After Frank (Technician) cut both ends of the Sleeves down to 6.00" exactly he threw a nice chamfer on it to give that professional look.

Then Frank began cutting the pilot bore at .4375". We chose this diameter because its the only size we have in long bits.

 

We got the .560" ID cut to 5.25" deep. Tommorow Frank will cut the threads and chamfers, then we'll see how they fit.

 

nice thread im a machinist/ die maker looking to start this project my self along with some traction bars, what programing are u using? i run mastercam at my shop

 

I use Autodesk Inventor most the time, we don't have any nice CNC machines at my shop, all we got are some old ass manual machines and a cranky old machinist named Frank lol. Is that program for machining with CAD files?


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Got the threads and chamfers cut.

 

So after threading the sleeve on the tie rod, it got me thinking of how the hell I would adjust the rods when the sleeve completely covers up the hex section on the rod that you use to adjust them.

So at my attemted solution I added a set screw right where the sleeve covers up the adjustment section of the rod. The idea is, that when I need to adjust my tie rods I will loosen the sleeve off the tie rod end then tighten the set screw down to grab the flat section on the rod enabling me to adjust the rods using the sleeves.

I haven't seen this before but I think it should work.

 

Here is a sleeve installed on my passenger side tie rod. I will take some more pictures when I get them put on my truck. :drink

 

Nice work! Those look very sharp.

 

Thank you!

 

Would it anger you if i copied that(Dimensions)? haha ive been trying to ge around to doing these but been busy. We have all the cnc machines in-house so it wouldnt be hard for me to draw these up and make them. I use solidworks, i was taught on inventor tho.

 

Not at all, It wouldn't be cost effective for me to try and sell these anyway.

 

Those are identical to the ones I bought from The Dmax Store.. Krytonite... minus the set screw.

 

What size & material are those?

 

nice! but...that appears to be more than a 30 thou chamfer on the ends

 

Ha someone is paying close attention, yeah it's definitely not to print, We just eye-balled it with a 82 degree countersink bit. Everything else is pretty close :thumb

 

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Nice job man!

 

Thank you! What do you guys think about the set screw idea? You think it will work?

 

Got the passenger side tie rod in! I'm really diggin the look of these .

I also threw on some new MOOG outer ends, my stockers were looking pretty sad and I didn't want to have to take them off again after an alignment.

 

Did you try out the set screw idea on the truck?

 

Yeah it's on the one in the picture just on the other side so you can't see it. I'm going to try it when I do the alignment.

I'm curious to see how everybody else with sleeves adjust their rods? The only other way I could think of was vise grips or something.

 

Got drivers side on.

Not subject related but I also got my CTS installed too! :gearjamin

 

Sweet!! I'll be ordering some SS hex stock Monday. Thanks for the write up btw.

 

No problem! :drink

 

I don't understand. Rough Country sells a set for $35

Ok, SERIOUSLY........I think you're overthinking the adjustment thing. Yes, I'd use vise grips up near the inner boot.

I've been reading of Napa/Moog tie rods being a larger diameter, and PPE even makes a point of saying theirs will fit either stock or Napa. But I can't find any dimensions of the Napa stuff. Have people ordered other sleeves and later found they can't put them on Napa or Moog inners??

 

I checked on the rough country sleeves, they are mild steel that's been zinc plated, which means eventually they will rust.

 

Didn't take long for my rough country sleeves to rust so tight i couldn't get it off.its still on the rod to this day.went with fabtechs.to the op,this diy is by far the coolest in a long time.

 

Very cool, nice job.

Although I have to be honest, and Im not dogging on you for doing this yourself...but... For $40 that pre-made tie rod sleeves cost, is it really worth going through all this effort???? Seriously...

I have a lathe and bridgeport in my own shop, yet I still wouldnt even consider making them myself from scratch. The hours of my time spent designing the sleeves, cost of materials, and then the amount of time to actually make them myself is a hell of a lot more than $40.

 

I think it has more to do with the fact the OP can say he made that part on his truck and did not buy it.

 

Like I stated in my original post I LIKE making my own parts. I know it's not something everyone likes to do, I get it.

I got the material for free which is stainless btw, much stronger compared to the rough country ones. I spent 15 mins drawing them up and frank and I machined them in 2 hours (two 1 hour lunches). I know for some it's still not worth it but I had fun!:thumb

As far as the set screws... they worked great! I'm glad I did that, very easy to incorporate and easy to use.

 

Size and location of set screw

Hey I was wondering what the dim. To the set screw was and what size screw.

 

In thinking about this further I've been wondering why we don't all leave the stock nut on, then we could back off both (to allow enough room for adjustment) and tighten the nut and the sleeve against one another. Then turn the sleeve or the nut for adjustment. Once adjusted, cinch the nut back against the tie rod end and then cinch the sleeve up to the nut.

Also if you go with a set screw I think you could place it nearly anywhere; it really shouldn't have to hit the flats on the tie rod unless your tie rod threads are really boogered or rusted.

And I'm still wondering about Napa dimensions.....???

 

I'm not sure on the Napa inners, I only bought new outers.

The set screw just works better on the flat since all you need to do is snug it for it to turn the rod without slipping.

The jam nut idea could work as long as the threads are clean for when you adjust the rod counter clockwise or just tighten the crap out of it so it doesn't break loose.

Don't over think it... just use vise grips :rof