Little mishap with the D90 on the weekend

[Leroy_Riding]

So I had a bit of a mishap with the little D90 on the weekend. .
while beeing winched out backward my drag link must have gotten caught on something and my friends negated to tell me -_-

this has resulted in my tires pointin oposite directions!
I threw the tree trunk protector around the drag link there wrapped it around a ew times and winched it back as straight as I could to drive to some flat ground were I used the bottle jack and a high lift to get my tires back straight.

now Im no bush mechanic but I think I did a pretty good job for a young 22 year old kid ;)

that said I will be needing a new drag link. . what is my best option here?
is there a beefier aftermarket option I should be going with? and what sort of coin am I up for? and who should I be buying it from?

with aftermarket ones will I need new tie rod ends aswell?

its a 2012 Defender 90

thanks
(photos up when I can get them loaded)

Leroy

[Leroy_Riding]

well, fixed myself up.
British ofroad OEM part $70.40c
that should get me out of trouble for now untill I save up for the Terrafirma upgrade kit for $428 :)

[weeds]

there is a couple of different views whether you should upgrade or just run the standard drag link..........

i bent two standard drag links before i fitted a heavy duty one, haven't had a problem since, i do carry the standard drag link as a spare.

some will say if you have heavy duty drag something else will break upstream i.e steering box

[Leroy_Riding]

I jsut realised I may have orderd the wrong bit. .

i thinkits the Track rod I need. . can anyone confirm. .

the bar behind the Diff that runs from left wheel to right wheel?
its the Track rod isnt it not the drag link?

british offroad is going to give me a call back to soon to confirm Ive ordered the correct part.

thanks

[weeds]

yes i can never remember which is which name wise.......

i was talking about the one behind the diff.........

i have bent the front one once as well

[Leroy_Riding]

to confusing for somone like me haha,
ill make sure I confirm with the guys at british offroad, see if they can order both and I just buy the one I need maybe? haha

[Drover]

Do you mean the Panhard Rod ? That's the one in front of the diff and steering rods are behind.

Not sure where the drag link is:wasntme:

http://www.sydney4x4accessories.com/12-steering-rods

[Judo]

Drag link is in front of the diff and is what steers the wheels when you turn the steering wheel. Panard rod is also in front of the diff and connects the chassis to the diff. The track rod connects between left and right wheels behind the diff.

[goingbush]

you bent your tie rod aka track rod.

its the bar that goes between your wheels behind the axle,

the drag link is on the front between the pitman arm/steering box and left wheel.
the panhard rod goes between the chassis and diff housing.



ive never bent a drag link (except on a tractor) bent plenty of track rods

cant see much value in a heavy duty track rod, you will still hit it and bend it but will never straighten it, if it dosent bend you will destroy something else, eg tie rod end.

the best solution is an offset track rod, its up out of the way & you can never bend it.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/11/166.jpg

Rock Ware -- EE -- Expedition Exchange Incorporated (http://www.expeditionexchange.com/rockware/)

[Leroy_Riding]

Yeah was the Track/tie rod and is on order from the great fellows at British offroad for $70 and I orderd the new bracket aswel as mine got bent.

im starting to agree that a heavy duty may be a bad idea, as using a tree trunk protector and winch I was able to bend the track rod back to near straight with relative ease :)

I do however like the idea of the offset one above though. . .

[manic]

the best solution is an offset track rod, its up out of the way & you can never bend it.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/11/166.jpg

Rock Ware -- EE -- Expedition Exchange Incorporated (http://www.expeditionexchange.com/rockware/)

The protector mounted on the diff housing, as shown in the pic above is the best start! It effectively doubles the strength of your standard rod . I'm not sure that an aftermarket track rod with bends in it would pass a roadworthy?

This part is an effective solution and cheap!
http://www.boab.biz/acatalog/trackrod-protector.JPG


I think it actually has a land rover part number, can't find it though.

Its going for £1.50 on this site!
CLEARANCE & SALE ITEMS (http://www.boab.biz/acatalog/Clearance.html#a425)


Edit: I said protector but more like a movement limiter, it only allows the rod to be pushed forward or backwards a small fraction before being supported in the center by the bracket/axle.

[DeanoH]

yes i can never remember which is which name wise.......

i was talking about the one behind the diff.........

i have bent the front one once as well

I know what you mean...........................the drag link is the 'rod' that goes from the steering box to the LHS wheel and 'drags' the wheel across. The 'tie rod' ties both wheels together so that they point in the same direction, unless of course when it's bent. ;) Also known as a 'track rod' as its length adjustment alters the 'track' of the vehicle (distance between the wheels) to set the toe in/toe out for correct steering geometry. :)

My tie rod used to look like this.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/11/162.jpg

The red rod is a straight edge.

My new tie rod looks like this :D

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/11/163.jpg

My new drag link looks like this

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/11/164.jpg

They came as a kit from Roverlord on this site. Good value and heaps stronger than the original.

Deano :)

[goingbush]

My God- (If there is a god) look at that sway bar :eek:, why dont you get rid of that horrible thing - how the hell can you go four wheel driving with the links hanging down that low. Surely thats not how they are meant to be.

have I been asleep the last 20 years ??

