tie rod bolt stretch

**nctexan** · July 20th, 2012, 08:55 AM

Ok so my dumb ass over torqued my new tie rod end, where it connects to the spindle. The TSRM calls for like 36 ft-lbs, I took it to like 60+ and stretched the bolt so the hole for the cotter pin is way above the ridges of the castle nut. In other words, if I put the cotter through the hole in the bolt, there is nothing to keep the bolt from backing off on its own due to vibration. I ordered a new tie rod end, which is probably the best thing to do, right? Im guessing it would not be smart to leave it as is? Thanks for any advice.

**nctexan** · July 24th, 2012, 09:56 AM

Well the new tie rod end arrived. I removed the old one, and compared the stud length to the new one, and they are the same. I installed the new one, with new hardware, and torqued it to 36 ft-lbs. The hole in the stud is again above the castle nut. So this tells me that I must have yielded the tapered hole in the steering knuckle. The funny thing is, I torqued the new tie rod end on the other side to 36 ft-lbs the first time, and the hole and castle nut line up correctly, but on the under side, there is a gap between the bottom of the steering knuckle and the rubber boot on the tie rod end, as though it needs to be toruqed more to close the gap. That is what I did on the first side, and I guess, screwed up the tapered hole in the knuckle doing it.

Does anyone think I need to replace the whole steering knuckle now? The hole in the stud is approximately 1/8" above the castle nut. I was able to bend the cotter pin head down so it sits into the castle nut recess. I guess this thread would be make more sense with pictures, I'll snap a few when I get home this evening.

***hvyman*** · July 24th, 2012, 10:23 AM

Doubt you made the hole bigger on the hub. I've seen that a lot with aftermarket tie rods and ball joints.

Just out it in tight and put a cotter pin on. With it above the nut it will atleast save you from losing steering on one wheel if the nut comes loose.

***OfnaRcR4*** · July 24th, 2012, 11:26 AM

Put washer under the nut so the cotter pin will be in a useful spot again.

**nctexan** · July 25th, 2012, 08:29 AM

Here's the new aftermarket tie rod that I put in after I overtorqued the first one, as you can see, the cotter pin hole is above the castle nut but the rubber boot is in contact with the underside of the spindle arm.

IMG_20120724_164706.jpg

This is the opposite side; an aftermarket tie rod end only torqued to the TSRM spec (36 ft-lbs). The cotter pin hole sits perfect with the castle nut, but there is a gap under the spindle arm between the rubber boot.

IMG_20120724_164746.jpg

***stevenr816*** · July 25th, 2012, 08:41 AM

I was going to say I've torqued the crap out of tie rods and they don't stretch

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***te72*** · July 25th, 2012, 12:55 PM

Could it be possible that you were given the wrong bolt when you ordered it? Human error happens occasionally.

**Typhoon** · July 26th, 2012, 09:04 PM

Aftermarket balljoints are always too long. It's not the split pin's job to stop the nut losing torque, that is the job of fastener stretch and thread friction. The split pin is merely there as a backup, it stops the fastener completely falling apart.

**kanji1jz** · September 4th, 2012, 04:41 PM

In all my years I have never overtorqued a tie rod end or ball joint nut. A lot of times the aftermarket ones are a little bit longer, plus the castle nuts are a little bit shorter. I have gone and tightened them down with impacts and never had any issues on probably close to a thousand different makes, models, and suspension types. If the hole is wallowed out then it is because the tie rod wasn't tightened enough and it was able to move around and damage the spindle.