jcwcooper Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Anyone got some? I went out last night for a spot of green laning in the evening and my mate in his RRC hit a stump and bent his steering rod both wheels were toing out wards, we managed to hook a shackle around the steering arm and bend it back enought to get home at 20mph. So im going to invest in some HD steering arms now. Are they any good or something else like Dan bars? http://www.britpart.com/Accessory.asp?Page...cessoryRef=1060 Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I always had trouble with bending track rods off road. My first attempt and making a stronger one was to weld a bit of angle iron to it. I thought it was invincable till I hit a rock and right at the end of the angle iron just as the part where the end of the thread of the rod end finnishes... it almost bent to 90 degrees.. Then I bought a new track rod and bent it in half in a small accident. So this time I just bought a bit of 25mm galvanised water pipe and sliped it over the now straightend track rod. Its done alot of serious off road since and been great. Cost me about 12 pounds for the pipe and I;ve still got enough to do the front steering arm. The guys who do rear trials and serious stuff always told me not to bother with HD rods and under axle protection. They always said just get some pipe and stick it over. I took their advice and its fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Do not weld to steering components in the UK it's illegal & will result in a MOT fail. fitting a tubular sleeve over the existing rods is OK provided these sleeves/tubes are NOT welded into place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy_Gonzales Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Anyone got some? I went out last night for a spot of green laning in the evening and my mate in his RRC hit a stump and bent his steering rod both wheels were toing out wards, we managed to hook a shackle around the steering arm and bend it back enought to get home at 20mph. So im going to invest in some HD steering arms now. Are they any good or something else like Dan bars?http://www.britpart.com/Accessory.asp?Page...cessoryRef=1060 Dave. I had something similar happen to me in my Defender, problem was if we didnt sort it out the only way out was via an airlift! We managed to use my front winch and another guys rear winch to straighten it out. I went straight out and bought a pair of HD's, not sure if they are Bearmach or Sumo or what, but they are a lot better than the originals (hollow steering arms on a land rover who would have thought of it!), not had any problems since... I would also get some protection for the front arm too... Have fun ~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest l90truck Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 get some g spot ones from kenson eng there the best on the market if you can bend them they will replace them not sure of the number but there in the back of the mags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Dave, For greenlaning and playing the britpart ones will be fine just remember that they are not indestructible ! Like Scotian, I've tried the angle iron and pipe tricks but found that the track rod will bend at the end of the reinforcement. I also looked at the expensive super tough ones but I was put off for this reason - If I do bend it (and you can bend them all if you put enough force through them) how do I straighten it while I'm out because the load needed exceeds one winch or one man, a nato hitch and some leverage ? So I bought the ones above a couple of years ago and they've be fine through winch challenges, laning, foreign trips etc.. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjolliffe Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I'm with scotian, i kept bending my track rod off-road so bought a new one (3rd time around!) and welded the appropriate box section steel over it, been fine ever since! As for the MOT aspect mine went through with it like it a few months ago so i've never had an issue with that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwcooper Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 Thanks for your replys guys, It was the track rod my mate bent, my front steering arms have a steering guard protecting them, it suprised me how little force was needed to bend the original tube. Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 The last time I bent my standard (almost new) track rod wasnt from an impact on the rod its self, it was from force on the wheel when I went off the road. You can see in these pics. The tube I now have on it is long enough to reach past the threads of the rod ends so hopefully it will not bend where the tube stops. Becuase its so strong now if I have a very large impact somthing has to give.... so I carry spare rod ends incase they break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 And this is what I have now. The galvy water pipe over the old track rod that i straightend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smo Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I've got some of the britpart (or similar) HD ones, they seem to be working well so far, and i had to replace the componants anyway as they were off a crashed vehicle and were nackered!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milemarker Type S Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Would I be right in saying that the Britpart ones come with track rod ends included in the price? I seem to recall they did when I looked in to it, and that the ones they supply are fairly poor quality. If you buy their arms I would suggest investing in some OEM track rod ends- no point in having strong rods just for the TRE's to snap or wear out very quickly... I personally invested in a set of rods from QT services- £50+ VAT for each ... not cheap but very strong. They are obviously not indestructable but many times stronger than the originals... