How to straighten a bent tie rod/drag link?

[Smokeater11]

Almost a year ago I hit what I assume was a stump in a mud hole and bent my main tie rod bar a little. Recently I have noticed a little more slop in my steering so I had my dad turn the wheel back and forth while I looked for issues. I noticed that my drag link would push my tie rod bar downward before it would move it right or left. I also noticed that my actual tie rod was starting to wear out so I'm gonna replace that. What I need to know is how to straighten the rest of that bar. It's not bent severely but it is noticably bent upward and inwards toward the frame around where the center link attaches. First thing that crossed my mind was a porta-power but I don't want to do more damage. Also is there anyway to replace the center link without buying a new draglink?

 

[needabronco]

Do a search for 'chevy 1 ton tie rod conversion'. They are cheaper and stronger than the factory Ford stuff. Use .250" wall DOM and have a machine shop tap the tube directly. You'll end up with a much stronger and more trail freindly steering setup.

 

[DirtDonk]

Unfortunately, it doesn't take much to bend the stock stuff. The good news in that though, is that you shouldn't need anything as strong as a Port-a-Power to straighten it either.
I'm not sure what exactly you're saying in some of those sentences though. Do you have pics you can post up? Is your draglink bent too?
Are you saying too, that the short end of your tie-rod is loose and needs replacing, but the long end (the bent one, presumably?) is not loose?

I can understand budget fixes, if you don't need to replace anything, but like needabronco was saying, if you have to replace too much of the old stuff, you're getting dangerously close to wasting money that could go towards the beefier setups.
You think you might be getting close to that point? Or can you get away with just replacing the one short rod end and simply straightening everything else?

Paul

 

[Smokeater11]

Paul you are correct. The small replacable end of the tie rod needs to be replaced and the longer portion of it is what is bent. The joint where the drag link connects to the main part of the tie rod is also questionable but I can't tell if it needs replacing or if what movement I'm seeing is due to the bar being bent. If i can get the bar staight and the tie rod end replaced I think I'll be fine. I just need to figure out how to straighten the bar without weakening it. Should I take it off and heat it up and bend it back or is there a better method?

I have been looking into the TRO but it's just not in the budget right now. Plus I understand that it creates a clearance issue with 15'' wheels which is all I have.

 

[DirtDonk]

I'm not sure if heating it is better than just bending it cold, like what happened in the first place. Each time I've done it, it was done cold and quick. Well, almost quick.
First time was a big prybar between the differential and the bar. Next time it was with a Hi-Lift jack and a chain.

Depending on which way it's bent, can you just stick a floor jack under it? Or anchor it down while you lift the truck? Or wedge something between it and the axle housing?
Which was is it bent anyway! You probably said already, but I wasn't paying attention.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Oh, and I hear what you're saying too, about not weakening it any more. And the methods I spoke of can conceivably put some stress on the rod ends themselves. I don't worry about the bar so much, but you definitely don't want to bugger an end while you're straightening the bar!
Not sure it's actually a problem in your case though. Depends on which way you have to pull/push I guess.

Paul

 

[Smokeater11]

OK, Imagine you're sitting on a stool looking into the DS wheel well looking down the length of the bar towards the PS tire. If the ground is 6 o'clock and the frame is 12 o'clock the bar is bent upwards at about a 2 o'clock angle in the area where the drag link attaches to the bar. So if I leave it on the truck I will have to pull it downward at about and 8 o'clock angle to get it straight. There's no way I'd attempt to do that unless the short end of the tie rod has been changed out already. BTW, the DS end of the tie rod does not appear to have any abnormal movement or wear just the PS replaceable end.

 

[jpopsbronco]

did you consider something like this to keep costs down?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Tie-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

[Smokeater11]

did you consider something like this to keep costs down?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Tie-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Thanks for the link jpops but that tie rod end is for the 76-77 front end with the inverted Y steering set up. I can get a replacement tie rod end for about the same price locally, I'm just trying to figure out how to straighten this bar.

 

[broncnaz]

A 2x4 and pry bar will work fine. or maybe a bottle jack and 2x4 up under the front crossmember to push it down. I've done it before and ran the tie rod for about 15 more years before the tie rod ends got worn. If your running a front locker then it might bend a little easier and a new one may be needed. but if your open diff I wouldnt worry about it.

 

[jpopsbronco]

No problem I know your trying to straighten it but I'm persistent http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/pts/1978111678.html
I know hes not close to you but just pointing out he has your style and not bent stuff for 50 near me. I know your going to straighten yours.. I just ran across it on craigslist and though hell, might as well post it. Maybe some guy in your area has same thing for same price.. Never know ;D

Gotta have a plan b if it breaks when you try to bend it back!:-X

 

[gearida]

I have bent tie rods only for a replacement or to get me back home. They tend to be more fraigle after the first bend. Don't forget to have it realigned.

 

[zeeman1]

last time i bent mine it was on the trail. I wrapped a strap around it and ran it to the rig in front of me. Got some momentum going backwards till the strap stopped me and it bent it right back into place. Odds are slim of this working just right, but it worked for me.

Just an idea.

 

[Smokeater11]

After some more thought and pondering I remembered my dad has a hurricane anchor buried in the ground beside of his driveway. He uses it along with a big chain to secure their mowing trailer when it's not hooked up to the truck. Due to the way my bar was bent I needed something solid that was at ground level to pull against and this seemed to fit the bill. So I wrapped the chain around the bar on the PS of where the drag link attaches and had my dad back the truck up and pull again the anchor. Two quick gentle tugs and the bar straightened back out to almost perfect. I can still see just a little bend in it but it's not nearly as bad as it was. Once I get the tie rod end changed out I might try and see if I can get it any better before I try and reset the alignment. It literally took longer to get the truck positioned right and hook up the chain then it did to fix the bend. All in all I'm pretty happy with the results. As always thank you guys for the helpful advice.

 

[Oatmeal]

I've bent mine too many times to remember I've used my winch and a snatch block to straighten(?) it before, taken it off and stuck it in a reciever hitch and and pushed and pulled it back, beat on it (off the vehicle) with a two pound sledge (once we took my buddy'd tie rod off on the Rubicon and used the hand rail at that pump house(?) at the trail head to bend his back into shape) but, once they're bent it won't take much to bend them again. Last time I bought a new tie rod and promptly cut the end off and sleeved it with some heavy wall DOM tubing angle cut the ends where I welded it back together as well as several plug welds along the length......better but still vulnerable to trail obstacles. Going with TRO using Chevy stuff next time------------Hans