OK, now i have had my Hardbody for 3 yrs now and it is getting on my last nerve with this damn front end wearing out!!! Everytime i take it to get aligned the friggin thing has something as else worn out. I upgraded the steering about 2yrs ago with an idler arm brace, Hoohaa centerlink, and all Moog BJs and stuff. I have since replaced the upper BJs 3 times, the UCA bushings twice, the lower BJs once and the tie rods once. Ive never bent anything or nuthin like that. I know the main solution is to go SAS but i cant afford to do so at the moment. I dont have the t-bars cranked way up there or anything like that and dont go offroading anywhere near what i used to. I only drive it 2 blocks back and forth to work almost all the time. Very seldom do i drive anywhere else. Now that i have these BFG Muds on here it really pisses me off to know i am wearing the inside of the tires out like i am. I have tried to align it many times myself b/c it doesnt last but maybe a month every time i take it to the shop. Im very familiar with the front end design and it doesnt appear to be much different than many of the other 4wd front ends, steering and suspension a like, so why on my truck. Has anyone thought of a way to make the front end last longer? (no smart aise comments please, ive been around this website for a few years and have heard most of the comments) I just figure there has to be something that could be altered or redesigned to do a little better. Maybe a uniball type set up or maybe some tie-rods from a tractor or something. I dont mean last forever b/c i know things wear out but come on now it's getting ridiculous. I love my truck and will probably never get rid of it but it sure has me thinking about it sometimes. My friends 98 Fronty has the same exact setup as i do except he [censored] A arms and i have A/Cs. We both run 33s, we both offroad about the same amount and he actually drives a heck of a lot than i do. He still has stock steering and it still isnt worn out and that truck used to be mine and ran Thornbirds that beat the heck out of it and he has since ran TSLs for a while and it still hasnt worn out, centerlink, bjs nothing. It kills me, did i just get a lemon or am i doing something wrong here? I dont claim to know everything about trucks but know a decent bit. thanks for letting me rant, and all of your thoughts and suggestions are welcome :rant:


Edit- Im looking at spherical rod ends like these http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/guideBrowse.shtml
They are much cheaper than factory tie rod end and if i could get an adjuster to fit the thread size it should work, right? as long as the diameter of threaded stud area is the same as the centerlink opening. All of the sizes appear to be in decimals so what size would i need. I know the bigger end of the modded centerlink is 5/8 but not sure about the tierod end opening. Would the spherical bearing be appropriate for the range of motion required and the resistance that a tie-rod produces against movement.

Sorry, I don't know anything about HBs. I wish I could help.

Well i figured since i altered my thread a little with some new ideas i would post it up in some different forums. No offense to your very helpful posts on NOR Res.

The link doesn't work. If your going to make your own links up as tie rods, the only cheap rod ends worth using are QA-1. Considering the extreme angles the front tie rods can reach I would not run a heim.

Ok I had my truck for 7 years with independent suspension. I replaced the front end a few times during the process. The key to the front is you have to replace all font end components at once. It's expensive, usually took me a few months to collect the parts. After rebuilding the front end i would have the truck aligned every 6 months. sometimes a part would wear out and I'll get it warranted out. About every 2.5-3 years I would change the front end out.

I always kept 31" tires installed which did not put as much stress, wear and tear as the 33's will. Well with an sas you wont have as much front end problems, just a boat load of small stuff.

Well i plan on keep ing th 33s but i was looking at the male end spherical rod ends. What angles can the heim handle? 45 degrees? The front end doesnt flex much at all so i can see why it would be that big of a problem. The wifey would never let me change the whole front out, i would just be better off selling my truck and getting something else. Ive already changed it all out at least once.

I wasn't offended. I was just being sarchastic.

I hope you find a solution so I can copy it.

No a rod end could handle 45 degrees with 2 high misalignment spacers. On the bright side, there's a frontier steering kit which uses heim rod ends.

Well i talked with a few places, and i found that can get the 4130 chromoly rod ends for 31 bucks a piece. The a adjuster tube is 7.20 a ft and the weld in bungs are 7.50 a piece. I would much rather spend that much on some tougher stuff than 5 times over on weaker crap. Im wondering if i can just get the rod ends and use the Moog adjusters since i havent been able to bend them yet? I will have to see what size exactly the thread is on the rod end, i think 1/2 in but not sure.

I don't think you'll need the chromo rod ends for the application. That will definitely be overkill.

Well they recommend the chromo ends for steering and suspension components. They are not that much IMO, you can get the mild steel ones for around 10 bucks but they recommend them for throttle linkage and the like.

show me a picture of the kind of rod ends your talking about.

these are the economy heims I'm talking about. They are more than strong enough for a IFS tie rod application. Now there are tractor style heims(much cheaper) which would not work for the application.


There's nothing wrong with the chromo ones. There's no way you'll ever come close to the tensile strength of the economy ones. Here's a like with some helpful info. http://www.qa1.net/qa1_motorsports/images/rodend_tech.pdf

Here is a link to the ones i called about. http://www.markwilliams.com/detail.aspx?ID=1289 If the economy ones wil work then that is fine if they are cheaper. I guess im not really worried about breaking them but i just want them to not wear out near as fast. Would i need a spacer to make the angle work or just bolt them on as is?

Those will do fine. here the link where I buy all my rod ends. http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Rod-Ends-_c_82.html

You will need 2 of these washers on each rod end. http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/303-SS-Spacer-12-in_p_85-1322.html

Cool, well i didnt see anyone answer if i could use the stock adjusters with these rod ends? I know that the diameter needs to be the same. What size should i get to work with the stock holes? Or should i drill it out to 5/8? Sorry for all of the questions.

You will definitely have to drill out the spindle. A tre hole is reamed vs straight drilled. 1/2" or 5/8 should do.

The hardest part about the job will be drilling the spindle. The steel should be just as hard as the pitman you drilled for the cl.

I know for a fact stock adjusters wont work. the shank on the tres is rather large. You'll also be going from metric to standard. That is if you want standard heims.

If you want to stay metric you'll be looking at a 15mm heim.