HD track rods and sterring rods?

[curtis]

Cro-mo? Stainless? Well, I guess I could see the point in the corrosion-resistant stainless, but c'mon guys, we are not talking about anything more than impact resistance here. IOW - how hard will that boulder hit my track rod? Material thickness is going to play a much larger role than what version of steel you run. The stock paper-thin stuff works great for torsional stiffness so really anything thick and straight will do.

For the record, I run Marc Olivares' "Red Rock" steering rods. They are thick and they are made of some sort of steel. If I ever bend one I will be sure to ask what version of steel he used

 

[JSQ]

Kristian told me his RTEs weren't so stainless.
Kinda corroded a bunch.
Not the end of the world but sort of dissappointing.

 

[GregH]

LOL

Jack, stainless is essential for the highly corrosive environment in Southern California. Kristian ever heard of galvanic corrosion? Read here:

http://www.azom.com/details.asp?articleID=1177

Besides, after I add the GBR blingflanges I'll be the King o' Bling!

damned peyronies disease Rockware rods...

 

[RVRSRVC]

RTE uses 303 stainless for the track rods

 

[Eric N.]

I've been happy with the RTE 1.25" stainless track and cross rods. I figure I deserve the stress if I ever manage to bend those. Also, the genuine rod ends are plenty beefy and are probably still the fusible link. Do not buy the aftermarket "allmakes" "britpart" rod ends as they are lightweight "nyloc nut" crap.

My 2 cents-

See avitar... You can bend them.. Little stupidity is all it takes. However, even with that bend in them there was still enough thread on the tie rods ends to set my toe correctly and they still worked great on the 3 hour drive home at 75 mph.. Just make sure that you put a pin or piece of wire in that nut on the tie rod end before you get back to camp.. Don't plan on doing it at camp, do it right then and there if you have to take them off. Ask me how I know..

 

[bri]

Eric,

How did you bend back, my has a very minor bow in the track rod and it is the RTE one.

 

[Eric N.]

I didn't.. I bought two new ones and now have a spare along with spare tie rod ends just incase. I gave it to a friend and I think some of the guys at his shop tried to bend it back with no luck.. A slight bow is nothing. Mine had a slight bow in it for a long time before I really messed it up. I would just leave it alone and keep on using it. I personally think that those RTE bars are one of the best mods that I have on my truck....


Oh, and it took some real darwinism on my part to bend it like that too.. Not like I just bumped into something. I had to put my dunce hat on to pull that one off.

 

[D Chapman]

I used a 1.5" piece of 4140 on the rear link and a piece if 1.25" SS on the front link. Those off-set tie rods are pretty sweet though.

 

[bri]

That Rockware bowed up BS ? Man that aint styling.......

I contemplated that. Know some guys running them. However, I have never bent mine where they bow up.

 

[bri]

I didn't.. I bought two new ones and now have a spare along with spare tie rod ends just incase. I gave it to a friend and I think some of the guys at his shop tried to bend it back with no luck.. A slight bow is nothing. Mine had a slight bow in it for a long time before I really messed it up. I would just leave it alone and keep on using it. I personally think that those RTE bars are one of the best mods that I have on my truck....


Oh, and it took some real darwinism on my part to bend it like that too.. Not like I just bumped into something. I had to put my dunce hat on to pull that one off.

Arg. Mine is bowed slightly. I would like to get it straight.

Oh well.

 

[Andrew Homan]

Well just found out chromoly rod blanks are $2 an inch before the threads are machined. so looks like I will purchase rather than build. Thanks again for advice!

 

[curtis]

Well just found out chromoly rod blanks are $2 an inch before the threads are machined. so looks like I will purchase rather than build. Thanks again for advice!

I ask again: why cro-mo? Just use regular American-bred mild steel. The strength is in the thinckness - not in the material. When you consider how long the rod is in proportion to the diameter and compare it to an impact point the type of steel used means little. Shit is gonna bend if you are slamming rocks.

Now, I guess if you used a Ti rod you might get better impact resistance, but the problem then becomes breakage. At that thickness Ti will not flex. Matter of fact , this applies to any material "stronger" than steel. Sometimes a little forgiving is a good thing. Better to have a rod bend than break...

 

[RVRSRVC]

I know how Eric knows how to bend 'em like that!
I like to think that it was a group effort, although the winch did most of the work!
We weren't able to straighten it, although we have straightened other RTE bars, so we cut it up and used it on a Defender, as they use short bars.

 

[Eric N.]

Thanks Trevor, but, that was all my fault from the get go.. I'll take full blame on that one.

 

[Kyle]

Curtis , Chromo strength compared to mild steel is not even in the same zip code. The Chromo comes back , the mild steel just stay bent..

 

[Andrew Homan]

Kyle, which ones do you run or suggest?

 

[Kyle]

Well its pretty simple really. Just like the hitch thread . The rods are going to hit at some point. Its silly to think that a hollow tube is better then a solid alloy bar. Once the tube is bent to a certain point it buckles and thats that. You will have to weld something to it to get off the trail in tact. The RTE rods are solid , clean and very useable after being bent to shit. I run the RTE rods even though I could make my own hollow links no fuss no muss..

 

[bri]

Hey Kyle, is it worth the effort to attempt to fix a slight bow in an RTE track rod?

 

[Kyle]

Its worth the effort to realign the front end and keep rolling. Put that bow up and you can have a Rockware ish rod Ask Ax how his is doing .........