Lengthening a TRE adjustment tube

[HillBillE]

Some of you may have seen these posts on other forums. I decided to post them here, and jumpstart this grat new forum!


A lift can throw the steering components out of whack, leaving no adjustment to the drag link. This is how I fixed my problem.

Even with the drop pitman arm, my drag link was extended o the max, with only 3/4" thread for each TRE (Tie Rod End) into the adjustment sleeve. This was less than I hoped for. The adjustment sleeve is 4 1/2", with only 3/4'' engagement from each TRE, left a 3" section of the split sleeve open, with no support. Probably fine for street driving, but not for wheeling.
My solution to this, was to extend the aduster sleeve, and put a piece of solid stock in the center, eliminating the squeeze slot in the middle, making the sleeve stronger.
I cut the sleeve:
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/hillbillecj7/CJ%20Rebuild%202%20Dec07/fender005-1.jpg
And a piece of 1/2'' solid stock, and 1/2'' pipe:
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/hillbillecj7/CJ%20Rebuild%202%20Dec07/fender006.jpg
Then assembled them:
Note: I left a 1/16th" gap between the sleeve's and pipe. This allows for good penetration of all 3 pieces (sleeve, pipe and solid stock)when welding.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/hillbillecj7/CJ%20Rebuild%202%20Dec07/fender007.jpg
Welded them and ground flush:
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/hillbillecj7/CJ%20Rebuild%202%20Dec07/fender009.jpg
Installed:
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/hillbillecj7/CJ%20Rebuild%202%20Dec07/fender010.jpg
This gave me more than half of the TRE threads in the adjustment sleeve, and strenghtened the sleeve by making the center solid, and still leaves enough room for adjusting the toe-in.
Overall I lengthened the sleeve from 4 1/2" to 6"

[Pacifier]

Nice.....!

[korisu56]

Indeed.

[HillBillE]

Thanks guys! I was a pipefitter/welder for a living, so I'm not worried about strength/safety of this mod. I wouldn't recommend it for those who are just learning how to weld. If it failed, you would have no steering input at all. Which probably wouldn't be bad on a trail, but very dangerous on the road.

[NovaTJ]

Years ago, I converted a 71 CJ steering to 72 CJ steering. The later uses a long tie rod end to tie rod end bar, and I ran into a similar problem. I wound up shortening the tie rod bar by about two inches and welding it back together. Then slipped some DOM tube over it and welded that too! I wouldn't recommend it for street use, but it served me well for several years. Not visble in pic below.
Seeing you adding to your sleeve reminded me. Did you try to find a longer sleeve before you came up with the idea of stretching it?

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff53/novatj/cj5b3.jpg