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Tie Rod lengths?


NitroTate

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Quick question for the steering and suspension gurus out there...

 

When it comes to stock tierods, did the lengths of them change at all over the years? Ie. from J-Arm to A-arm etc.??

 

I bought some tierods last year from a guy and I'm not sure what year they are from for my bike which is a J-Arm and it seems fine for the most part and I'm pretty sure that I compared to make sure they were the same lengths back when I put them on.

 

However, I noticed that my tierod ends are only in by about 4-5 threads in order to get the alignment correct?? This makes me think these tierods might just be a tiny bit shorter than my original ones were...

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks

Tate

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i dont like stock tierods for that very reason. i used to break the shit out of tie rod ends due to not enough thread being in the tie rod. i had a local machine shop made me some tie rods that were longer and beefier than stock. never had a problem since then. it wasnt very much money either.

 

i didnt feel very comfortable running at high speeds over rough shit knowing that i only had a few threads of my tie rod end in the tie rod.

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i dont like stock tierods for that very reason. i used to break the shit out of tie rod ends due to not enough thread being in the tie rod. i had a local machine shop made me some tie rods that were longer and beefier than stock. never had a problem since then. it wasnt very much money either.

 

i didnt feel very comfortable running at high speeds over rough shit knowing that i only had a few threads of my tie rod end in the tie rod.

 

 

Yup that's exactly my worry... I mostly ride sand which can still be scary with iffy tierods but I also ride a lot of high speed trails with my dirtbike buddies and the last thing I need is for a tierod end snapping with bikes behind me.

 

I think I'll look into getting some made...

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you guys do realize that a bolt is only as strong as its cross section wide

 

IE.. if u have a 3/8 bolt only 3/8 length in thread is pretty close to your maximum holding power.. threading in more threads increases only slightly... but not very significantly

 

Yeah but my worry isn't necessarily that the bolt is going to snap... it's the fact that there are only about 3-5 max threads inside which gives the bolt more leverage to buckle and break/split either the rod or the bolt... most likely the rod.

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you guys do realize that a bolt is only as strong as its cross section wide

 

IE.. if u have a 3/8 bolt only 3/8 length in thread is pretty close to your maximum holding power.. threading in more threads increases only slightly... but not very significantly

 

 

I have always used the 1 1/2 rule. You want it threaded in 1 1/2 times the diameter....that is just me. Which would mean using your example it would need to be threaded in 9/16".

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cash to cover the material and shipping is fine.. let me know how long you want em and i'll get em done..

 

o and one other thing.. let me know how lnog your stock j-arm tierods are...

 

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Cool man I'll let you know. I'm going to PM loco and see what length he added to his and we'll see what the diff is but I'll measure my stocks and figure out how long I need. I'll PM you in the next few days or so after I get a chance to check it out.

 

Thanks

Tate

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Actually, Loco, do you have the specs on your's? How much longer from stock did you need to go and what material did they use?

i dont have the exact length. i would make them as long as you possibly can. you should be able to pull the measurement on the threads still showing and add that to the length of the tie rod.. you can use either aluminum or steel. ive used both on different bikes ive had.

 

i forgot to mention. i use TUSK tie rod ends over stock ones. ive had far better luck with them..

 

http://www.rockymountainatv.com/productDet...7#vehicleSelect

 

unless you're hitting trees there really shouldnt be any reason for the tie rod ends to buckle... the bumps are soaked up by the suspension if you set the toe right

thats not true. ive broken tie rod ends riding through rough fields. it doesnt take much when theres a hole or a rock. if your tire gets jerked hard enough and youre holding on tight enough, they will snap.

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