Ebay Tie Rod Sleeves??

[TSSPAYNE69RS]

Does anyone have any experience with these sleeves or see any problems? They are half the price of the Hotchkis and DSE ones??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=8075128782&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2006/06/9d_1_bJPG-1.jpg

[wendell]

I couldn't think of a worse place to try to save money. MOOG.

[BonzoHansen]

Are you saying all the cool-looking adjustment sleeves are worthless?

[slowcamaro]

coleman racing sells solid tierod sleeves. just mesure the current ones to make sure you order the right length. Make sure you pick up some matching jamb nuts when you call.

www.colemanracing.com (http://www.colemanracing.com)

I ordered the ebay ones about a year or so ago before i found about coleman having them, and mine are holding up fine.

[bretcopsey]

**COLEMAN WARNING**

Nothing against the comapny or the products. Great in both respects! However, I just put my steering linkage together to find that although the overall length of the new sleeves matched the stock ones, they are not threaded deeply enough. The tie rods bottom out before they reach proper adjusment length. I haven't called yet to straighten this out, but if you decide to order these, you may need to get shorter sleeves than what is stock.

[TSSPAYNE69RS]

Does moog make a solid sleeve?

[TSSPAYNE69RS]

I suppose if I were only interested in saving money then I would stay with the stock style open sleeves. My thought was that a solid sleeve is an improvement over stock. Now, could I save $$ with one brand vs. another on the solid ones without sacrificing quality, performance? Hmmmm. This is an area I don't want to pay extra just for the pretty Hotchkis, DSE, etc. name on the outside of it. Hell, I'll pay $100 per set if someone can prove to me the quality difference is worth it.:drive1:

Troy

[Tudorwagon]

Functionally, I see absolutely no advantage to solid sleeves vs. the stock style split sleeves (there might be a very slight weight savings). Cosmetically the solid sleeves are an improvement, but have you ever seen a stock style sleeve of reasonable quality bend, slip or break even in high performance use? Personally, I've seen tie rods themselves bend long before the sleeves bend or deform in any way.

Actually with respect to corrosion, solid sleeves might be a disadvantage in that any moisture that gets into the sleeves or between the tips of the tie rods has no way to escape which would dictate more rapid corrosion of these parts.

Edelbrock offers a solid sleeve similar to the Hotchkiss ones for quite a bit less. I have no knowledge of the Coleman pieces but I'm not sure I'd be real willing to go with no-name sleeves even if the price is very low. It's really hard to tell what the quality of the metal or the thread cutting are and who are you going to complain to when they let loose and you lose your steering? Going with a brand name seems a safer bet even if they are more expensive because: higher $$ should mean better quality materials and manufacture and big name companies aren't going to put out an inferior product for fear of recalls, lawsuits or whatever which would result from products that fail when used as expected.

If you want to go the no-name route, simply look for commercially available turnbuckle stock that has the size openings and thread pitch needed to mate with the tie rods in question. Make sure to get them from a reputable company such as McMaster Carr and get ones made out of quality metals and with appropriate wall thickness. McMaster Carr lists all the engineering specs for the parts they sell so you know exactly what you are getting. Their prices are pretty reasonable too.

[wendell]

Bonzo,
I'm not saying they're worthless but... I'd be afaid that cheap solid tie rod sleaves are nothing more than a length of cheap AL hex stock that's been drilled and tapped by a monkey looking to make a quick buck. I've seen catastrophic steering failure at speed. While it's a spectacular show, I eventually feel bad for the victim.

[dhardison]

I have a new pair of Hotchkis tie-rod sleeves (#1607) with jamb nuts still in the original packaging. They can be yours for $50 SHIPPED to anywhere in the continental U.S. (PayPal only)

See pic here: http://www.danhardison.com/discs/DSC00403.JPG

[slowcamaro]

Their are plenty of people using coleman sleeves for tie-rods, home made panhard rods and RLCA's. Alot of the FRRAX (f-body road race & autocross) board users are using their product and racing on the parts.

Coleman stuff is quality and a lot of people using and abusing it. Thats the first complaint ive heard about their stuff.

One of the major factors is that stock style adjusters are(can be) a PITA to adjust this was more of a concern than the added strength.

[TSSPAYNE69RS]

:rolleyes: I'm think I am just going to by the steering performance kit from DSE that includes tie rods, lower ball joints, tie rod sleeves and delrin lower control arm bushings since I am going to have to have all of those items anyway. $496. I really wish there would be a DSE group buy because I need a lot more stuff and even a 5-10% discount makes my cheap a$$ feel better.:nopity:

Troy

[6'9"Witha69]

:rolleyes: I'm think I am just going to by the steering performance kit from DSE that includes tie rods, lower ball joints, tie rod sleeves and delrin lower control arm bushings since I am going to have to have all of those items anyway. $496. I really wish there would be a DSE group buy because I need a lot more stuff and even a 5-10% discount makes my cheap a$$ feel better.:nopity:

TroyGo to GP Superstore. Frank and Lisa seem to always get deals going, even if you don't see it listed in the active GP area.

[MrQuick]

Sure we use them on Frrax but for a street car with sustained highway speed and innocent commuters around me...I'll stick to stock or Hotchkis thank you.
I've lost a tie rod at 45mph and it was not pretty.

Dan has a great deal there.

[TSSPAYNE69RS]

Yeah, it is a bad feeling I lost one on a curvy country road in TN and the ditch came way to fast.

[bretcopsey]

I wanted to clarify, I am not unhappy with the Coleman sleeves, just wanted to warn others that you may need a 4" or 5" sleeve to replace a 6" stock sleeve since there is a 'dead zone' in the middle, rather than the sleeves being bored and tapped all the way through. The quality seems great to me! I shied away from using aluminum since this is a street car.

Coleman alum sleeves:
1" O.D. Aluminum Tubing
7/8" Hex both ends
5/8" right and left-hand thread
Custom lengths available
http://www.colemanracing.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=2_96


Coleman alum hex sleeves:
Hex shaped O.D. aluminum tie rods are manufactured from high quality billet aluminum extrustions. These tie rods feature 5/8" left and right hand threads. The outside hex allows you to install the wrench anywhere on the tube for easy adjustments in low light conditions ir confined areas.

SIZES IN STOCK UP TO 40" (1/2" INCREMENTS)
** CUSTOM SIZES AVAILABLE **
http://www.colemanracing.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=2_1025
Coleman steel sleeves:
13/16" O.D. Steel Tubing
5/8" right and left-hand thread
Custom lengths available
In stock up to 40" long
.120 wall thickness
http://www.colemanracing.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=49_721

[silver69camaro]

You know, those things are so easy to make. Just pick up some 6061-T6 hex or round bar and chuck it up in a lathe, and start cutting threads. Anybody can do it, and you could do it yourself for far less than people sell them for (even anodizing). This is assuming you know a guy with a lathe...

According to the FEA I've done on the stock style sleeves, the solid ones are purely cosmetic. Both are much stronger than they need to be, even in a 4000lb car in a 1g corner while on the brakes. You can't stress them out any more than that.