Tie rod ends

[dbarilow]

Whats the difference? FordParts.com lists them as left and right but is there any difference?

 

[Ironman03R]

I believe that one is right hand thread and the other is left hand.

 

[SKimballC]

Yes, I'll second that about the threads.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

I'll third it. They are made with opposite threads so that an alignment tech can turn the adjusting sleeves in the same direction on both sides to tighten / loosen.

Make sure the tie rod ends (and any steering component) you get are greasable or you are just throwing money away.

 

[Jeff Dodson]

I just replaced ALL of mine. The truck drives lke a BRAND NEW one now. ALL the play in the streering is gone. BTW, it only took about 45 minutes to change them out, IN THE RAIN !!!!!!!!

 

[Agnem]

Just count the turns, and your alignment will be preserved.

 

[dbarilow]

That is for the patient man I slaped them in there and rode up to NTB 99.00 1-year alignments now I can take it up there after I do the ball joints. Hit a bump. look at my tire funny. Sneeze. For 1 year and its covered.

 

[Jeff Dodson]

you dont even have to count the turns. Just drive it staright for a bit, the length of your driveway, then when you put it back together, just make sure you dont move the truck or the wheels. Then after you sink them both evenly into the sleeve, just unscrew the sleeve untill the tir rod end goes back into the hole easily. I would still go and get it re-aligned just for minds sake.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

Since most of the stuff I own is Ford trucks that you basically just set toe-in on, I bought a toe gauge from JC Whitney for about $45 bucks. I've had one since the mid-90's and haven't paid for an alignment in years.

I have news, most of the time they shops set the alignment all they set is toe-in anyways (They call it "toe and go"). Caster and camber do not change drastically unless there is wear or damage.

I have even seen alignment techs "bump" the alignment heads to get the readout within specs rather than going through the labor intensive process of setting caster and camber on some vehicles.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Most alignment shops are big rip-offs.

No matter what you have repaired, they will always tell you that you have a tire that has something funny going on, and if you have any issues, it is probably the tire.

It isn't the tire, it is their crappy work, and blaming it on a tire gets the monkey off their back.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

At the shop I worked at (years ago) the alignment tech job was the in-between job between the "tire & lube guy" and the "real mechanics". It was a job that nobody wanted, and you worked hard to get enough training and skills to move past it.

 

[oldmisterbill]

My 2 bits -I always felt a good alignment man was an artist-he seemed to know just how much to deviate from the stock settings to get the desired results.I remember a guy the was busy all week on just alignments(I won't tell you how long agothat was) except that he got my 52 chevy to wear tires right, and drive perfect.Then he stopped the wandering on my47 dodge 1 1/2 ton by bending the axle a bit,and shimming the springs with little tapered shims.Consequently I have a lot of respect for a GOOD alignment man.
Mr Bill

 

[LUCKY_LARUE60]

When I had the wreck down in Texas my tie rod was bent and I had a serious tow-in problem. I set the truck on a level spot and got my trusty 9/16 wrench out and started to adjust on the bent tie rod. After about a 1/2 hour of adjusting it and comparing it to the rear tire I got it real close and I took the front tire and moved it to the rear and rear to the front. That was over 2 years ago and the same tire is still there on the front. Never been to alignment shop. I have helped align other truck by using a string or tape measure.

Jim