
I ordered a spare inner tie rod and once I can pull measurements off it am going to be doing some investigating on heavier duty tie rods that will interchange. Once I have the thread and length specs it will just be a matter of matching up to something else out there. The tapered stud of the outer TRE is somewhat standardized and some mix and matching can be done to make the inner/outer combo the right length.
Some vehicles with notoriously crappy tie rods (looking at you GM trucks) already have inexpensive HD aftermarket tie rods available. Once I find out what the inner tie rod thread size and pitch is, it's game on.
Rockauto is a great resource for looking up part specifications. For example I found that the 11-19 GM truck inner tie rod has a M20x1.5 end at the rack and is 304mm long. A 2004 F150 has a much smaller M16x1.5 thread and is 325mm long. Based on pictures my gut says Bronco is going to be M16, it looks smallish.
Stay tuned for my findings.
Edit #2:
Triceratops learned the hard way that a 04 Crown Vic outer will work in a pinch. It appears the Broncbuster saved his inner but transfered the force to the outer. This has me mentally revisiting reaming for F150 outers. Of course now we're back to risking the rack doing that.
Link: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/exploring-off-the-shelf-tie-rod-upgrades.42228/page-7
I ordered a spare inner tie rod and once I can pull measurements off it am going to be doing some investigating on heavier duty tie rods that will interchange. Once I have the thread and length specs it will just be a matter of matching up to something else out there. The tapered stud of the outer TRE is somewhat standardized and some mix and matching can be done to make the inner/outer combo the right length.
Some vehicles with notoriously crappy tie rods (looking at you GM trucks) already have inexpensive HD aftermarket tie rods available. Once I find out what the inner tie rod thread size and pitch is, it's game on.
Rockauto is a great resource for looking up part specifications. For example I found that the 11-19 GM truck inner tie rod has a M20x1.5 end at the rack and is 304mm long. A 2004 F150 has a much smaller M16x1.5 thread and is 325mm long. Based on pictures my gut says Bronco is going to be M16, it looks smallish.
Stay tuned for my findings.
Edit #2:
Triceratops learned the hard way that a 04 Crown Vic outer will work in a pinch. It appears the Broncbuster saved his inner but transfered the force to the outer. This has me mentally revisiting reaming for F150 outers. Of course now we're back to risking the rack doing that.
OK, so hereās the story and fix. Off-road park in Florida, pretty easy, they dig out the trails a little bit to provide some extra fun since thereās not elevation changes. I was down in a hole with a small amount of mud in the bottom, the hole is big enough for all four wheels to be on the bottom. I spun up to get out of the hole once I got out hard on brakes, but the turbos were spun up and kept pushing even not on the accelerator and hard on the brake. Went too fast and the next hole was just on the right side of the trail dropped the front tire in and hit the far side and snap.
Completely user error, I shouldnāt have spun up that much, but I was trying to throw a little mud as well.
Anyway, now weāre blocking the trail. Have to remove the wheel, takeoff the outer so that we can at least somewhat maneuver it. put the wheel back on, Essentially parallel park it on the side of the trail with multiple people turning the wheel for me.
There were multiple holes both for the rest of the trail and to get back to a bypass. No real way of getting it out unless you connect that Tie rod. No dealers within an hour can get it for two days. So off to the parts store with the broken one. The 04 ranger outer is way too short. People use the inner as a replacement, but the outer wonāt work. Guy at the parts store said it looked similar to a a 2004 crown Vic outer he had recently sold. Now the tapered fitting would not possibly fit, but at that point, I just needed some thing hard to attach it so I can get it off the trail and probably just trailer home. The taper on the crown Vic part is very very wide so wonāt possibly fit down in it but it will center itself and it has a long stud so I wasnāt worried about not showing threads on the other side. We checked to make sure it had the same threading as my outer.
Long story short, it worked perfectly. We were able to install it and do a hillbilly eyeball alignment in about 15-20 minutes. Drove it out from the trails and a short distance to dinner.
The drive to dinner felt good with a surprisingly fantastic alignment. Check to make sure nothing was loosening. It drove so well decided to back roads it 140 miles home. Made it home without issue. The real outer will be here in two days. My only real problem now is I bent the mounting bolt for the upper control arm making my camber look pretty bad. As long as the bolt comes out will be OK but removing a long bent bolt is going to be a pain in the ass. Thatās the only other damage I can see.
Just for info Iām up about 2 1/2 inches on king coil overs with Camburg billet upper control arms. Now I will say I use broncbuster braces, and my inner was straight as an arrow.
not a lot of pictures during, but Iāll take a couple pictures of the damage and the parts in question for yall
I always wondered if I carry too many tools on the trail, and is it ridiculous to bring a full size impact wrenchā¦ it is not.
@Tricky Dick
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