These castled tie rods are junk

[Matahoe]

So I have come to the conclusion that these tie rods that require a cotter pin are absolute junk. In every case the nuts are loose on the threads, they strip or gall the threads when attempting to torque to spec. I buy the metal locking nut tie rods now. No cotter pin and no fuss. They may be a bit harder to come by but worth it. I know for a fact that the GMOE tie rods are metal locking. Also a few other brands like TRW.

 

[swathdiver]

I wonder what may have changed? That was the common setup thirty years ago or so and we never had a problem with them.

 

[Matahoe]

I wonder what may have changed? That was the common setup thirty years ago or so and we never had a problem with them.

Well if you take a look at that picture. Tell me what is wrong? The nut! Look at the castellated portion. The slots. They are huge! The slotted portion of the nut doesn't need to extend 3/4 of the way down the nut! this is absurd. Poor manufacturing oversight. I also suspect poor overseas manufacturing processes, non-adherence to original specs and lack of oversight.