Spherical rod ends ar not DOT approved. Since you have to pass inspections, they will not cut it, so this may not be an alternative for your application.


Is there any reason why you dont feel the need to run jam nuts? You ill break TRE if you dont run them. Why run two left hand units? This will eliminate any adjustment without removing one of the TRE's from one end. That makes things a pain when you go to adjust the steering wheel, or make corrections for the turning radius.
Back to the jam nut. You must run a jam nut unless you have another method to provide some tension on the TRE itself. The engagement of the TRE and the tube gats its strength from the lock nut. This makes one soild unit and not a sloppy one. YOu dont have tolerances tight enough to be anywhere near strong enough to eliminate jam nuts.

As far as removing your carrier, if the carrier was installed "tight" and required a case spreader to install, it will not be easy to removed, but can be manipulated. IN many cases it should just pop right out though.

 

yeah i figured that with the heim joints

i have 1 lefty thread TRE now...i did not see a righty thread listed in the same size, but monday i will call them and get them to run some numbers cause i wanted to run one left one right for obvious reasons, but they ran the number that SHOULD have been the number for the same size TRE but right thread and the one they brought up was much smaller in the thread section

and thanks for the info on the jam nuts, i didnt think of that one

on the carrier you saying i should be able to remove the bolts and wiggle it out pretty much? i hope so lol

 

Personally I would consider running the 1 ton chebby stuff and call it a day:



To obtain the correct size that you need, you can upgrade to just one larger chevy 1 ton TRE on the pitman arm side, and just have the pitman arm re tapered to accomodate this.
This would only require one hole to be modified, and since it is on the pitman arm it ould be the easiest to remove and take to a machine shop. Know that the larger chebby 1 ton TRE will accomodate a greater angle than the ford units, so this is also an advantage. These are not much more expensive than the one you are looking for, and these can be found anywhere accross the nation, so replacements at any time should be easy.

Example: this is a 2027L which is a left hand thread, and since you have a left available to fit your stock tie rod, you will want an ES 2026 for the pitman arm side. You will also have to re drill the pitman arm because the taper is different, but this should work.




Whichever machine shop you find that can tap the ends of the DOM tube will also be able to increase the taper in the pitman arm.

Should you chose to use just the one larger TRE on the pitman arm, you could later upgrade the rest of the steering to accept the 1 ton stuff and you will be able to re-use your drag link.
So for now, think about changing the one side that is preventing you from completing this, and then consider upgrading the entire steering system to larger stuff. This does not mean you have to do it all right now, but the larger stuff is gonna be better for the long run.

 

No you don't need a puller. U can pry the case out.

 

No you don't need a puller. U can pry the carrier out.

 

That is not necessarily the case. You need to look at each states laws seperately. I live in Virginia and have switched out to 1" chromoly tubes with 3/4" rod ends for my steering and have no problems passing safety inspections on my SAS'ed 95 F-150. Here is a setup I did on my buddys Bronco (thats a D6o, btw!!), it is the same as my steering setup:

Overall:



Close up of the passenger side:

 

I would imagine Karl, that if you ran non DOT approved stainless steel brake lines past the inspection and they would fly right through, but that still does not make them approved for use on the street. Believe me that I am not an advocate either way, but the Dept of transportation has set standards for approved and non approved items. The spherical rod ends used for our steering applications do not meet the approvals.
They might get through inspections but dont get through because they are acceptable, they get through because they are overlooked.
The same is true for beadlocks and such.

These trucks are very simple to install the onverted "T" steering design because many of them came from the factory this way.
When the Bronco was built, inverted "T" was used. Even with 40's it has enough movement for travel. Running 42's now with the sam steering.:
Oh yeah, this is also a Dana 60 up front. While a real crossover could have been used, the trac bar angles would have required more work that was not necessary.

 

Again, the DOT safety isnpections are done state by state. Where there are federal guidelines, each state is allowed to manage their own safety program. I held a part time gig as a Virginia state safety inspector for a few years back when I first did the SAS on my 150. I took it too my supervisor which was very by the book and would fail someone for a 3rd brake light not working. He agreed that by the letter of the law, there is no requirement in Virginia to use TRE's. There is however a statement that the "joint must be in good, proper working condition."

I'm not here to debate your particular states safety requirements, I'm just saying that a generalized comment that says it is illegal on the street is not correct. I know that Maryland will not legally allow a motor swap (example of a V-8 into a ranger), where Virgina will as long as the fuel intake and exhaust system are as effiecient or better than originally came on the vehicle. Different states, different laws, and I believe the OP was from Canada, which has different laws yet.

 

i cant really see what you mean here with the "T" steering i am just about to go search the moog part # and find out what vehicle my TRE is for...when the time comes to replace the tie rod i will do DOM and 1 ton TREs for that, i just cant afford to go replacing stuff that dont need it right now

 

If you are going to go the tube route, seroiusly look into chromoly tube instead. The DOM is heavy and if it bends, you are stuck, where the chromoly will flex under slow speed impacts and will g oback t oshape fairly easily. The extra bonus is your steering linkage will weigh about half with the chromoly over DOM. I got my tube from S&W racecars out of PA, since they were the least expensive place and I got all my parts including the hardened left and right handed taps.

 

how does the price compare to DOM, if its not much more and i can get it quick enough it sounds like a good idea

and is the chromoly tube seamless? it has to be seamless to be legal

 

The stuff S&W sells is designed for hard core racing applications. It is seamless, an you would need to call them about the price. Their website is http://www.swracecars.com/

The last stuff I bought was a little more expensive, but I will tell you that I originally bought some 1" DOM to use with the 3/4" rod ends and I ended up bending a tube when playing off road. I paid the extra for the chomoly stuff the next time and for the last 3 years had no problems.

 

well i need to find it locally so chances are i will have to do DOM thanks though...i ust found out that my TRE fits 83-97 rangers and 91-94 explorers and a few mazda pick-ups! it looks pretty damn big for those little critters considering its the same size or bigger than the 78 f150 TREs

 

I think I would have elastic lock nuts for hardware, Kmonel bolts with NiCu lock nuts. Free if you work at a Shipyard. Thats what they use in the SUBSAFE joints.

 

well considering i live in the alberta desert im pretty sure i dont work in a shipyard LOL thats only a 16 hour commute to the nearest one, i will stick with the castle nuts

so i ordered my DOM today and i went in to get my other TRE and came out with the wrong one! lol my bad, i will take it back tomorrow an find the proper size, it fits the taper but the shank is 7/8 the I.D. of my DOM will only be 3/4, not gonna work