[DuramaXXXin]

Has anyone attempted to make there own tie rods with heim joints? I just priced the heim joints (4) and tie rods and was shocked at the price $330.00 with all of the hardware. Unfortunately I cannot use the Cognito tie rods or there pitmam and idler arm support because I have a full drop down kit (FTS) and no longer have the factory tie rod ends. Is it worth the money to make your own? Heims can be sloppy so I do not know if it will be worth the money? Mine are currently fine but I am getting ready to replace the pitman and idler arm and it made sense to do the tie rods as well.

Any suggestions from those who have made there own? worth it?

 

[Diesel-N-Dust]

You went to the wrong place, I have had heimed steering since my truck was lifted, I recently replaced my heims for $120. labor included.
Check out this site:
http://www.fkrodends.com/aboutus.html

 

[Diesel-N-Dust]

Oh, sorry I have the Third Cost kit. Whick is the same as Full Throttle, The heimed steering was a $300. upgrade, it is well worth it, I replaced all of them @ 70k and thet are cheap!

 

[DuramaXXXin]

I'll have to look into this, thanks. What type of metal is the tubing you have and what wall thickness? I wanted to make them out of chromolly, the wall is 1" thick and the threading is 3/4. The heims were heavy duty forgot the specs I just wasn't expecting to pay that much. Which heims did you go with from the site you posted?

 

[Diesel-N-Dust]

They are 5/8 x3/4 they are a direct replacement for the full-throttle kit. The Heims are cheap they were 20 bucks apiece. whick is a lot less than ball-joints. My last set lasted 70k.
If you are going to make your own a Chrome-moly tie rod will be plenty strong. It is not rocket science. I am sure you will make a kit every bit as strong

 

[DuramaXXXin]

Well if they lasted that long for you then it sounds like a wise investment. Figured I'd take care of all of the steering in one shot since I have to replace the pitman and idler arm. Thanks for your help!

 

[1TFROT]

if you make your own, a good choice would be something in a 1.5" OD with .120 wall.

my s10 is all custom and the steering stuff is 1.5" OD .120 wall DOM (pretty sure). it's strong as hell (its built for rockcrawlin)

my heims are 3/4-3/4 and a couple are 3/4-5/8 with hi-mis spacers. it was a DD for 3 years like this until I recently bought the d-max for a DD/towrig

make sure if you use heims for steering that you do 2 things......
1) mount a safety washer above the joint so it can't come completely apart and lose steering.
2) drill a hole close to the bottom of the stud and run a cotter pin through it. this will be the safety catch like a TRE has and the nut can't fall off.

hope that helps