So after doing my lift I noticed that the tie rods are at a pretty harsh angle. I was wondering if anyone has tried swapping the tie rods left to right and then positioning them on top the knuckle instead of at the bottom. I have seen this done on many lowered cars. The tie rods just angle the opposite direction. Have never seen this to be an issue on any of the lowered/drift cars. I believe that the lift has caused some extra stress on the steering rack/ power steering pump.
Tie rod flip
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Paperjam
New member
You are 100% correct. The seats are tapered on nearly all cars and trucks. What you want to do is not possible without 1. A custom knuckle or 2. You find a special drill bit that will drill a taper and flip the tie rod, I don't reccomend this at all.
The best way to solve the problem is to drop the steering rack to the proper height. For the work you are talking about it's not worth it.
For reference my truck has a 3" in the front and the tie rod is pretty close to level, if you aren't experiancing serious bump steer like you would in a lowered car, I would leave it.
IBallEngineer
New member
The steering arm/knuckle has a taper so the tie rod end wouldn't even go in the top since it is the small end of the taper. You could get a tapered reamer and make a new taper, but you would need a tie rod end that had a bigger taper because the big end of your current taper would become the small end of the new taper.
I did this many times on Dana stuff(read jeep), because I had a really good parts house who kept listing on ends with full dimensions. I would find all the rod ends with the correct thread for my tie rods, then look for the correct taper size to see if I could match one. Then I'd buy an expensive reamer and do the deed. Not cheep, but effective. Of course you have to make sure there is enough "meat" on the steering arm that you don't make it week when you ream it.
Good luck!
:washing:
I know all tie rods and knuckles are tapered. Coming from the vw world, most tie rod flip kits came with a drill bit and a platic sleeve to push into the arm after you drilled it out. I have heard of some jeep guys getting the 35 degree reamer(I think that's the angle) and then drilling it out. I would like to maintain the ground clearance and not have to drop the rack down. Guess I'll try to do some more digging.
IBallEngineer
New member
I'd seen a metal sleeve once, never plastic. Of course I don't get along well with anything VAG. Maybe you could source the tapered bit, the sleeve and a bag, then sell them to all of us and get so rich you can buy an island! Just don't forget to send me my royalty check every month! heh.
:whip:
