Tie rod upgrade?

[K201979]

I'm about to replace the tie rod ends on my 79 k20 and i was wondering if anyone with an 80 and older truck has gone to 81-up tie rod setup? Ends would be cheaper in the long run but i dont know if the knuckles where the tie rod bolts are the same. Anyone know? I know id have to buy the 81- up adjusting sleeve but theres gotta be a cheaper setup than that long tie rod end at $35 and up

 

[bucket]

Which style do you have now? Different styles were used alongside each other through the years.

I prefer the style with the big ends. That's the one with a short side, a long side and a little adjusting sleeve. I just bought the whole setup on Rock Auto, Moog stuff. It wasn't very expensive.

 

[K201979]

Thats what i have. Long end on driverside with hole for damper, short sleeve and short end on passenger. I looked up the cheapest they had on rock auto, which wasnt bad. Around $30 for the two ends, but then another $25 or 30 for shipping. I can get them local for around $60 for the whole setup but not sure what brand. Probly mastercraft. I feel like any of the moog ones were like $50-60 just for the long end. I was thinking that if i bought the 81-up, long adjustment sleeve, i could buy the cheepest brand ends i could find and being that there not that hard to change, if they didnt last, theyd be dirt cheep to replace. If i stick with the long end i probably will spring for the moog parts because i dont want to pay $35+ for the long end every time the cheep parts wear out. My truck daily sees lots of rough gravel roads and the blacktop round here isnt real good either. Steering and suspension take a beating. So you think i should stick with the one long end setup and just go all moog?

 

[bucket]

The style I talked about was used through '91 on the Burbs and Crew Cabs. Not sure about the K5. When I looked them up on Rock Auto, I just picked a year. I think I used '90 V3500 as the application. I'm not sure what shipping was, I ordered a bunch of parts for a friend's truck too.

I wanted beefy, but didn't want to spend twice as much on a real heavy duty tie rod, like what ORD offers.

 

[K201979]

I just looked them up for a 78 cause thats what came up(same as mine)and moog, both ends with sleeve- $79 n change. Shipping $28 n change. Probly what ill do. Might find em for about the same with free shipping on fleebay.

 

[Blue Ox]

The long/short setup is stronger and much easier to adjust for toe. The later trucks used it on 4.10 gears and lower which I'm going to say puts more load on the tie-rod. So like most things in manufacturing, newer isn't necessarily better, just cheaper.

 

[K201979]

I didnt realize the setup i have was beefier. Ill stick with it. All this info is why i asked. Thanks fellas

 

[Frankenchevy]

The long/short setup is stronger and much easier to adjust for toe. The later trucks used it on 4.10 gears and lower which I'm going to say puts more load on the tie-rod. So like most things in manufacturing, newer isn't necessarily better, just cheaper.

Can you elaborate? Mine has a long on drivers side and just a shorty/adjuster on the passenger side. But my truck is mid 80s...

I’m looking to redo mine for ***** and giggles.

 

[Blue Ox]

Every time I look up tie-rods for my '85 they spec the tubular, short-both-sides with jam nuts for higher ratio gears. 4.10 on down calls for the long/short with adjusting sleeve. Lower ratio=more torque on the wheels=more pressure on the tie-rod.

As far as alignment, tightening the the collar doesn't change the adjustment anywhere near as much as the jam nuts while you're setting toe.

 

[bucket]

Every time I look up tie-rods for my '85 they spec the tubular, short-both-sides with jam nuts for higher ratio gears. 4.10 on down calls for the long/short with adjusting sleeve. Lower ratio=more torque on the wheels=more pressure on the tie-rod.

As far as alignment, tightening the the collar doesn't change the adjustment anywhere near as much as the jam nuts while you're setting toe.

I forgot about the 4.10 thing, I've never been certain about it though. The front axle in my Burb came from a '91 Burb and has 3.73 gears. But it also had the big-n-little tie rod installed on that 3.73 axle.

 

[Frankenchevy]

Every time I look up tie-rods for my '85 they spec the tubular, short-both-sides with jam nuts for higher ratio gears. 4.10 on down calls for the long/short with adjusting sleeve. Lower ratio=more torque on the wheels=more pressure on the tie-rod.

As far as alignment, tightening the the collar doesn't change the adjustment anywhere near as much as the jam nuts while you're setting toe.

Makes sense. My truck was originally 4.56, but now it’s 3.73.

 

[idahovette]

Blue Ox ,you are dead on about the adjustment changing on the jam nut style. Hard to keep it at what you want ,while the sleeve style stays put.

 

[Blue Ox]

I forgot about the 4.10 thing, I've never been certain about it though. The front axle in my Burb came from a '91 Burb and has 3.73 gears. But it also had the big-n-little tie rod installed on that 3.73 axle.

My pickup had a jam nut tie-rod and 4.10 gears from the factory. Maybe because they didn't think the diesel would give it trouble. But every parts book I've ever looked at called for the long/short. Just a guess, but I suspect that they may have installed whatever they had on hand to keep the production line moving.

 

[bucket]

My pickup had a jam nut tie-rod and 4.10 gears from the factory. Maybe because they didn't think the diesel would give it trouble. But every parts book I've ever looked at called for the long/short. Just a guess, but I suspect that they may have installed whatever they had on hand to keep the production line moving.

My guess is the same as yours. If there was a shortage, it would be better to install the wrong tie rod. Most people would probably never know the difference.