80 TRE specs (2 Viewers)

[expat]

Question for a friend.

Will an 80 series tie rod end fit on a 1980 mini? I realize it's 23 x 1.5 and minis are 17 x 1.5. He is going to make a new rod and wants to know before he buys the tap. $$$

What is the taper and will the taper end fit?

This has been suggested as an upgrade.

Thanks

 

[clownmidget]

Mmm, I'd post this on Marlin's BBS or just call him as this is a common upgrade they are familiar with. If your buddy is interested you can also consider the GM 1-ton TRE's. They have some interesting spec advantages over the 80 TRE's and are really easy to source and for a good price. I went this route on my 80 when it was time to go to a thicker, HD rod and ends.

 

[turbocruiser]

Mmm, I'd post this on Marlin's BBS or just call him as this is a common upgrade they are familiar with. If your buddy is interested you can also consider the GM 1-ton TRE's. They have some interesting spec advantages over the 80 TRE's and are really easy to source and for a good price. I went this route on my 80 when it was time to go to a thicker, HD rod and ends.

Mike, hi, can you share some part numbers, this sounds super cool. Did you have to thread things differently or are these available with metric threads? Thanks, sorta stumbled on this and find it interesting. Thanks.

 

[cruiserdan]

They may indeed be "1 ton" but the GM part seems to erase any benefit in that as far as I am concerned.

My tenure as a GM parts manager tends to make me think that there is nothing at all to be proud about being "GM".

 

[turbocruiser]

They may indded be "1 ton" but the GM part seems to erase any benefit in that as far as I am concerned.

My tenure as a GM parts manager tends to make me think that there is nothing at all to be proud about being "GM".

Okay good to know, but, what's the way to address loose TRE's? After reading some threads about actually replacing the original TRE's several here suggested replacing with the Slee rods to avoid all the fuss. Are the ends also available from Mr. T, is it worth it to wrestle with the siezed threads, besides soaking in some penetrant and adding some heat is there a trick to turning the ends off, should I do this right before or right after a full moon, etc? Sorry, all those questions came to mind faster than I could stop typing!!!

 

[cruiserdan]

Of course OEM tie rod ends are available. As is customary they are not the least expensive alternative but they are "correct" and fit and function as intended. A set of 4 is around 155 bucks, about a third more than some other choices.

 

[turbocruiser]

Of course OEM tie rod ends are available. As is customary they are not the least expensive alternative but they are "correct" and fit and function as intended. A set of 4 is around 155 bucks, about a third more than some other choices.

You only answered the "availability" question not the others there buddy. Whaddya think of the horror stories of trying to swap the originals? Thanks.

 

[Mickldo]

I bent my tie rod on my 80 by dragging it over a huge rock at LCMP so I went looking at alternatives to beef it up. Superior Engineering had a chromemoly tie rod and I thought it would be easy to make something similar. Ordered some 32mm chromemoly hollow bar through work and went to buy some taps to suit the TRE but found that the price for 1 x 23x1.5 tap was about twice the price of four 7/8" UNF taps (LH & RH, Taper & Bottoming). By the time I bought all the taps needed, the chromemoly and the TREs I figured out it was cheaper (and easier) to just get the bought one. So I cancelled the chromemoly order and bought the bling one from Superior Engineering.

To answer your question yes I have heard of the bigger 80 TREs being used on Hiluxes- sorry minis but the costs involved for one off special tools like the taps and tapered reamers make it not very cost effective. It would be better to get a speciallist hardcore workshop to do the mod unless you intend to make a few bucks on the side doing these mods for your mates.

 

[clownmidget]

Hey Dan, how do you really feel

So here is the thread I started when I did this (https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=61575). My reasons were not typical in that once you get enough lift you start to have issues with the front control arms coming in contact with the connecting (tie) rod. AMMO dealt with it by switching to heims on the steering arms that effectively raised the connecting rod a bit and still let it not go so far up as to then interfere with the front driveshaft. I didn't want to deal with the possible maintenance issues of having heims (AMMO doesn't do quite the mileage I do in a year - >20K miles) so that's why I looked into the GM TRE's. Folks using them on pretty insane trail rigs had said great things about them and Luke at 4x4Labs had a cool pitch on them as well. So with the GM ones you have to slightly enlarge the bore and taper and doing this lets you determine how high up or far down the TRE sits in the control arms. Of course once you go this route you can't go back without buying new steering arms!

I really have no idea about quality or longevity in the build versus Toyota ones. I'd certainly agree with Dan though that on the balance Toyota makes better junk - I do drive a Toyota so proof's in the puddin' as they say.

The link above has another link for the specs, etc for getting the TRE's. The are readily available at pretty much every auto parts store in NA which is a bonus. Plus with the 0.25 DOM connecting rod from 4x4Labs using jam nuts you can adjust your steering and toe very easy and very fast.