Tie-Rod interference (almost)?

Gotta question guys.

MARTINSR wrote: I can not believe how close that tie rod end is to that lower control arm bolt on my 59 American as well, just like that, it blows me away. I figured, it wasn't hitting it, so I left it that way and drive it every day. The darn tie rod end HAS hit the inside of the stock wheels on the car, I don't get it. It has barely touched and didn't cause any trouble so I have left that alone as well.  Yeah, I dont' get it, if everything is perfect (I rebuilt the idler arm) it should be ok.  Now, that steering box and linkage is behind the suspension on that car right? On my American it's in front. Can you post a photo of the suspension on your car showing it a little better as far as how that tie rod is made up? Brian

 

...so, do you run with a plug, rather than the grease-fitting?

There's really no need to check... this discussion has already verified that they normally are VERY close... I'll just need to figure out (once the car's standing on it's own wheels, not on the rotissery) whether to leave the grease-fittings in or run with them out.

The original tie rod ends for the 58-63 Americans (well, at least the 61-63) had a nylon insert -- no grease fittings. They would last 80K miles or so easily, I've had cars with 100K that weren't loose. Maybe that was why. I know the outer ends fit very close to the wheels -- aftermarket aluminum wheels are usually too thick to use on the small 58-63 Americans. Have to use 15" steel wheels (or some 16" today!).

I thought that was pretty cutting edge for the late 50s/early 60s. I remember in the early 90s reading a flyer at a truck shop that had a process to fix worn tie rod ends rather than replace them. They injected a melted nylon in through the grease fitting hole, encasing the ball and taking up any slack. Made me think about the American tie rod ends. The only thing is the ball might not be perfectly centered and there would be some grease residue mixed in. Maybe the melted nylon would soften and displace most of the grease, but would be hard to keep the ball centered. I suppose pressure would equalize around it. Coverage wouldn't be perfectly uniform, but as long as some was around the ball it wouldn't matter if it was a bit thicker on one side than the other. Would still last a long time if my experience with the early 60s Americans is any clue. Would be a great way to fix some of the old cars with expensive, hard to find tie rod ends. Wonder if anyone still does this?