TheSamba.com :: View topic - Bent tie rod -- repairable?

Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:43 pm

I noticed that my passenger side tie rod has a slight bend in it. Which is interesting that I've never noticed it before and never had any problems getting alignments done. But anyways, is it possible to heat it up and straighten it back out (like in a vice)? Will heating it up cause any other issues? It's only a minor bend and barely noticeable without a straightedge.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:46 pm

gtixpress wrote: I noticed that my passenger side tie rod has a slight bend in it. Which is interesting that I've never noticed it before and never had any problems getting alignments done. But anyways, is it possible to heat it up and straighten it back out (like in a vice)? Will heating it up cause any other issues? It's only a minor bend and barely noticeable without a straightedge.

Never straighten bent steering parts. Replace them. Trying to straighten them just fatigues the metal.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:48 pm

My son and his friends straighten the tie rods on their Jeep Rock Crawlers, but then, they do not drive them on the street, or at high speed.
I would not do it for a street car.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:28 pm

We used to bend tie rods frequently when I raced off road. Take the tie rod off the car, find a tree or a rock and smack the rod on the top of the bend. With practice you can get it damn near perfectly straight. I never saw one fatigued to the point of failure, and some of them had been straightened this way more than a couple of times. They are pretty cheap to replace, though, and I wouldn't trust one that had been pretzeled or bent to the point of crimping, but if it is simply bent, you can straighten it without fear.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:39 pm

Bentley Repair Manual, Section 7, p. 30 wrote:
WARNING:
Never try to straighten bent tie rods. The strength of the steel used in their construction will be seriously impaired.

End of debate. If your life and limb is worth less than the price of doing it right, then knock yourself out. Just try not to take anyone else with you, please.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:44 pm

I still would not drive a car on the street that had had a suspension part straightened. You are taking yours and the other people around you life in your hands with a questionable part.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:58 pm

Thanks for the input. I'll get a another one when a get the money.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:07 pm

I guess I'm dead then.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:08 pm

If you need a straight-edge to see the bend, I'd leave it as-is unless you can't get an alignment, or if it hits something through its travel (check it at full compression and extension of both steering and suspension travel).

Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:38 pm

KTPhil wrote: If you need a straight-edge to see the bend, I'd leave it as-is unless you can't get an alignment, or if it hits something through its travel (check it at full compression and extension of both steering and suspension travel).

That is a thought. Has this car been slammed?? Does the tie rod hit the body on full travel?

Thu Jun 25, 2009 6:57 pm

It used to be lowered two notches in the front, but that was it. It didn't have a whole lot of suspension travel then, so I would be surprised if it hit something.

Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:39 am

The main reason that you do not rebend tie-rods...if you are being safe...is that ag reat many of them are very tough, hard and slightly brittle steel. These had to be..in order to have threads that do not easily deform and strip out.....and leave you flying down the road with disconected tie-rod ends.
The issue at hand here...is that unless you have X-ray vision...you have no way of knowing if that tie rod has a fracture that will seperate on a hard bump.....or cracks on the thread land areas.

Some tie-rods are softer than others. Iwould not straighten them on a street car. Ray