[KevinJBurt]

So I just had an alignment done about 3 weeks ago and the last few days I noticed a clanging when I drive over bumps in the road. I was just looking under the Jeep today to see if I could locate the noise and noticed that the only thing it could be is my tie rod it seems really loose. When moving it up and down I can replicate the noise... I've always been able to move it up and down but it's never made this noise before. Does anyone know if this is normal? Should I try tightening it or are the ends going bad and need replacement? Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[pluke the 2]

So I just had an alignment done about 3 weeks ago and the last few days I noticed a clanging when I drive over bumps in the road. I was just looking under the Jeep today to see if I could locate the noise and noticed that the only thing it could be is my tie rod it seems really loose. When moving it up and down I can replicate the noise... I've always been able to move it up and down but it's never made this noise before. Does anyone know if this is normal? Should I try tightening it or are the ends going bad and need replacement? Thanks in advance for any input!

the tie rod ends themselves move down and up. that is normal. however, you want to check the bolt which goes through the tie rod end and see if that will move or not. that's all that matters.

check to see if the bolt itself wiggles inside of the hole. Look at the nut on the other end if the bolt and nut both move, not the tie rod itself, but the bolt moves within the mounting location, then you got a problem.

 

[pluke the 2]

in other words,

As long as there is no vertical play at each rod end, it's OK.

 

[KevinJBurt]

the tie rod ends themselves move down and up. that is normal. however, you want to check the bolt which goes through the tie rod end and see if that will move or not. that's all that matters.

check to see if the bolt itself wiggles inside of the hole. Look at the nut on the other end if the bolt and nut both move, not the tie rod itself, but the bolt moves within the mounting location, then you got a problem.

No the bolts are tight and don't move at all. There is a lot of play in it though. I use to be able to push the tie rod up and it would stay now it just falls back down so I'm positive that's the noise. I don't see any zerks there nor do I see any way to rebuild them??? It looks like there is a thin piece of rubber on each side is that supposed to be some kind of washer or boot?

 

[pluke the 2]

No the bolts are tight and don't move at all. There is a lot of play in it though. I use to be able to push the tie rod up and it would stay now it just falls back down so I'm positive that's the noise. I don't see any zerks there nor do I see any way to rebuild them??? It looks like there is a thin piece of rubber on each side is that supposed to be some kind of washer or boot?

my stock tie rod, had about 20k on it and it would do the same thing you're talking about.

no zerks and its not worthing rebuilding considering they cost $20 or so bucks for each tre (tie rod end).

that thin piece of rubber is the bushing.

but any incase, what you are seeing is normal and if you want to be 100% positive, post a video in this thread so other can chime in.

 

[pluke the 2]

before (old tre)

after (new rk tr)

 

[KevinJBurt]

before (old tre)

after (new rk tr)

Well now your making me jealous!! Lol it's good to know this happens I will post a video when I get a moment... Looks like I have an excuse for mama to upgrade to RK!

 

[JocKy]

Updates?
My RK Tie Rod with Crown TRE's just droops freely after my alignment. (prior it was snug)
Any Tips?
Service manual says 63 ft/lbs of torque on these nuts, but that seems low???? Maybe I'm reading it wrong!
Can you over compress the ends into the knuckle and damage the joint?
Should I just up the torque on the TRE to Knuckle nut until it doesn't droop?

 

[KevinJBurt]

Updates?
My RK Tie Rod with Crown TRE's just droops freely after my alignment. (prior it was snug)
Any Tips?
Service manual says 63 ft/lbs of torque on these nuts, but that seems low???? Maybe I'm reading it wrong!
Can you over compress the ends into the knuckle and damage the joint?
Should I just up the torque on the TRE to Knuckle nut until it doesn't droop?

If you figure this out let me know because that's exactly what mine is doing after my alignment 1 month ago. I gotta say that it's really embarrassing when every bump I hit it sounds like something is falling off! Lol I was thinking that new tre's is the answer but now I'm not so sure! I have to mess with it more and get more information...

 

[Goodysgotacuda]

Updates?
My RK Tie Rod with Crown TRE's just droops freely after my alignment. (prior it was snug)
Any Tips?
Service manual says 63 ft/lbs of torque on these nuts, but that seems low???? Maybe I'm reading it wrong!
Can you over compress the ends into the knuckle and damage the joint?
Should I just up the torque on the TRE to Knuckle nut until it doesn't droop?

Over tightening the joint will do nothing for you. There is a proper tightening sequence of the jam nuts. Per Rock Krawler:

Sir

Give us a shout! We will walk you through the proper tightening sequence for the jam nuts to hold the orientation of the tie rod. You need to account for the Ackermann Sweep and that is it. Once that is understood, you will know how to tighten the jam nuts to hold the orientation of the tie rod where ever you would like. Sometimes, playing with steering involves a little more knowledge of steering than most people think.

We will try to explain it here as well, but give us a shout for clarification...

With the Tie Rod Ends set to give you proper or desired tow settings and the jam nuts loose, do the following!

1) Stabilize the tie rod in the desired orientation with the steering wheel straight.

2) Take the driver's side TRE, rotate it down as much as possible taking out all the misalignment... Then tighten the jam nut on the driver's side holding the TRE on the driver's side in this postion. You should notice that if you remove whatever you used to hold the orientation of the Tie Rod Bar itself, that it can no longer rotate it down and the orientation is held..

3) Now, Turn the steering wheel all the way to the passenger side! Spin the passenger side TRE completely in the oppossite direction and tighten the jam nut! This will allow for the proper amount of usable misalignment for the Ackermann effect!

If you do not account for the Ackermann effect properly, your jam nuts will constantly keep coming loose which will degrade the threads in the bar itself which may eventually lead to failure!

If the above is not clear to anyone, please give us a call. This holds true for all Tie Rods, not just ours!! Hope this helps you out!

RK

The orientation of the bar (i.e. how far it hangs down is actually set by the D.S. TRE and Jam nut).

 

[KevinJBurt]

Over tightening the joint will do nothing for you. There is a proper tightening sequence of the jam nuts. Per Rock Krawler:

So it sounds like the dealership messed up on tightening it and I should take it back??? Can it being too loose, fuck anything up? Obviously if it's too tight it can... I'm just wondering how fast I should get it in... Thanks for the info Goody! Appreciate it.

 

[Goodysgotacuda]

So it sounds like the dealership messed up on tightening it and I should take it back??? Can it being too loose, fuck anything up? Obviously if it's too tight it can... I'm just wondering how fast I should get it in... Thanks for the info Goody! Appreciate it.

You can't expect the dealership to know that procedure, IMO. That's an aftermarket component and a procedure for tightening them that there is no real reason for them to know that off the top of their head. + 1 more reason to work on your own rig, setting toe at home is pretty straight forward. It'll take you longer to go to the dealer, mess with them and get it back than it would to just fix it yourself.

 

[Monster Jk]

Kevin just shut up and get on it lol. Its a great product and glad I got mine. And it's a pretty easy install. I'd highly suggest it.

 

[JocKy]

Thanks for the Ackerman info. The local alignment shop (who does everything from jeeps to trophy trucks) had never heard of this. I showed them this thread and they got everything dialed in including caster and pinion angles! Cheers to quality info!

 

[Goodysgotacuda]