mskar

I just installed new tie rod ends, they came with cotter pins but no hole pre-drilled on the stud Would have thought they'd come with new nyloc nuts as well but no dice. I guess this a DIY (drill it yourself) situation? Is it safe to just use some loctite or do these nuts commonly back out?

It took a grand total of 20 minutes for the driver's side, the passenger side was frozen onto the control arm and took must've been 90 minutes of pb soaking, then torching, and lots of hammering. I like hammering. Good release as long as the digits stay out of the way.

FredR

Did you replace both inner and outer rod ends or just the outer ones? I did my outer ones two years ago and then an inner one failed so I have just replaced both inner and outer joints as complete assemblies- what I should have done two years ago had I been smarter given there is little difference in cost.

With regard to your question my rods came with self locking type nuts but one of the pieces was drilled for a split pin and one was not.

I would contact your supplier and ask him what is going on and to supply something that is credible. Although unlikely the joint will come apart once tightened correctly I would feel uncomfortable knowing that no locking device was present so suggest you resolve this before driving if you can wait.

Regards

Fred

Paddcomp

I would drill them, possibly not so easy once fitted though. Next solution would be nyloc nuts, if already fitted.

mskar

I'm thinking I'll drill them for peace of mind. Re-used the nuts and although they had decent stickiness to them I think maybe I'll put a bit of blue loctite on the threads as well. No biggie, cars still in the air and I'm waiting on TB/WP parts.

mskar

Thanks Fred, I just did the outers. The car test drove pretty tight but the outer boots were torn up. Rack boots were replaced with the rack by PO. He used some bobo, probably local garage so hopefully the rack was done correctly, had to tighten one mounting bolt already while I was under there. Aforementioned bobo probably responsible for half-assed brake job, sensors were decaying off the wires, not confidence inducing.

Imo000

If you are drilling the the rod and using the pin, there is no reason the use a thread locker. I would just use nyloc nuts and save the aggregation of drilling.

davek9

Never heard of a DYI (drill holes) where did you get them?
They may be defective and should have holes, considering they did come w/ pins

Tom in Austin

Every tie rod end I've seen has a hole for a cotter key, that seems odd ...

wpgshark

I haven't seen a cotter key or pin in a decade. With 8 cars on the road and really crappy roads I change a lot of tierods, always do inners and outers as the alignment is more than the added cost.

Better outers come with Stover type lock nuts, the rest with Nylocks.

I've never had one get loose, and more often than not, with the crap from winter, many require the nut to be cut off.

If you're concerned +1 for locktite.

mskar

Thanks for the replies, I think what I was fishing for is whether this is a common point of failure, it does not seem like it is, and that nylock nuts typically keep them in place.

mike77

I changed mine several months ago. They came with cotter pins and holes. However I found that if I torque the bolt correctly then the hole would not line up. I had to under torque slightly to get them aligned. Should I be considered about that?

Imo000

Yes you should if you backed out the nut to line up the hole. You should always go passed if you need to line up the hole, never under.

mike77

I'll have to get some new pins and tighten it. It was just under torqued and seemed like I would have to over torque a fair bit to get to line up. If i remember correctly it may have even meant that the nut was too far below the hole for the pin to slot through. At the time i wondered if self-locking nuts might be better? That is what was on there originally

Nurburg

I know this is an ancient thread but I just kept it simple and cost me 50 cents. Just used an 8 inch dollar store black bungee and it works perfect. Maybe tacky for some but you can barely see it.