Re: Rebuilding front suspension on my 120 any advice?

Posted by Ken_P On 2011/6/21 13:55:36

Fred,

I misspoke regarding the cup and cone bearings. What I was referring to are the rod ends linking the drag link to the pitman arm and also to the intermediate arm, not the bearings in the intermediate arm. In my hurry, I misread the service manual.

No offense intended to your company by referring to the lack of inner tie rod ends, merely stating a fact. I've sent a lot of money your way since buying my car a few short months ago, and will continue to do that in the future. I've actually really appreciated your company's customer service.

That being said, quit being so jumpy! No one really likes getting yelled at, even on the internet.

I do agree that tie rod ends are all different, like pistons, but often times one can cross-reference a tie rod end out of a MOOG book or similar and get the same or better performance. Unlike a piston, where you are dealing with reciprocating mass, thermal cycles, and the compression developed inside a combustion engine, a tie rod end has three jobs in life:

- Provide sufficient angular motion to not cause suspension binding
- Be of sufficient material construction (based on material and design) such that it survives the life of the car and does not fail catastrophically
- Bolt into existing suspension components and not have any clearance issues.

Opinions are like a lot of other things, everyone has one. Just my while trying to pass along some recent experiences.