The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Tubular vs. Solid Tie Rod? Suggestions please.

I also got the ME455 tie rod for 55-59 truck from Jim Carter because (A) stronger than original and (B) my original tube one is bent.

Now, I called and asked about it because they sell the Tie rod and the Tie rod ends, but with the tubular Tie Rod, the Tie rod ends just screw in, but the ME 455 part didn't come with couplers. JC sez that its the wrong tie rod for this truck. But sounds a little odd to me since all the trucks use this type of screw in tie rod end.

So question - I can return it, or I could try to find the couplers - and I would druther find the couplers. Where would you look for that sort of thing?

Thans. Pix/link included. Also I laid the solid one down next to the tube one (still on truck) and it seems like the right length.

[img]http://home.attbi.com/~iarnstein/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-523135.html[/img]

http://home.attbi.com/~iarnstein/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-523135.html

I think the solid tie rod end you got is for the old type of ball-and-socket tie rod ends. You need a new tube.

I think you are right 4onthefloor. Here is another picture with the old tube rod removed and the new solid rod and new tie rod ends laid out. If I could get couplers, and cut the thing down, and still have enough threaded meat on the bar...maybe.

The bar diameter seems to be smaller than than the threaded bit.

Dog poop. Would have liked to get better. Oh well.

http://home.attbi.com/~iarnstein/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-523160.html

that last picture was too big, here is a resized one, old link now doesn't work.

[img]http://home.attbi.com/~iarnstein/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-523190.html[/img]

http://home.attbi.com/~iarnstein/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-523190.html

54 up takes the one-peice cast link. Maybe even from 52 I'm thinking now. Those adjustable ends are crap and hard to deal with later. They wear out too! I took my steering arms and pitman arm to a race car suspension place and they used new Chevy tie rod ends and both peices were tubes and could be adjusted. Really no reason to adjust the link, just that I didn't have the exact dimension at the time. These new ends are all tapered, that's why they had to work them, for the taper to match the new tie rod ends.

Irwin- I have a 57 and replaced the tie rod ends. My tie rod was OK. As GL said, you need the solid cast tie rod ends, basically a female thread, not male thread

Yeah, i ordered what they have for the 1 ton, so maybe, I will give them a call and see if they can measure the other tie rod ends to see if the shaft on the ball bit is the same diameter as the stock ones. Then I could return the 1 ton standards, and use the socket kind rather than the threaded kind that go into the tubular tie rod.