Hey guys, So I just dropped my 35 ford coupe with 4" dropped axle and bent steering arms. The problem is I purchased a tie rod because mine was bent but with the steering arms being bent the tie rod is too long which makes my wheels toe in. My question is, who sells a shorter tie rod? I do not have the tools to cut the rod shorter and re thread them. Thanks!
Tap plus hacksaw. Run the tap down both sides as deep as it can go. Cut off tube from both sides, except for enough threads to guide the tap. Repeated as necessary until it is the right length. If you cannot find, or don't want to buy a LH tap, you can do it all on one side.
Don't they have left hand threads on one end? Still no problem though, the proper right hand thread tap is not that expensive. Just shorten the end with right hand threads and re-tap. Then take a file and cut some grooves in an old left hand tie rod end and use it to chase the threads on the other end if needed.
If you need a significantly shorter tie rod, it may indicate that your Ackerman is now incorrect. You may need to reshape the steering arms to correct the Ackerman.
Could be ackerman or different kingpin to kingpin length. Would suggest replacing tie rod as 11/16ths taps are not common.
Or you work out the length the tie rod needs to be and take it to your friendly local engineering shop and for little money they could do it for you. Job done. JW
Just did this exact thing last weekend. Picked up the LH and RH 11/16-18 taps from speedway and tapped the tie rod all the way in. Tie rods now go all the way in. Use plenty of tapping fluid make sure to back out the tap frequently to clear the chips. Mount tie rod in vise and have a helper with a pipe wrench on the other side to keep it from turning. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
Helper - Cheap labor who works for pizza, subs and or video games Couple examples below Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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