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I dont think its wise to strengthen everything. If you put in solid rods then they wont bend but somthing else needs to. I would rather it was my rod ends (with spares carried) than the drop arm on the steering box or the arm on the swivel. Really dont want to be stranded in the middle of nowear in Transilvania with somthing I cant fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I sleeved the trackrod and drag-link on my old defender with 5mm walled stainless tube, it was a perfect fit and ultra strong.. i've got Britpart bars on my disco... no probs so far and are very strong and well made.. i did chuck out the crappy Britpart TREs and fit OEM items though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callum Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 The last time I bent my standard (almost new) track rod wasnt from an impact on the rod its self, it was from force on the wheel when I went off the road. You can see in these pics. The tube I now have on it is long enough to reach past the threads of the rod ends so hopefully it will not bend where the tube stops. Becuase its so strong now if I have a very large impact somthing has to give.... so I carry spare rod ends incase they break. maybe its just an MOD thing, but is there not meant to be a bracket which attaches to the threaded holes on the underside of the diff to prevent the track rod doing a proper banana. it only prevents the rod bending backwards and downwards unfortunately (and i managed to bend mine the other way), but it does allow a bit of flex before giving resistance. if you fit a fatter rod you'd have to modify it to get enough clearance though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smo Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Those brackets are also on TD5's as standard, not sure about others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I never saw those brackets when I was in the Army. I dont know how the rod would have behaved if I had one on in that accident. There was so much force that the bottom bearing on the right swivel got broken and as you saw the rod was bent. Might have been worse if the rod didnt bend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwcooper Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 Some good points above about if they dont bend somthing else has too. I have to replace a track rod end tomorow any way so im in two minds do I buy some HD arms or just stick with the standard, My 90 has got that bracket which mounts to the diff. Are the track rods supplied that bad? And the other thing is when replacing the bars has anyone had their tracking done or is it a case of measure the length of the old rods(track rod end to track rod end) adjust the new ones to the same legnth and bolt on? Thanks Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smo Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 It would be interesting to know what the length should be, i've fitted them to the new-build D-Lander and of course havnt set up the geometry on it yet!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 maybe its just an MOD thing, but is there not meant to be a bracket which attaches to the threaded holes on the underside of the diff to prevent the track rod doing a proper banana. it only prevents the rod bending backwards and downwards unfortunately (and i managed to bend mine the other way), but it does allow a bit of flex before giving resistance. if you fit a fatter rod you'd have to modify it to get enough clearance though. All 90/110's have that bracket, take it off & stuff it in the garage/shed out of the way, if the steering rod gets bent that bracket just makes things worse. took mine off years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharp Pointy Thing Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I bought the Britpart ones after bending 3 standard ones and they've been great since.....they also came with the track rod ends free, due to a mis-hap at the parts desk But I'm also told that a Mercedes 308 van track rod fits snugly over the LR one with no welding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Thats crazy, Why does a road van have a bigger tube than a serious off road vehicle?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharp Pointy Thing Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 because it was engineered by a German not a Brumie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Are you saying that these are for your motor, or the Range Rover?? I bought a pair of HD ones from Bearmach and also bought 4 greasable TREs to go with them. When I fitted them to my RR the front drag link was too short and left a lot of thread exposed on the TREs. Now I have them fitted to a Defender, they are fine due to the extra mounting for the steering damper on the Defender. Also bear in mind that if you are fitting them to the RR then there won't be a bracket for mounting the steering damper. You'll either have to make one, buy one, or relocate the damper to the Defender position where it is a bit more protected/out of harms way... HTH Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badger Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 get some g spot ones from kenson eng there the best on the market if you can bend them they will replace them not sure of the number but there in the back of the mags Where do you get these from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.