1939-47 tie rod upgrade

[PT81PlymouthPickup]

The original tie rod on my 1939 Plymouth 1/2 ton pickup truck was bent. I straightened it best as possible when I restored the truck and it works OK but it's not perfectly straight and I wonder if it might be prone to bending again during a rapid turn? Anyhow, it looks bad and I wish to replace it. I'm sure the engineers knew what they were doing, but I have to say it sure looks a bit wimpy on these trucks. It's been a long time and I can not remember if it's a tube or a solid bar? The original measures .775 diameter with 3/4-16 male threaded ends. Overall length is about 43-7/16 long. My thinking is to fabricate a slightly larger diameter new one from tubing. The original tie rod ends on these trucks had female threaded holes which seems to be different from most cars and trucks that have male threaded ends.  If I change the tie rod ends, I would have to find some with the same taper. Has anyone any experience with what might be a good way to upgrade? What might be the best material? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Jerry Roberts]

Here is some information that might help you make a decision ;   I straightened my tie rod in a vise just by pulling on it , and yes it is soft steel . It has been holding up fine for many years now . I was told that one way to strengthen the tie rod is to weld a length on angle iron onto it . The tie rod is solid and not hollow and it has ends that are left and right hand threads , to set your front end alignment you wold loosen the tie rod ends and turn the tie rod , moving the adjustment in or out .by use of the left and right hand threads . There is a thread on this forum where a member made up a heavier tie rod for his truck , perhaps you can find it with a search .  

[59bisquik]

I know mine is a later model truck, but I had a bent tie rod also. I generally overkill stuff and built my own out of .250 wall DOM tubing with left and right thread welded in bungs. I always use Ruff Stuff Specialties for my offroad fabrication supplies and this fit the bill and works perfectly.

Edited May 12, 2020 by 59bisquik

[Jerry Roberts]

There ya go . That is the one that I was thinking of . 

[PT81PlymouthPickup]

32 minutes ago, Jerry Roberts said:

There ya go . That is the one that I was thinking of . 

Thanks Jerry! I'm surprised there was not more postings on tie rods?

[PT81PlymouthPickup]

2 hours ago, 59bisquik said:

I know mine is a later model truck, but I had a bent tie rod also. I generally overkill stuff and built my own out of .250 wall DOM tubing with left and right thread welded in bungs. I always use Rough Stuff Specialties for my offroad fabrication supplies and this fit the bill and works perfectly.

 

I'm all about "overkill" too.  I'm not sure if it's a virtue or a curse? Lols! Thanks for posting the photo. Very helpful. Do you remember the O.D and I.D. of the DOM tube you used?

[59bisquik]

Head over to https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com and find the thread size you need in the weld in bungs category. That will dictate the ID DOM tube you need and then you can go from there. I have built a rock crawler and a sand car with their stuff... I generally overkill it quite a bit. It's up to you if you want .250 wall or smaller. They have a great selection and all the info you will need.