Inner tie rods dont fit
 

Hey Guys,

I have LR3 '06 V8 4.4L. I'm replacing the tie rods and bought the tie rod replacement kit from Atlantic British. We just got the parts and pulled out the old tie rods and the inner tie rod doesn't match up with the replacement part. The threaded part is narrower than the part we pulled out, see photo.

Anyone have any ideas? (red is old / green is new)

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...426992c79.jpeg

could it be that the threaded ends of the left and right inner tie rods are not identical? one is smaller than the other?

This is correct, different thread size on each side.

right on! Thanks for the confirmation!

I face palmed really hard on this one. :) At least you figured it out. But I am going to note one thing for future reads, care must be taken when ordering outer tie rod ends as they can be year specific since there was a change in 2009 and it is possible, by now, that entire knuckles could have been swapped due to an accident. Say like putting a 2011 knuckle in a 2007.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...5a9aff0db0.png

Hey Guys, I got the tie rod issue sorted. The mechanic tried to install the inner tie rod on the wrong side. All good now.

Question: mechanic just called asking permission to cut part of the tie rod on one side, to get the steering wheel to be center. He says it's normal, and was just checking as it voids the tie rod warranty. I said ok. But does this seem normal? I could be mistaken about what he said as I'm translating from a different language with specialized vocabulary that I'm not entirely familiar with.

Is it normal to have to alter the tie rods on one side or the other to get the wheels pointed straight?

That is not normal at all! The steering wheel should be locked to center then BOTH sides are adjusted to get the wheels in spec.

Your mechanic is an idiot.

Ok so I talked to him and he said that the steering wheel is center and the driver side wheel was straight but the passenger side wheel was toe in and the outside thread was inserted all the way into the outer tie rod end and he didn’t have anymore room to tighten the rod to bring the tire in-line. So in order to get it straight, he’s suggesting taking 3-4 threads off the end.

I did notice the passenger side is about 1.5cm below the driver side. Could this be why the tie rod seems like it needs shortening? I don’t know if these guy checked the height. Should I level the corners using the gap tool before they do any work on the tie rod?

The only way that is possible is if the other side is way off, in short turned too far out. Or the steering wheel was pulled at some point and adjusted to compensate for a bad alignment, which should never be done. I personally would pull the steering wheel and make sure the indicator in the clock spring (it is yellow and behind a small window) is showing the wheel is at proper position. Then lock the wheel and adjust both sides accordingly. There is way too much adjustments in these for there to be too much length in the inner rod. Not sure what leveling would have to do with any of this. Just run away from the fool working on this truck before you die in a wreck from the sloppy work.