1 ton TRO wear questions...need your input.

[Sun_and_Steel77]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO5hWfLq0hI&feature=youtu.be

Hey guys, please take a moment to check out the above video and tell me if you think my drag link and tie rod end show excessive movement/wear, specifically the slight in and out movement of the drag link end where it bolts to the tie rod at around the 0:18 second mark of the vid.

For all the folks running the Chev/GM rod ends...what kind of service life do you get out of them, drag link to tie-rod specifically?

I am trying to chase down a small but annoying front-end shimmy that has developed and noticed the slight in and out movement of the drag-link end. It also seems to have an awful lot of roll?. I'm hoping for some opinions from you guys after watching the video.
I just did the whole TRO conversion last summer and don't even have 3000 miles on them yet, all suspension components are brand new and tight and I'm only running 35" tires if that's a factor. If these new parts are indeed worn-out I'd be disappointed to say the least as they are twice the size of the stock Bronco rod ends. I greased them regularly and they never saw any extreme off-roading.
The steering just doesn't feel near as tight as it did when these were newer.

For what it's worth I ran a 76-77 "Y" set up with a 3" lift and 33"s before this TRO conversion and I got well over 10000 miles on it without replacing a single rod-end.
In all fairness these particular rod-ends that came with my TRO kit have no markings of any kind on them and look to be a generic/budget brand part...maybe inferior to a Moog premium?

PS...I am aware the tie-rod end on the knuckle has no boot, it blew off when I washed it for the video and I will replace it right away.
I am also aware of "the cure"...the Delrin washer sold by a vendor that claims to lessen the roll of the drag link end...I may install one of these in the future.

 

[bbow]

Looks the same as mine. I did install the Derlin washer and it helped.

 

[DirtDonk]

Will check out the video too, but funny this discussion just came up earlier today and he only got about 6000 miles on his set. The rolling definitely plays a part, but that does seem like a very short life for such a beefy part.

Good luck with the cure. No pun intended (I think?) this time.
Did you also see the recent discussion about "the cure" from Ruff Stuff in the Vendor section? Got a little more in-depth than in some previous discussions.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Yep, lower draglink end is definitely shot. Normally a rod end does not have any visible play in it at all, and yours even has in-and-out play. As opposed to simple side-to-side play like they usually get when just starting to wear out.
I could not see any movement in the stud itself, but is it possible that it's not completely seated in the hole, or that the nut has worked loose? If not, then the ball-and-socket are worn enough that it's allowing that in-and-out movement you mentioned.

Any rotational movement is excessive, but it's practically unavoidable with these setups. Just the nature of the beast when you mount a draglink in a vertical orientation like this retrofit forces us to do.
It's just that when the rod ends are brand new and super tight, you don't see much, if any of it. But once they start to wear, you see this extra rotational movement beginning with any transition from left to right.

The only true cure for this that I can think of is for someone to make a custom passenger side rod end where the mounting hole area for the draglink is angled upward at more like a 45° angle like the stock Ford stuff was. When built like that, you don't see any real excessive rotation until the rod ends are practically worn out.

The Ruff-Stuff "Cure" is really a Band-Aid, so to speak, but it can definitely help.

Paul

 

[Sun_and_Steel77]

Looks the same as mine. I did install the Derlin washer and it helped.

Thanks bbow, it sounds like I'll be installing the "cure" washer when changing out the draglink and hoping for a small improvement at least.

 

[Sun_and_Steel77]

Yep, lower draglink end is definitely shot. Normally a rod end does not have any visible play in it at all, and yours even has in-and-out play. As opposed to simple side-to-side play like they usually get when just starting to wear out.
I could not see any movement in the stud itself, but is it possible that it's not completely seated in the hole, or that the nut has worked loose? If not, then the ball-and-socket are worn enough that it's allowing that in-and-out movement you mentioned.

Any rotational movement is excessive, but it's practically unavoidable with these setups. Just the nature of the beast when you mount a draglink in a vertical orientation like this retrofit forces us to do.
It's just that when the rod ends are brand new and super tight, you don't see much, if any of it. But once they start to wear, you see this extra rotational movement beginning with any transition from left to right.

The only true cure for this that I can think of is for someone to make a custom passenger side rod end where the mounting hole area for the draglink is angled upward at more like a 45° angle like the stock Ford stuff was. When built like that, you don't see any real excessive rotation until the rod ends are practically worn out.

The Ruff-Stuff "Cure" is really a Band-Aid, so to speak, but it can definitely help.

Paul

You're right on the money Paul, when I first installed the set up last summer I was over the moon...it really tightened things up and was a major improvement over stock.
Fast-forward a year later and maybe 3000 miles tops and things have noticeably loosened.

The stud is snug in its hole and the nut is tight as well, I appreciate the info and confirmation that any in and out movement pretty much means that drag link end is FUBAR. I am going to replace it with a premium Moog or NAPA part along with the Delrin washer and see if that nets me some more service life.
The drag-link end is cheap enough to replace but man when I first received the kit and held those parts in my hands and saw the actual size of them versus the stock ford ones I thought I would never be changing one again!
Oh well, the shop is the coolest place to be in this heatwave and I slopped the threads with anti-seize...could always be worse.

 

[TonyPDX]

This is an interesting issue.... when I did my TRO I bought the Parts Master brand from Baxter's in Portland. When I opened the boxes I found some were Moog parts and some were not. I went back and they let me look through the boxes to find all Moog parts for my and my friends truck. I think I have had them on for about ten years with no issues. I am running the f150 box so the angle on the drag link is pretty low.

Keep us posted.