Front end noise - Tie Rods

[Philo Beddoe]

On my 1998.5, I recently upgraded from the stock wheels to some 2014 take offs (275 70 R18's) and added 2" spacers.   I have put about 3k on them and yesterday noticed some front end noise.  The tie rods feel very sloppy now.

 

Few questions:

 

Will luke's links fix this problem?

or

Should I rebuild with moog parts?

 

Do you think the larger rims, tires, and spacers caused my front end issues?

 

Thanks,

Philo
 

[Mopar1973Man]

Larger wheels and tires does change the geometry of the front end putting more stress on steering parts and suspension parts. I would just get a quality set of tie rod ends and replace them. As for me and running under sized tire and wheels I'm still running OEM tie rod ends yet. Still tight. I've only changed ball joint and a track bar.

[Philo Beddoe]

Thanks Mike,

 

I think I might sell these rims and go back to my stock rims.  I don't want to have suspension issues.

 

What size / type tires do you reccomend?  I have 4.10's, so I would like to go with something taller.

 

What manufactor tie rods would you go with?  seems lots of people like moog.

 

Philo

Edited April 24, 2015 by Philo Beddoe

[CTcummins24V]

With no real experience, I've heard wheel spacers are terrible for your hubs/unit bearings. As far as tie rods, I would stay away from cheapo in house brands, unless it's NAPA high end line. I rebuilt mine with MOOG, no issues in 20,000 miles. RockAuto or Amazon

[Mopar1973Man]

Sad part is you would be better off changing diff gears than increasing tire sizes but I know it's expensive. The problem is the front end is marginal at best for stock 31 inch tires. As you go up in tire diameter you changing the leverage forces on the front end. 285's is about as far as you want to go in tire size. Still problematic but if you get a set of 17" or 16" wheels stock would be best. It get worse with suspension lifts and other modifications. Buddy of mind showed up with a 1999 Dodge Ram with a 3 inch leveling kit and other suspension mods which are costing him another $2,800 to replace steering box, ball joints, tie rods, etc. Truck has barely 130k on the clock.

[Philo Beddoe]

Thanks, I will most likely go with MOOG parts, sell my 18's and go back to the stock 16's and get some taller tires.

 

I think my ball joints are still good as well as my track bar.

 

Mike - I like your forum and thanks for the advice.

 

 

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm not saying it not possible to run taller tires but most people don't want to beef up the rest of the suspension and front end to handle the geometry changes. But thank you for the comment...

[Ilikeoldfords]

I run 35x12.50's on my truck without to much issue. Only had to replace track bar and the ball joints are getting a bit worn out. I will admit the steering stabilizer helped tighten things up a ton with I would assume is because of the larger tires.

[fire176969]

I also run 35x12.50s on my truck. Haven't had any issues with tte rods. Did however have to replace the track bar twice. Put lock out hubs on and replaced the ball joints just because I had the front end apart so far, but I can't say they were trashed. Broke the output shaft off of the steering box once and wiped the lower bearing out of the replacement steering box.

[Buzzinhalfdozen]

I run 35x12.50's on my truck without to much issue. Only had to replace track bar and the ball joints are getting a bit worn out. I will admit the steering stabilizer helped tighten things up a ton with I would assume is because of the larger tires.

Do you just have a standard parts store steering stabilizer or is there a better option?

[Ilikeoldfords]

I am sorry, I didnt mean a stabilizer shock. I was referring to a steering box brace. This one to be exact. The stabilizer shock is still original.