Turbo Tie Rod Upgrade Problem

[adwarrior]

Hi there,

I've just bought some turbo tie rods to upgrade my 69 911E that has worn ball joints. However, I have come across a problem; the tapered pin on the turbo tie rod is too big to fit in the tapered hole in the stub axle. The threaded part, which is considerably larger that the threaded part of the old ball joint will fit through, but the tapered bit is just a touch too big. I understood the turbo tie rod will fit 69-73 911's. I'm wondering if my car perhaps has earlier stub axles with smaller holes. Can anyone tell me if this is the case with earlier cars?

Thanks in advance

Adam

[chris.817]

The tapered end goes in from the bottom. Is that the problem? Don't ask how I know...

[euro911sc]

Sorry, but I'm confused by your terms... stub axes are part of the transmission that connect to the CV's and the differential... right? When you say ball joint I'm thinking it is that part on the end of the A arm that connects in to the hub and strut and is not part of the steering. No offense, just tyring to get a better idea of your problem so I might help

Do you mean the steering arms, sometimes called steeting knuckles, that come off of the strut where the ball joint of the tie rod, called a rod end, connects to the steering arm?? If so, the threaded part of the rod end should point up to the sky and come in through the hole on the steering arm. when you put the castelated nut on the threaded portion and tighten it up to spec you should be good.

If you have done this and you still have a loose connection then there is something else going on... you may be correct that you have earlier steering parts... or they may be worn beyond use.

Show us some pics

Best regards,

Michael

[euro911sc]

PS if you set the length (rod end center to inside surface of turbo tie rod spacer=old rod end center to inside mounting surface) of the new arms the same as the old one's your alignment will be very very close to the old and you can drive to the shop with out worry of excessive tire wear

-Michael

Best regards,

Michael

[chris.817]

He states that the connection is too tight, not too loose. I messed with mine for a few minutes simply assuming they connected from top down. The tapered rod end bolt is just a hair too big to go in the steering arm. I was confused until I checked the other side. DUH. Goes right in from the bottom.

I'm sure that is the issue.

[euro911sc]

heheh my total miss read Chris has it

-Michael

[adwarrior]

Thanks for the reply. I'm from the UK and we call the hub that the front wheel is connected to the "stub axle". The stub axle has an arm that connects to the track rod/tie rod end, the tie rods are connected to the steering rack. This is what I have replaced (the whole tie/track rod and not just the end). Correct the hole in the arm is larger underneath than from on top, however the tapered pin on the track rod end is still larger than the tapered hole in the connecting arm from underneath.
I'm thinking, as my car is a 69 it is possible it has some pre 69 parts. Does anyone know if the holes in the connecting arm are smaller on the pre 69 cars?

[chris.817]

Well darn. I thought this was going to be my first official "correct" advice. Oh well.

Can't help on the issue of older parts. Good luck Adam.

[euro911sc]

Interesting... so what do you guys call the bit that connects in the transmission out to the axels? Love the UK. Lived in london as teenager... wow what a culture shock when I got back to the states! "You are to young to drink! You don't know how to handle your alcohol!" "Um... I've been down at my local for the last 4 years drinking black and tans... what do you think I don't know?"

Unfortunately, I think you have proven that the earlier cars had different track rod ends... Though I am far from an expert in early gear. Since it is tapered I wouldn't recommend taking a drill to it either. I'm thinking that your only option may be replacing the whole strut with a later one as I do not believe that you can find a suitable rod end to fit both the new rod and the stub axle tapered hole

On the positive side, those early struts, if in good shape can bring you some good money as they are probably getting quite rare and anything from 69-(to when they swapped to 3.5" brake mounts 77? 76?) would probably work, though some more research will be needed to verify.

To get the answer to the early question you may have to repost with a title like "Early strut differences" to get some of the early gurus to chime in.

Good luck!

Best regards,

Michael

BTW: fill out your location in your profile so we can see where you are from