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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Trucks / May 2005

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Tie rods on 96 F350 4x4

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carl mciver - 29 Apr 2005 00:38 GMT
   I have to replace all the tie rods on my 96 F350 4x4 Crew Cab.  I rarely
drive the truck off the road and never beat on it, so I'm curious if anyone
has any quality issues with the tie rods available from Shucks and the like.
Specifically McQuay Norris and Duralast.  The price difference is huge.  The
works, just parts that is, on my truck in Moog brand is almost five hundred
bucks and the cheaper brands are around 250 or so.  The local tire chain can
replace them for me for about five hundred, but money isn't so easy to come
by and I can more easily spread the cost and time impact around by replacing
one item every week or two until I'm all done, then have it all aligned.
Did I mention all four tires have to get replaced right away after that 'cuz
I've pushed them beyond the limits?
   Seeing as how I use this as the family prime mover on the highway and
around town, I don't need heavy duty but then again I plan on keeping this
truck for a long time.
websurfer - 29 Apr 2005 12:38 GMT
>    I have to replace all the tie rods on my 96 F350 4x4 Crew Cab.  I
> rarely
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> around town, I don't need heavy duty but then again I plan on keeping this
> truck for a long time.

Carl,

   All I can say is MOOG parts are the best, and in many cases are superior
to the original manufacturer.  Do yourself a favor and go to a store that
sells both Moog and the cheap brand, get the same tie rod end from each
brand on the counter and take them out of the box and compare... I think
you'll be surprised, you can see the quality difference.

   If this is a daily driver, and you plan to keep it a long time, go with
quality even though it may cost more up front.  Just my $.02... it's your
truck, your families safety at stake.

Websurfer
(No, I don't work for MOOG, but I did sell auto parts for 6 years)
lugnut - 29 Apr 2005 13:30 GMT
>    I have to replace all the tie rods on my 96 F350 4x4 Crew Cab.  I rarely
>drive the truck off the road and never beat on it, so I'm curious if anyone
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>around town, I don't need heavy duty but then again I plan on keeping this
>truck for a long time.

If you plan to keep the truck and need it to be reliable and
safe, you will not go wrong with the Moog parts.  My second
choice would be the TRW line which has both a standard and
premium line.  The TRW standard line is much less expensive
and has zerk fittings to facilitate lubricating regularly.
If the truck has some miles and you only need another
50-100K milkes or so, I would look into the TRW standard
Treadsaver series if it is available for your truck.  You
should do all of the work at one time because everything you
are looking at replacing affects the alignment.  If you
don't get it back pretty close, you can litterally destroy a
tire(s) in less than a hundred miles and it may not be safe
to drive.

Good luck
Lugnut
Scott - 30 Apr 2005 07:07 GMT
>    I have to replace all the tie rods on my 96 F350 4x4 Crew Cab.

Who told you they are ALL bad? Somebody trying to sell you something?

On the other hand, how many miles do you have on it?  Does it have
tires or wheels larger than stock?  That will wear things out.
carl mciver - 30 Apr 2005 19:40 GMT
| >    I have to replace all the tie rods on my 96 F350 4x4 Crew Cab.
|
| Who told you they are ALL bad? Somebody trying to sell you something?
|
| On the other hand, how many miles do you have on it?  Does it have
| tires or wheels larger than stock?  That will wear things out.

   I say they are bad, and have known about it for too long.  The tie rod
ends out at the wheels are the worst; the boots are cracked and coming apart
and water runs out when I regrease them!  The truck has about 113K miles on
it and I think the rods are all original.  (I had a leaky left axle seal for
years and the oil and dirt took out the ball joint boot, which took out the
ball joint.  I wound up replacing both axle seals because I had to take the
diff out anyway.  What a job!)  The other two rods aren't far from the end
of their lives, so those aren't so much of a priority.  I can replace them
one at a time and still get toe close enough, which is still better than
what they're doing now.  I'm considering doing just the two and take it in
for alignment and tires, and putting up with the tech telling me the other
two rods need replacement very soon.
   The tires are stock size and have over 50K miles on them, which I put on
the truck when I got it in 1999.  The tires are past their limits and
rotating them has squeezed all the life out of them I can. The right front,
which was the worst, got swapped with the spare because the tire store
wouldn't work on an air leak it had 'cuz it was so far gone.  My wife wants
bigger tires and wheels, but so far I've been able to keep her at bay by
talking about wear and tear, not to mention the cost factor.  She
appreciates the respect she gets on the road, but as it is the truck barely
fits in parking garages, and she will definitely hate to have to walk a mile
or two from where she found a place to park!  Ain't worth how it looks, if
you ask me.
Joe - 01 May 2005 13:49 GMT
If you can grease them, they couldn't be original, could they?

