Busted Tie Rod and Lots of Mud

unixxx · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:49 pm

So I ran a level 5-6 at Snowshoe Jeep Jamboree, which turned out to be a level 7-8, and snapped the right tie rod midway up the mountain. We had to back the Libby down using winches, tow traps, and one-wheel steering; it's sitting on a U-Haul in the parking lot right now. Are the tie rods an integral part of the rack or do they disconnect? Pictures to come....

DaveKJ02 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:56 pm

According to the 02 parts manual, they are not listed independently of the steering gear rack (#52128 588AA). Just to clarify, I;m talking about the rods, not the ends.

unixxx · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:50 pm

Sweet, it looks like NAPA sells just the inner tie rod for $42.79:

http://napaonline.com/masterpages/NOLMa ... nd+-+Inner

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2007 11:51 pm

First time Ive heard about that. You must of really had it in a bind! Those tie rods are fairly beefy on the kj.

If you ever see a ford explorer in a parking lot, take a look at how small the tie rods are on those. :shock:

Glad you can get just the tie rod. Those racks are $$ and alot of labor from what Ive heard.

unixxx · **Posted:** Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:06 am

This trail got hard core very quickly. I had to winch up the Libby, do a ten point turn between a rockwall and a ledge, and winch up two two JKs and a CJ with 35" tires and front and rear lockers. The CJ busted a leaf spring and came back down with the Libby. I think there are some pictures on the camera. I also smashed the left turn signal, washer bottle, and front Air Locker air line.

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:44 am

OUCH

But...sounds like fun...minus the damage!

Terry

unixxx · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:41 am

While I can get the tie rod from NAPA for $40, the dealer wants $90 for a new boot.... Has anyone been able to find an after market boot?

unixxx · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:33 am

Some pictures:

BeepBeepJeepJeep · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:37 am

That looks painful :shock:

...Why did you have your lights on?

Gris · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:20 am

Boot looks fine. Can't you release the compression rings and reuse it?

unixxx · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:29 am

BeepBeepJeepJeep, I always have my lights on out of habit. It lets other people know where I am and lets me know the Jeep is running when I'm not near it.

Gris, one boot clamp is reusable but the other is single use. I'll replace the single use clamp with a hose clamp. The main problem is the tear in the boot. I might just fill the hole with some goop if I can't find a replacement.

I ordered the replacement tie rod from NAPA. Does anyone know what kind of grease the inner tie rod ball joint uses?

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:57 am

Where were you at? Certainly not LA.
Was on some tight trails in the Mad River, Eureka, CA area that looked like that.
There are some other tight trails in the Capitol Forest of WA like that, I like the tight technical stuff.

unixxx · **Posted:** Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:44 pm

Snowshoe Mountain, WV, but the trails are private and only opened for the Snowshoe Jeep Jamboree.

unixxx · **Posted:** Sat Jul 28, 2007 6:28 pm

I replaced both the right inner and outer tie rods with NAPA equivalents. The outer tie rod ball joint boot was torn, probably by the dealer when the lower ball joint recall was performed. The front right wheel was seriously gouged and out of spec on the alignment report. I'm pretty sure the rod buckled and snapped when the wheel slammed into a rock during the high-speed hill climb....

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:04 pm

Glad you got it all sorted out.

Looks like it snapper right where the threads start. Guess that makes sense since they cause a weak spot..

Busted Tie Rod and Lots of Mud

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