That would be going straight on the nature strip if it was on my car.

btw, I can understand bending a drag link ( the front shiny one) in a river crossing, but otherwise you'd have to be blind to bend one.

[goingbush]

The protector mounted on the diff housing, as shown in the pic above is the best start! It effectively doubles the strength of your standard rod . I'm not sure that an aftermarket track rod with bends in it would pass a roadworthy?

a lot more roadworthy than the original. the only issue is its a pain to adjust the toe out as you have to press out a TRE and adjust a full turn at a time.

[Blknight.aus]

remembering which rod is which..

the steering box Drags one tyre in the direction you want to go by the Drag rod, the other wheel is Tied to the first by the tie rod.

you can safely strenghten the Tie rod, I do not reccomend uprating the Drag rod as this is essentially the fusible link between the wheels and the steering box.

I also don't recommend getting the bendy tie rods.

[goingbush]

<snip>

I also don't recommend getting the bendy tie rods.

Why ?? , apart from it being a pain to adjust toe out.

[DeanoH]

My God- (If there is a god) look at that sway bar :eek:, why dont you get rid of that horrible thing - how the hell can you go four wheel driving with the links hanging down that low. Surely thats not how they are meant to be.

have I been asleep the last 20 years ??

That would be going straight on the nature strip if it was on my car.

btw, I can understand bending a drag link ( the front shiny one) in a river crossing, but otherwise you'd have to be blind to bend one.


You are absolutely correct. :)

And yes. It does look like this. Unless the previous owner has removed it and mounted it upside down. :wasntme:

Last week after 6 months of very hard labour I have finally got my roadworthy and have transfered the rego. Now I can safely remove the horrible above mentioned suspension nobbling anti sway bar. There's a real good chance the rear bar will go the same way. :D

The only bit that didn't fit with the new tie rod was the original 'bend limiting' bracket that goes under the diff. the new tie rod is too thick for it, but it shouldn't be too hard to make a 'wider' one.

Deano :)

[DeanoH]

Why ?? , apart from it being a pain to adjust toe out.


When I was looking at replacing my tie rod I thought the cranked tie rod was a brilliant solution, certainly more robust than the original factory one. Does it have the same sex TRE's and if so why ?, or is it that one complete turn is too much adjustment to set the toe out correctly ?

In the end I bought the pretty gold ones as the kit (drag link, tie rod & TRE's) was readily available and delivered in Oz cheaper than the US cranked tie rod & TRE kit (not including delivery). But I do think the cranked tie rod is a better solution.

Deano :)

[Dockstrada]

My God- (If there is a god) look at that sway bar :eek:, why dont you get rid of that horrible thing - how the hell can you go four wheel driving with the links hanging down that low. Surely thats not how they are meant to be.

have I been asleep the last 20 years ??

That would be going straight on the nature strip if it was on my car.

btw, I can understand bending a drag link ( the front shiny one) in a river crossing, but otherwise you'd have to be blind to bend one.

the links have been inverted , this is what they should look like .
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/11/157.jpg

[uninformed]

Since you are in Brisbane, give M R Automotive a call and price their Maxidrive HD drag link and track rod. Im sure they will be close to the UK stuff, easily as good if not better. The clamping of the TRE on these is a better design than most UK HD types.

Get some decent TRE's if yours are no good. Either way, drill and tap them for a grease nipple if they dont already have.

[goingbush]

<snip>
Last week after 6 months of very hard labour I have finally got my roadworthy and have transfered the rego. Now I can safely remove the horrible above mentioned suspension nobbling anti sway bar. There's a real good chance the rear bar will go the same way. :D


Deano :)

why, my vehicle has been thru 2 roadworthys ( change of ownership)
has both sway bars removed , and quite obviuos the mounting points are still there and no one blinked an eyelid.



When I was looking at replacing my tie rod I thought the cranked tie rod was a brilliant solution, certainly more robust than the original factory one. Does it have the same sex TRE's and if so why ?, or is it that one complete turn is too much adjustment to set the toe out correctly ?

In the end I bought the pretty gold ones as the kit (drag link, tie rod & TRE's) was readily available and delivered in Oz cheaper than the US cranked tie rod & TRE kit (not including delivery). But I do think the cranked tie rod is a better solution.

Deano :)

Genuine LR TRE's fit . LH thread one side RH thread other side.
One complete turn of the track rod is too much, taking a TRE out & turning it one turn is the same as turning the rod 1/2 a complete turn

[Leroy_Riding]

Ill just go with what ive ordered from British off-road this time.\
anyway quick shot of how it was before i attempted to straighten it.
http://imageshack.us/a/img255/9937/dsc0340c.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/255/dsc0340c.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img696/954/dsc0305vg.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/696/dsc0305vg.jpg/)

[goingbush]

oh..... the humility of being pulled out by a rice burner

[Leroy_Riding]

oh..... the humility of being pulled out by a rice burner
Don't get me started :(
normally its the Defender pulling everyone out with ease. . . though the only 2 times its been stuck its taken a snatch block on a 12000lb winch to get it out.
to be fair the winch did the pulling not the rice burner ;)