Seized up tie rods

[tom4bren]

Rick,

It doesn't look like the spacer serves any purpose. Can you even get the cotter pin back in with it like that?

BTW, I ended up getting the OME shocks from Indy. I've been very happy with them. They are not adjustable but are set up for a nice mix of on/off road use. They are about the same price as Rancho's so it's really just a choice of whether you want the adjustable feature or not. I decided that I'd never change them once set so the adjustable feature would be lost on me. The OME are progressive so they are kinda light on the smaller bumps and get stiffer on the larger.

Tom

[VXRick]

Rick,

It doesn't look like the spacer serves any purpose. Can you even get the cotter pin back in with it like that?

BTW, I ended up getting the OME shocks from Indy. I've been very happy with them. They are not adjustable but are set up for a nice mix of on/off road use. They are about the same price as Rancho's so it's really just a choice of whether you want the adjustable feature or not. I decided that I'd never change them once set so the adjustable feature would be lost on me. The OME are progressive so they are kinda light on the smaller bumps and get stiffer on the larger.

Tom

I need the spacer or the pin will sit too high above castle nut. I read some old post last night and a couple people describe the same thing I have. The bearing rod is smaller than the stock therefore travels to far into tapered housing leaving very little room for boot/grease and movement. It seems a few others have installed them so I just want to find out if theirs was done the same way as mine, before I start driving it.

Thanks for the knowledge on the Shocks Tom!

[BigSwede]

I can't see your pics here at "work", but from your description you have it right. The tie rods that Indy4x came up with for the HD tie rod system are for an old Ford pickup, and while the taper is correct they are too long without the spacer.

Not sure what you mean by "large rubber bushings" though. Are you referring to the dust boot? If so, it just kind of squishes down over the top of the joint to keep dirt out of the joint.