ever bend a tierod?

trying to get a few more trips in the van before xmas. hooked up the heater yestarday and went for a drive. other than needing a hotter thermostat, all was good so i went to gas station before returning home. traffic backed up at light so i jumped the curb to get in gas station. felt funny turning it around and while filling, i noticed front tire looked low and was leaning a little. i proceeded to squeeze in every drop of gas i could so i could use it today. pulled out to come home and knew something was wrong. only half block from house so i limped and screached home at about 2 m.p.h. this is what i found i never saw one bend like that before. advance and autozone dont stock it. rock auto lists an inner and an outer. i need a passenger side/left. is that outer? was hoping to walk in somewhere and buy it but if i must order it, i at least want the right one.

meant to put that in g van. can it be moved?

i believe the only difference between right and left tie rod is the threading...one is right hand the other left hand..

moog part numbers ES350L AND ES370R..see if your local store can do a cross reference search..

Mine were bent when I got the van.

If an alignment shop uses a torch to heat up the threaded joint to make adjustment after they have been there for years, that can make then soft. Also there has been alot of cheep a$$ made in china crap around for longer then most people know.

I didn't notice mine at first but after stareing at photos like this one I noticed looking straight down the tie rod you can see the end joint is not in line because it is bent. you have to click on the picture to se the whole thing.




M1D

Quite the carnage!

m1dadio, are you running with rack&pinion power steering?

Not to thread jack here, but I'm looking to tighten up my steering at highway speeds. Are the tie-rods a good place to start? Are there parts in this area that can get worn out and need to be replaced for better steering? I am not sure if this is just the way it is with these old van's steering setup or if it's something that can be tuned up to be tighter. Right now it can get to feeling like the van itself is drunk.

cculella wrote:Not to thread jack here, but I'm looking to tighten up my steering at highway speeds. Are the tie-rods a good place to start? Are there parts in this area that can get worn out and need to be replaced for better steering? I am not sure if this is just the way it is with these old van's steering setup or if it's something that can be tuned up to be tighter. Right now it can get to feeling like the van itself is drunk.

The drag link between the steering gear and the knuckle... took a lot of slop out of mine! Plus I don't think they are made anymore, where tie rods have probably been replaced several times.

the drag link is still available...dang expensive though...i have found them from $192-350 bucks depending on which auto store you go to...oreilly gets theirs from rare parts $347...

cculella, tie rod ends are a good start, kingpins and bushings as well, then the drag link, then the steering box....there is an old thread on rebuilding the steering box...the rebuild is easy ...getting it out is a bit of a pain...also you have to find an old school front end shop that knows how to set up a straight front axle...

Anybody got a part number or details about which drag link I would need? Can the drag link be replaced without removing the steering box?

I found these threads.
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t20478-steering-box-rebuild?highlight=steering+box

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t14506-steering-stabilizer?highlight=steering+box

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t5145-serious-play-in-my-steering?highlight=steering+box

I watch donivans video early this year and rebuilt my steering box, easy nothing was worn out...made a gasket out of gasket material and steering works great...what I discovered was the steering gear lube had gotten to the point it was like paste....probably the most overlooked maintenance part of our old vans....if you have the van manual it goes into detail on how to set the preload on the steering gear box..
Thanks again donivan !

just afew coments:
You are talking about a suspention and steering system designed in or around 1796 by an American stage coach opperator and designer. But thats a history lesson we will avoid today. Two solid axles on four leafsprings, i mean come on can you get more primitive then that?The only real improvment on it in 2 hundred years is pnumatic tires.

In order for these vans to drive rasonably well all the steering parts and the king pins need to be in excelent condition. More then that the wheel alignment needs to be correct. That can't be understated. if the alignment is out the van will act "Drunk" more then worn parts. You also need to look at the leaf springs and especialy the leaf spring bushings and shakles. Also bent parts need to be changed for straight parts, Yes you can adjust a bent tierod to correct the toe in and it will drive in a straight line but it will not steer correctly on turns as the inner and outer steering wheels will not be able to maintain their relative track angle to each other.

My power steering is not Rack and pinion,it is a home design using the valve and assistance piston from a 69 Mercury Couger.There is a big post on it somewhere here.

that is a good vidio, thank you Don

M1D