>    I say they are bad, and have known about it for too long.  The tie rod
> ends out at the wheels are the worst; the boots are cracked and coming
> apart
> and water runs out when I regrease them!
carl mciver - 01 May 2005 17:26 GMT
   Now that I was unsure about, but all the tie rods on the truck are
greasable.  If Ford used non-greasable joints in the factory, how would a
truck at 60,000 miles (when I got it) have replacement tie rods all the way
around?

| If you can grease them, they couldn't be original, could they?
|
| >    I say they are bad, and have known about it for too long.  The tie rod
| > ends out at the wheels are the worst; the boots are cracked and coming
| > apart
| > and water runs out when I regrease them!
David M - 02 May 2005 00:23 GMT
>     Now that I was unsure about, but all the tie rods on the truck are
> greasable.  If Ford used non-greasable joints in the factory, how would a
> truck at 60,000 miles (when I got it) have replacement tie rods all the way
> around?

Ummmm... the previous owner replaced them perhaps?

> | If you can grease them, they couldn't be original, could they?

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Joe - 02 May 2005 03:19 GMT
>>     Now that I was unsure about, but all the tie rods on the truck are
>> greasable.  If Ford used non-greasable joints in the factory, how would a
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Ummmm... the previous owner replaced them perhaps?

That's sure what I would guess. If you can grease them, then your complaint
is not with Ford. That's what I think.
Chris Hill - 02 May 2005 13:45 GMT
>>     Now that I was unsure about, but all the tie rods on the truck are
>> greasable.  If Ford used non-greasable joints in the factory, how would a
>> truck at 60,000 miles (when I got it) have replacement tie rods all the way
>> around?
>
>Ummmm... the previous owner replaced them perhaps?

He has a real truck, not an f150 or ranger.
carl mciver - 02 May 2005 17:58 GMT
| >>     Now that I was unsure about, but all the tie rods on the truck are
| >> greasable.  If Ford used non-greasable joints in the factory, how would a
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
|
| He has a real truck, not an f150 or ranger.

   That's what I thought about but wasn't sure.  Why would Ford build a
truck made to work and not made it last a long time, considering that
they've done a pretty good job so far?  Most of the folks who own F350 and
other heavy duty trucks need them to last a long time as a moneymaker, and
take appropriate care of them.  Not being serviceable for long life on heavy
duty applications seems counterproductive.  For light trucks I can see
permanently lubed joints, as they don't get used for the same reasons.  Do
F350's come with greasable or permanently lubed tie rods?

   Something that I was pondering was that when I bought it, I'm it had
been imported from Canada, and it was full of chaff (I mean everywhere!) in
all sorts of places and there was some glass bits under the floor mat in
many places, like it had been in a wreck.  One headlight adjuster had been
busted as well, and while that in itself doesn't confirm anything, the
possibility exists that the truck was totaled and rebuilt before I got it.
As an XL model (stripped) though, the value hardly seems worth it.
Chris Hill - 03 May 2005 03:20 GMT
>| >>     Now that I was unsure about, but all the tie rods on the truck are
>| >> greasable.  If Ford used non-greasable joints in the factory, how would
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>possibility exists that the truck was totaled and rebuilt before I got it.
>As an XL model (stripped) though, the value hardly seems worth it.

On my '99 they are greasable.  Only things that ar permanent are
u-joints and ball joints.
Joe - 03 May 2005 04:44 GMT
>>| >On Sun, 01 May 2005 16:26:05 +0000, carl mciver rearranged some
>>electrons
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
> On my '99 they are greasable.  Only things that ar permanent are
> u-joints and ball joints.

Sorry for the confusion, guys! I don't have a 350, as you can tell.
carl mciver - 03 May 2005 06:17 GMT
>>SNIP<<
| >>| He has a real truck, not an f150 or ranger.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
|
| Sorry for the confusion, guys! I don't have a 350, as you can tell.

   'S alright.  It was a worthy question to ask, and not something all of
us know.
Derrick Hudson - 03 May 2005 15:30 GMT
>> I say they are bad, and have known about it for too long.  The tie rod
>> ends out at the wheels are the worst; the boots are cracked and coming
>> apart
>> and water runs out when I regrease them!
>
> If you can grease them, they couldn't be original, could they?

My '93 F-150 has greaseable tie rods, but the ball joints were not
greasable until I had to have them replaced.  AFAIK the entire
drivetrain was original when I got it (60K, 2001).

-D

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carl mciver - 04 May 2005 05:57 GMT
|     I have to replace all the tie rods on my 96 F350 4x4 Crew Cab.  I rarely
| drive the truck off the road and never beat on it, so I'm curious if anyone
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
| around town, I don't need heavy duty but then again I plan on keeping this
| truck for a long time.

   I just replaced one of them.  Very careful to put the replacement back
exactly where the old one came out of.  I wasn't sure if the old part was
original, but the boot was permanently bonded to the rod end, which I doubt
is a trademark of aftermarket.  I got the McQuay Norris part, and the box
also had "Dana" on the box, right below the name.  That actually surprised
me, so I wonder what the connection is, and if it were such that Dana would
have two different brands _and_ two competing parts, that would be highly
wasteful.  The replacement part was definitely not cheap looking, though.
 
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