I'm seeing that the aftermarket has made available tie rod adjuster sleeves that are billet aluminum. Supposedly the advantage of these is that they look better than the stock ones, and are lighter. Anybody have any experience with these? It seems intuitive to me that using billet aluminum (not even forged!) for a tie rod adjuster sleeve is a horrible idea, especially when the the tie rod ends themselves are already steel. Why have a weak point there. I would not want the ability to steer my car to be dependent on the holding strength of aluminum threads. I don't care how good they look, or how much lighter they are. Am I concerned about nothing here?
I would not use them. Your life depends on them and I don’t care it they look cleaner. That’s just plain stupid. I hate to tell you this but engineered parts are designed the way they are for a purpose. Changing material types without engineering specs to back them up could be dangerous. Duane
I agree completely. My car doesn't need them at the moment, I just saw that several aftermarket companies are making them so that tells me that plenty of people were comfortable enough with the idea to sell them. I hope they've been tested thoroughly with a safety factor built in.
Interesting question. Since I’m in the business of selling automotive parts, I did a quick look to see if they need to conform to a D.O.T. Rating. I found they don’t. But if you look at how they’re used and engineered, with a clamping force. I see no worries. And actually all of the greatest forces put on the steering components happen when the car is steered when it’s not moving. That is why when they do fail, it is always while the car is not moving forward or backwards. I would say the weak link in the system is at the tie rod ends.
There must also be an instantaneous shock or impulse force that occurs when the car goes over a bump. I would be concerned about repeated cycles of that with aluminum. Not sure how that would compare to the stress created when steering without any forward or rearward motion.
I agree with Duane. Too little a savings in weight to justify a compromise in strength for such a critical part.
Just go to QA1 catalog and get one of their steel ones for A-body. They even had one set with correct thread for 66Riv and they don't even know it. Peace, Kacper.
Here’s another reason not to use parts that don’t comply with DOT rules (or in this case, state law). If those adjusters snapped and caused a crash, the lawyers would start circling. Attached is a weird case where the part maker (in my opinion) was much less liable than the Jeep owner, selling dealer and installer. It’s not getting much coverage and my town is full of Squat Trucks and the Squat-Tards that like them; cops don’t seem to care about the lift kit law. https://www.beasleyallen.com/articl...ement-for-9-year-old-paralyzed-in-auto-crash/ Patrick
