Inner / Tie Rod Ends Brand Recommendations

[kolelt]

I used to run duralast gold OTR and ITR before replacing my steering rack. They were fine. The bushings were torn on the OTR, but still tight. So I am keeping them as a spare part incase something happens on the trail. The ITR were good to.

Long story short, I replaced "everything" with OEM. The OTR were like $40 per side. And I got OEM steering rack so it came with OEM ITR

 

[Dane15]

Hey, they've held up just fine, although I've got to admit I haven't been offroading as hard / as much as I intended to, so I may not be the best case study.

Hey there, currently dealing with the same situation. Are they still holding up well?

 

[T4R2014]

Why does anyone give a shit about lifetime warranty again? You're still out like five hours of your life(or the labor from a mechanic) just changing the cheap ass part once it inevitably fails.

 

[Trojan4x4]

Why does anyone give a shit about lifetime warranty again? You're still out like five hours of your life(or the labor from a mechanic) just changing the cheap ass part once it inevitably fails.

5 hours for a tie rod is a lot....
But maybe because if you break it you get it for free.

 

[02gixxersix]

I have Advance outers and Oreilly's inners on the passenger side due to the tie rod basically coming apart during an alignment. I planned to replace at least the outers with OEM, but I have honestly had no issues at all. I will probably do another set of cheaper inners and possibly OEM outers on the driver's side here shortly since I have some play.

People are so weird on this forum with the OEM tie rod stuff. I get the LBJ, since it's such a crap design, but 4runner tie rods are of no more importance than that of any other vehicle and there are literally millions of cars on the road with aftermarket stuff that has never failed. They aren't just going to come apart, btu they might not last as long. For 1/5 the price, I'm good.

 

[T4R2014]

5 hours for a tie rod is a lot....
But maybe because if you break it you get it for free.

Take off tie rod, find another car, go to store, argue at counter, go back, install.

If you know the tie rod is going to break then idk what to tell you.

 

[etc.]

Do you need a new steering rack? Buy a Toyota steering rack and get ITRs included.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

So the AC Delco Professional Outer tie rods are marked 555. Not sure on inners, but they were fairly inexpensive on amazon.

 

[Scramble]

I have Advance outers and Oreilly's inners on the passenger side due to the tie rod basically coming apart during an alignment. I planned to replace at least the outers with OEM, but I have honestly had no issues at all. I will probably do another set of cheaper inners and possibly OEM outers on the driver's side here shortly since I have some play.

People are so weird on this forum with the OEM tie rod stuff. I get the LBJ, since it's such a crap design, but 4runner tie rods are of no more importance than that of any other vehicle and there are literally millions of cars on the road with aftermarket stuff that has never failed. They aren't just going to come apart, btu they might not last as long. For 1/5 the price, I'm good.

Aftermarket stuff all have cheap paint, Toyota parts rust a lot slower.

 

[Scramble]

5 hours for a tie rod is a lot....
But maybe because if you break it you get it for free.

Not when that OTR nut is welded on with rust. A huge monkey wrench & BFH wouldn't crack it loose. Had to bring it to my friends shop, torch it off & melted the boot, had to drive to get another boot ...a lot more than 5hrs for a $40 part.

 

[thecole1098]

Not when that OTR nut is welded on with rust. A huge monkey wrench & BFH wouldn't crack it loose. Had to bring it to my friends shop, torch it off & melted the boot, had to drive to get another boot ...a lot more than 5hrs for a $40 part.

To be fair, this can happen with OEM... Trust me I've seen it at the dealership

 

[T4R2014]

Not when that OTR nut is welded on with rust. A huge monkey wrench & BFH wouldn't crack it loose. Had to bring it to my friends shop, torch it off & melted the boot, had to drive to get another boot ...a lot more than 5hrs for a $40 part.

He's blessed to live in sunny California so he's got that against us.

 

[Scramble]

To be fair, this can happen with OEM... Trust me I've seen it at the dealership

Yea, mine was the original 16yo OTR. I was referencing the time part of the conversation.

I've only been buying OEM or better for my "restoration". Back when I was referencing other peoples builds to learn about what I should do, I noticed that crappy aftermarket parts were rusting within a year. Napa, Autozone, 555, Sankie (sp?). Most are all Chinese crap. Calipers, OTR, BJ's, Endlinks etc. And I've seen aftermarket OTR, BJ's & endlinks snap so I'm against them.

I do have NAPA CV's because they have a proven track record here.

If you dont offroad or live in the salt belt maybe you'll be ok.

I dont love wrenching, I'm ok with it though, I'm not a mechanic, I do have fun on mods, I love my truck but when I do a repair I want it to last another 15-18 years so I go OEM.

 

[02gixxersix]

Aftermarket stuff all have cheap paint, Toyota parts rust a lot slower.

That's probably true. A disclaimer is also that my 4runner is not my only vehicle and I live 3 miles or so from work, so I am not lutting a ton of miles on anything. I'd be more likely to opt for OEM stuff if I needed it to last 200k miles.

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

I used the '555' brand for outers when I was doing the front end work a few months ago. The quality seemed very good. My OE inners were ok, so I didn't see the need to spend money if I didn't have to.

 

[wrpsuite]

going to get the Moog or Napa for sure but looking at power steering bushings it looks like the Dorman is split to slide in without taking rack out and Energy Suspension brand is not. Can anyone confirm or make recommendation?

Amazon.com: 4WD RACK & PINION BUSHING SET: Automotive

Amazon.com: Dorman 905-401 Front Rack and Pinion Mount Bushing for Select Toyota Models, Black (OE FIX): Automotive

 

[sroosma]

Could anyone give me there opinion on if this looks damaged or in need of urgent replacement? I'm mostly concerned about the angle where it connects to the LBJ.

I'll be doing the from suspension, so figured I could do lower ball joints and outer tie rods while i'm in there (I think they're both stock).

 

[rdruss]

Could anyone give me there opinion on if this looks damaged or in need of urgent replacement? I'm mostly concerned about the angle where it connects to the LBJ.

I'll be doing the from suspension, so figured I could do lower ball joints and outer tie rods while i'm in there (I think they're both stock).

The angle not a problem, you can straighten it with a pair of pliers on the shaft.

 

[Bad Luck]

Could anyone give me there opinion on if this looks damaged or in need of urgent replacement? I'm mostly concerned about the angle where it connects to the LBJ.

I'll be doing the from suspension, so figured I could do lower ball joints and outer tie rods while i'm in there (I think they're both stock).

Tie rod end is just rotated. You can turn it back to flat with your hands or pliers.

 

[sroosma]

Thanks guys. Sorry for the late reply, but this was helpful.