I might take you up on that, thanks! I'm going on a road trip in the next two weeks so it looks like I've gotta get this all done next monday or so.

I got the TRW's through carquest w/ shop acct, like $33 per side for the kit w/ the boots and stuff. Land rover wanted $78 shop cost per side, wtf.

What's the worst part, just pressing the outers out?

Looks like I might have killed my front right tire.

 

Hit me up via PM if you want to use them or just change the tie rods in my driveway. Honestly, they're pretty easy as long as you have the tool. Getting my ends out wasn't bad because as long as you're replacing the ends, you can whack the old ones with a hammer. If you're not replacing the ends, then it might be best to use a block of wood or something. Mine weren't stuck too much.

The inners require quite a bit of force to remove. I didn't want to torque the steering rack that much, so I supported the rods/removal tool with a jack stand while I used a breaker bar to remove them. When retorquing, I can't remember what the torque value you're supposed to use is, but it was somewhere around 95-100 Nm I think.

FWIW, the boots that were included with my TRW rods were crap (in my opinion) because they were the hard plastic stuff. Since my old boots were nice and flexible and in really good shape, I just reused them.

Oh, and one more thing. Schedule an alignment ASAP after changing those things. I thought I did a pretty good job of measuring my old ones and making sure the new ones were the same length. Unfortunately, I must have still been way off because my steering wheel was cocked at 45 degrees in a straight line and I got all the warning bongs... amber suspension, traction control, etc. All was perfect after an alignment though.

 

That's crazy! I already knew these things were brutal on tires if anything was out of spec, so maybe that shouldn't surprise me, but you wouldn't think 1mm on the tie rod would make much difference.

I have a guy here in Sterling near the shop that agreed to $65, not sure if the offer is valid on weekends though.

I'll shoot you a PM, maybe we can fumble through the snorkel install too, I'll provide lol

 

What a bummer - took the snorkel out of the box at the shop today, and there's a big chunk out of the most OBVIOUS spot on the entire unit.

Of course it couldn't have been on the back side or top, etc.. nope, right there where everyone will see it.

I messaged the seller on ebay.

 

My only concern would be how the material holds up over time, no particularly deteriorating, just how badly it'll fade in comparison to the higher priced snorkels it's replicating.

Texas sun hates black plastics, so. :P

 

Duplicolor makes this stuff called "Bed Armor" in a rattle can, but it layers like an epoxy bed liner - same texture also.

Worst case you could just mask everything off (or remove it) and coat the entire unit in a can of that stuff - should last forever.

The material does feel VERY strong, but I'm not sure about UV resistance.

Really hope I dont have to send this stupid thing back to China to get a refund! I can probably melt some plastic and stick it in there then re-texture it.

 

You got instant trail cred built in... you're lucky the seller didn't charge you extra...

 

Thanks for the heads up on that product, I actually might have to give it a try on my plastic fenders and such, they're starting to look pretty bad.

 

That's actually how I know about it!

I did flat black with a primer base on my DII fender flares before, and the leading edges just wore off from rain and dirt friction I guess.

When I rebuilt the front end and did the face lift, the guy I got the front end from had painted the ENTIRE front bumper instead of leaving the plastic area the textured black.

My entire point was to make the thing look clean / stock - so I sanded the entire front bumper down and used the bed armor on all the areas which were textured plastic before, and it looks AMAZING. Zero signs of wear yet also.

I thought it would be a pain to clean, since it'll rip the fibers off of rags and stuff, but I mostly spray it with armorall and water jet and it looks like new again.

 

I picked up one of these, mine seems to sit a little hi i think, the bracket at the top is beyond the trim piece or do i need to tweek it?