Bent tie rod

[PuckawidgeePete]

Hi there,
Was out checking some stock in the Def90 (MY15) and drove over a large rock hidden in the tall grass:D!! Was in first gear so only moving slow but still managed to bend the tie rod and snapped off the aluminium guard that the rod sits in. Luckily had a solid APT bash plate fitted so could have been far worse. OK to drive but will replace. What should a tie rod cost?
Pete

[weeds]

$220 from APT....plus freight

An OEM one would be pretty cheap i thought

[POD]

Much cheaper to straighten it.

[JDNSW]

Yes, but very difficult to get perfectly straight, and any slight bend makes it a lot weaker. John

[MLD]

Much cheaper to straighten it.

and weld a length of angle on it. Won't ever bend again and the flat sides make adjustment a breeze. (and yes it might be illegal in some States but so are most modifications in a strict sense).

[PAT303]

Run a standard one,they are designed to bend.If you get a stronger ''improved'' one you can bull the tie rod end socket off the ball which will leave you stranded at best,at worse you will crash.LR designed it weak for a reason. Pat

[weeds]

Run a standard one,they are designed to bend.If you get a stronger ''improved'' one you can bull the tie rod end socket off the ball which will leave you stranded at best,at worse you will crash.LR designed it weak for a reason. Pat



I don't reckon it was designed as a weak point......

[PAT303]

I don't reckon it was designed as a weak point......

It was designed as a weak point because LR engineers new from experience that it'll get snagged sooner or later,best idea is to make it weaker so it'll give way but still give steering.This has been done to death on here,a mate was stuck in the Vic high country with a pulled tie rod end in his RRC,another stuck at Wedderburn,I bent two and got home both times.Having a sacrificial part has been in English engineering for a long time. Pat

[weeds]

It was designed as a weak point because LR engineers new from experience that it'll get snagged sooner or later,best idea is to make it weaker so it'll give way but still give steering.This has been done to death on here,a mate was stuck in the Vic high country with a pulled tie rod end in his RRC,another stuck at Wedderburn,I bent two and got home both times.Having a sacrificial part has been in English engineering for a long time. Pat



Fair enough.....I have never found a reference re: weak points by design by land rover. Any chance you can list the designed weak points across the range of land rovers, it'd be handy to know.

I run upgraded after bending two OEM.....haven't bent one since, I used to carry my OEM as a spare for many years but ended up leaving it at home

In all the perentie that used to come through the workshop the only bent ones were OEM...the upgraded ones never bent nor seemed to damage anything else.

I've never seen a tie pull its thread, not saying it doesn't happen

I guess the OP will make a choice either way.

Oh, have had to weld some angle and flat bar to many OEM tie rods to get cars home.

[POD]

I've only bent them twice but taking it off and straightening it using a tree stump for an anvil has got things sorted. Don't think I'd ever bother fitting a stronger one.

[rangieman]

I have bent one and just removed it and found a suitable tree and just belt it against the tree where the bend is.
It is interesting how straight you can get them in the bush .
Since the one and only bent one i have gone heavy duty .
I have seen Nissota`s bend them and they are supposed to be strong ;).
Weak points or a fuse in engineering i get but sorry i make my car stronger where ever i can and that includes diff`s , axles , transmission , steering , brakes , suspension , body armour and so as do plenty of others;)

[PuckawidgeePete]

Thanks to all for replies. I definitely think they were designed to bend to save further damage to steering but I was amazed at just how little force was needed to put it seriously out of whack. Must have nudged that rock in just the right spot as I was crawling along in first gear high range as the grass is very tall here this spring. Have straighten it so now driveable and will replace. Just checking what the OEM bar costs but the APT bar looks like the go. Just have to figure out how to switch off the DSC light which now constantly stays on.
Pete

[PAT303]

Buy parts from the UK,much cheaper. Pat

[MLD]

Buy parts from the UK,much cheaper. Pat

postage is the killer. I bought a door skin for GBP 86 and paid GPB 95 for the courier. The FX is not as good as it was a few years back. For some items, when postage is taken into account, it's not far off parity to locally sourced.

[PAT303]

I paid $500 for my winch bar from the UK posted to Newman,the same bar in Oz was $650 for the bar plus $220 postage from Perth. Pat

[DiscoMick]

I find buying from the UK you basically have to double the price to convert to dollars and then double it again for freight, as a rule of thumb, if it has any weight or is bulky.

[PAT303]

I find buying from the UK you basically have to double the price to convert to dollars and then double it again for freight, as a rule of thumb, if it has any weight or is bulky.

You might try reading my post,I got a winch bar posted to my door in Newman for less than the retail price in Oz ;). I bought my Tdi's heater matrix from the UK last year,$52 delivered,buying one in Oz, $405 without delivery. Pat

[jimr1]

Over the years I've straitened tie rods from Land Rovers , Range Rovers and Discos . They tend to bend from the middle in a nice arch . I find the best way is use the tow ball , they fit just nice in there as a pivot point . I recon I can get them as strait as is posable doing it this way . If I can I get the biggest bloke around to give me a hand !!.. Jim

[Grappler]

I bent the tie-rod on my 2012 130, during some extreme winching. We were pulling stumps and had the front wheels chocked against a low rock wall.
My "assistant", who was standing on the brakes, let the wheel go full lock.
After suceeding pulling the tree stump, I noticed the steering had become a little vague. I finally took a look over the steering/suspension and the tie rod was bent (see pic)

Ive straightened in my workshop press, and the steering is good, but intend to replace it, most likely with a standard rod.
From what Ive read here, I may have had some serious damage to more expensive components, if the rod had not "sacrificed"

[goingbush]

Its the worst part about the LandRover live axle coiler design,

However You can buy a cranked rod from Rockware USA
http://goingbush.com/defer/tr4.jpg




The Salisbury front end is even worse because the rod is cranked (lower ) under the diff .

https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/64422369_2270442159704228_1864197453515849728_o.jp g?_nc_cat=100&_nc_eui2=AeED_yVc_VniOE_pSsbuXZ4qOJL8yTD8tsLEVC0_t WjmKY8EEhuUJPoZD0GCCme8kunYsWif-dT81mujsPGCvQBTt3ci5O7OXoy1LwWcesvGQg&_nc_ht=scontent-syd2-1.xx&oh=8113f80f0cd6a4d8e72e396d68358436&oe=5D855C60


Im building a special front end , cutting both axle tubes & rotating the diff downward so that its level, (how it should have been from factory ) and will be cranking the rod so that it goes up over the top of the diff nose.

[Red90]

The rods are made of cheese. Putting in a stronger one will not hurt anything. Or put a guard over it.

[rick130]

The rods are made of cheese. Putting in a stronger one will not hurt anything. Or put a guard over it.

This ^

A good mate was an ex-LRA engineer and when I first bought my old 130 18 years ago he said the first thing to do is either sleeve the existing tie rod and drag link or fit Maxi-Drive HD ones and ditch the ridiculous channel under the diff. There were a number of things like that they couldn't get Solihull to change, despite repeated requests from here.
The JRA built Perenties ran sleeved tie rods