Man, tonight was the 4th one I bent. The first three wer doing boosted launches and now this one is from a little off roading. I mean it seems that the OBS 1/2 tons had bigger tie rods than my 02 HD...:wtf1:
I ordered some SD sleeves three weeks ago, but there still not in (come on Super Diesel!!, Im goin through these things like they were twigs:D )
I dont know if its the green keys or what, but it seems that a "HD" truck should have "HD" parts.

...oh well, im through with my :rant:

You didn't learn your lesson the first time? SD is probably swamped with orders & is busy making them, good things are worth the wait.

While your waiting on them stick to the street.

Funnily enough I don't think this a real issue with un-modded dealer stock trucks. Maybe they're not as tough as they should be but beatin' on them as many of us do are bound to take their toll.

them puny things REEK of appology, to say they are from a 3/4 hd is pitifull , that is pure bulls@#$t. those are the same diameter tie rod ends as 1/2 ton trucks that are to small for them, I sleeved mine for know, but will probobly go with Bulletproof,s custome made heim joint ends. by the way call Merchant Automotive (Eric) he has some sleeves for you

If you think the tie-rods are small, wait to you see how dinky the balljoints are when you have to replace...

Tim

The solution...

http://blitzkriegoffroad.com/products/hdtierods.htm

If I go that route, i would much rather go with cognito of bulletproof. Their straight, not bent, and to me, look stronger

Just got my SD sleves in the mail...they must be back in stock!!

Rod ends (heims) are a horrible idea for any vehicle that is daily driven, stick with TRE's...and the stock tie rod ends are plenty strong enough. Using a grade 8 bolt in single shear (in a tapered hole no-less) is also a very bad idea. It may work for circle track cars, but not one ton 4wd trucks...the joints also get replaced every race on those cars/race trucks too.

:exactly: I totally agree with braxton357.

Just another thing GM does to save a buck, they cant be a beefy piece of metal cause thats expensive. Imagine what our trucks would be like if it cost GM as much as we are paying :)

From the failure pics I've seen, they are strong enough, since they are not breaking. The bending rods are technically buckling. The way to stop the buckling is by sleeving. Then you keep the rod strength and the sealed ball-joints.

Heim joints won't last long in the nasty environment of the wheel wells. You also want to make good and sure, they don't use harder steel which is more likely to brittle fracture or fatigue crack.

Why did GM make tie-rods a pice of crap! (http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?p=632713#post632713)

So that the aftermarket could stay in business.:lol:

They finally came in, Im sure he was just backed up. The one that bent was a moog so I wonder if I can get a warranty exchange- dosent moog have a lifetime warranty on their products. Also, if I take my truck to get the front end alligned in the future will I have to take them off?