Tie Rod, Relay Rod or is this something else? (1 Viewer)

[aonis]

Hey folks,

It's come to my attention that this piece (relay rod?) has become a bit loose. You can see it move in its joint a bit when you have the car in park and move the steering wheel back and forth a bit. Also when I'm driving and go over some bumps I can hear a click or something like it on the driver side but not the passenger. Can anyone help me figure out that this is so I can order a new one for my mechanic to replace? Do I have to replace everything it's connected to as well? Or is it safe to just replace this piece?

thanks again for any advice.

 

[Gretsch]

Does the top of the part where the castle nut bolts on move, or more the lower part of the joint. You may just see if the castle nut on top is loose. There is a cotter pin that should be there to keep the nut from loosening.

That said, if you hear one side making a click or clunk when hitting a bump you might get the truck up in the air with the tires off the ground and see if there is movement on any other parts of the steering. Unless rusted bad or bent, I don't think the tie rods themselves need to be replaced. I would get a set of 555 tie rod ends from Cruiser Outfitters. The part you have squared in the photo is a one piece part. The end you actually have squared does not come off. The entire piece spins off the tie rod and is replaced as a unit:

The set of tie rod ends you get from Cruiser Outfitters includes this piece. I would replace these as a set. Will be 4 parts total if replacing them all. If one is bad then the rest of them are ripe for replacement. If a shop is doing this, you'll want them to align the truck afterwards. You also may have them replace the steering damper as well while they are in there. HTH.

 

[cps432]

^ 2x on replacing all of them. It’ll be cheaper and easier for them to do it all at once.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

And your positive it’s not the bushing at the bottom of the shock? Mine was missing and I often heard a clacking noise when going over bumpy dirt roads before I replaced them.

 

[2mbb]

It's hard to argue with replacing these very important parts on such an old truck. But just so you know, the relay rod end is spring loaded. A quick fix for a loose end is to tighten the nut or put a shim (a penny or nickel fits) to overcome tension lost by the spring. However, I have seen other posts where the link joint knob has popped out of the relay rod body which is something you don't want to have happen while the truck is moving.

 

[cps432]

She’s got a good point. ^^ maybe take it by your guy and just make sure that’s what your issue is. Then you can be sure to order the correct parts.

 

[aonis]

Thanks for all the insight everyone. I’ll report back with more details. This forum is the best!

 

[John McVicker]

And don’t overlook @2mbb s post #5. Years ago I did the ‘penny trick’ he mentioned and it made a big difference. I Know we’re talking 60 here but I ‘think’ there’s some info on this in the 40’s FAQ.

 

[dudenhoeffer]

Just added a nickel + penny to mine and it was a night and day. The cruiser would wander all over on uneven roads especially when braking at grooved out stoplights. The added tension is the 30+ year old relay ends made all the difference. I'm still going to replace them soon, but in the meantime, great "hack".

Years ago I did the ‘penny trick’ he mentioned and it made a big difference. I Know we’re talking 60 here but I ‘think’ there’s some info on this in the 40’s FAQ.

 

[dudenhoeffer]

Just added a nickel + penny to mine and it was a night and day. The cruiser would wander all over on uneven roads especially when braking at grooved out stoplights. The added tension is the 30+ year old relay ends made all the difference. I'm still going to replace them soon, but in the meantime, great "hack".

OH - AND IT CURED A SLOWLY CREEPING DEATH WOBBLE!