Heavy Duty Isuzu tie-rod adjusters from Independent 4xDate: 2006, Mar 26
Author: Tad Grosvenor
Many of us have broken tie rods on the trail in our Isuzus. Troopers, Vehicross', 1st Gen Rodeos, 1st Gen Amigos and pups all have tie rods that are the weak link when traveling off-highway. Larger tires, lift angles, differential lockers and spinning tires all compound the problem and put more stress on the tie rods than they were designed to handle. Aside from not being able to steer, it isn't uncommon to break a CV joint when the tie rod breaks. When the tie rod snaps, the tire goes all the way to one side, which puts the CV joint in its weakest position and it breaks too.
Independent 4x has come up with a solution. These heavy-duty replacements eliminate the problem of breaking tie rods. Here half of what comes in the box (you get two full sets):
You'll get one of these for each side. To say that these are beefy is an understatement. Here is a comparison to the only other upgraded tie rods (which aren't even on the market anymore):
Installation is a 4 on the scale of 1 to 10. You will want to get an alignment afterwards because your toe-in won't be set properly. The only specialty tool that you may want is a tie rod pulley. You can buy them for about $10 from places like Harbor Freight. It is possible to remove the tie-rods without one but the puller makes it much easier.
Start off by pre-assembling the new tie rods. Screw the lock nuts onto the tie rod ends. There is one left hand threaded nut and one normal nut. You'll immediatly see which one is which. Then screw the tie rod ends into the adjuster. In the kit you will find 2 grease fittings. Use a small wrench to screw those into the holes in the tie rod ends.
Next remove one of the old tie rods. To do that you'll need to follow these steps:
Remove both cotter pins from the old tie rod ends. Needle nose pliers, small screwdrivers and cotter-pin removers are all good for that.
Remove both castle nuts from the tie rod ends.
Using the puller, remove the tie rod from the truck. If a puller isn't available, hit the side of the boss where the tie rod is stuck with a hammer. If you hit the threaded end of the tie rod you will damage the threads. By hitting the side of the cast-iron boss you will flex the steel enough to cause the tie rod to pop out.
After the old tie rod is out use it to set the new tie rod to the correct length. You will only be able to get this close to correct. An alignment will set the tie rod length more accurately.
Install the new tie rod. Use two washers under the new castle nuts. These prevent the castle nuts from threading down soo far that the cotter pins aren't effective. Tighten the castle nuts and install the new cotter pins.
The next step is to tighten the jam nuts. Use a large wrench on the tie rod adjuster. Hold it still while you tighten both jam nuts onto the ends of the adjuster. Use some red Loctite under the jam nuts to ensure that they don't come loose.
When you are done, take the truck in for an alignment. Because you need an alignment after installing these, this would be a good upgrade to combine with a lift install.
The last step (after alignment) is to paint them. They are bare steel and will rust when exposed to moisture. Give them a good coat of rust-preventing paint so that they will last a long time.
Original Tie Rod:
Independent 4x Heavy Duty Tie Rod:
You can find these Heavy Duty tie rods in the online store at Independent 4x:
http://www.independent4x.com/item.jhtml?UCIDs=839915%7C1109486&PRID=1549279
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