Heavy Offroad Use = Frequent Inner Tie Rod Failures?

[Xtremluck]

For folks who like to frequent rough trails are you finding yourself replacing inner tie rods on a regular basis? It seems that just about every two years I start developing significant amounts of play in them to the point they need to be replaced. I'm starting to think it may be due to my suspension setup possibly contributing to premature failure.

My Current Setup:
King Extended Travel 2.5 Coilovers
Icon UCAs + Delta Joints
Stock LCAs
Durobump Bumpstops
285/70-17 Cooper ST Maxx tires

I recently discovered play on my 1.5 yr old driver side inner tie rod and was in a pinch so had to purchase an Oreilly branded tie rod for a quick fix before a trip. Did about 300 miles of rough trails over a week and the replacement tie rod is already shot. Thoughts?

 

[Jetboy]

Mine are still tight at 70k. Seems like frequent replacement.

Just thinking it through, wider tires with more offset would have more leverage and higher speeds would tend to do more damage to the joints. Heavier vehicle isn't ideal either. And the steering is kinda on the small side. I know the taco guys are swapping to a tundra based steering rack to run big tires without frequent issues. It might even fit in the 4runner. Not sure.

There shouldn't be much or any bump steer. So the lift probably wouldn't cause too much problem for the steering joints. Doesn't sound like you're at extreme angles. If you have any bump steer I'd take a close look at everything to see if anything is bent.

Lower pressure in the tires would help reduce the impact forces. Not sure what else you'd change. Aftermarket joints could be low quality. Not really sure what else though.

 

[Xtremluck]

Mine are still tight at 70k. Seems like frequent replacement.

Just thinking it through, wider tires with more offset would have more leverage and higher speeds would tend to do more damage to the joints. Heavier vehicle isn't ideal either. And the steering is kinda on the small side. I know the taco guys are swapping to a tundra based steering rack to run big tires without frequent issues. It might even fit in the 4runner. Not sure.

There shouldn't be much or any bump steer. So the lift probably wouldn't cause too much problem for the steering joints. Doesn't sound like you're at extreme angles. If you have any bump steer I'd take a close look at everything to see if anything is bent.

Lower pressure in the tires would help reduce the impact forces. Not sure what else you'd change. Aftermarket joints could be low quality. Not really sure what else though.

I’m definitely not a desert romper but I’m also not nice to my truck. Good call on offset having leverage. I’m running -25 offset wheels so I’m sure that isn’t helping.

I’ve seen a lot of folks moving towards the Tundra/LC200 racks I may need to look into that. I already had to replace my steering rack once at 120K. I don’t know how folks on here are running 35s and not breaking their steering every two seconds.


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