track rod ends - which ones

[DickB]

Hi all,

Just ordered 2 left and 2 right track rod ends as I am trying to get the steering to behave a little better and they appeared knackered anyway.

I finally got them off, ordered what I thought were the correct ones, leaving the old ones in place so I could measure accurately before swapping. Upon arrival of the new TRE's., I noticed that the old ones have a thread on the shaft go all the way to the end (that inserts into the rod). The new ones are only threaded most of the way, stopping within about a CM before the end, thus making them useless as they don't wind in enough (to the correct length).

I called the supplier and they said mine are from a series 3. I have looked at other suppliers and some have threads all the way and some don't. So which ones are original and correct? Or have my rods been changed. I guess it is possible.

[Wittsend]

 
You need to replace like-4-like.

Send what you have back and exchange for the correct ones.

POs have a lot to answer for....

 

[Craig T]

Off course someone may have fitted the wrong type in the past or changed the steering rod.....

Does the thread in the steering rod come right to the end or does it start an inch or so inside the end of the rod?

Craig.

[Craig T]

There was a change over at some point in the series 3 run.

The fully threaded rods need the fully threaded TRE's and the clamp on the end pinches the thread to lock them in place.
The part threaded TRE's go into the part threaded rods and the clamps grip onto the plain, unthreaded shoulder.

As you say you can't thread the part threaded TRE's into the rod enough, it sounds like you have a later, fully threaded rod so you need to change to the later type of TRE's.

Installing the fully threaded TRE's into the part threaded rods is a bad thing to do as the number of threads engaged is reduced and they can pull out the end of the tubes.

Craig.

[DickB]

Thanks for the information.

The rods have a long internal thread, so I guess theses are form a S3. The pictures of the Britpart TRE are the ones delivered. The other picture are the ones I have. I now know that the TR and the TRE are not interchangeable. And as mentioned, they must be like for like. My TR has a bracket for a stabiliser. I am guessing this was also a later addition to S3 vehicles and not on S2's.

[DickB]

The thread goes right to the end inside the steering rod.

[Craig T]

The thread goes right to the end inside the steering rod.

That's good. So you need the later fully threaded ends.
Might be worth keeping the other ones as it's possible the other rods on your Land Rover have not been changed and take the earlier types still.
As you say, someone probably thought a damper would be easier to fit than sorting out the swivel housing preloads so they got a later drag link from a series 3.

Craig.

[Gareth]

Just been through this with my 109. For information, only S3 fully threaded rods are available through all the usual suppliers now. So quite likely a PO will have fitted S3 type.

As said, always wise to check. I remember a fatality was caused a few years ago by a failure caused by a detaching track rod end, causing loss of control and a bad crash.

[DickB]

Thanks all. I have the TREs and fitted them. No problem. Is there a torque setting?

[Wittsend]

Yes, just tight (on the Wittsend scale) with a small spanner.

They should not, nor need to be gorilla tight 

You can find the "book" value HERE scroll down towards the end under torque settings.

 

[Rusty66]

Not much for the clamps. 40nm should be about right.

[autorover1]

The clamps are only 1/4 UNF , I would think 20nm max 

[Wittsend]

OK

To save following my link above the torque value for the track rod end clamps is given as 10 lb ft.

[diffwhine]

There aren't many people who have a torque wrench that can read that low.

[Alan Drover]

Even my torque adapter goes down only as far as 12 ft lb.