Is there enough room between the bottom of the knuckle to the face where you ground the bevel when the joint is installed?

 

and are the two ball joints at the exact same clock position ?

 

Looks to be a quarter inch or so Tom. Not sure how I would adjust this if it were incorrect though.

You're question is heading down the path I was thinking Scott. The joints on both sides are clocked the same. Meaning both sides look like the joint above when the wheels are straight and the whole bar rolls back and forth whenever the wheels are turned.

When I asked my alignment guy about how they should be clocked, he said some guys will clock them at the extreme opposite of each other to reduce the amount of roll in the bar, but he said that would wear the joints out. I've been questioning that ever since - especially now that I've got this issue.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

Ford likes them like you have em and I do also

I was thinking if they were off it would perhaps lead to the tearing

as far as the 1/4 inch there is no fixing that without screwing with the receiving end


I think this may be a bad design on the BJ stud taper ??

 

I bet they pinch when the assembly rotates.

 

and the energy suspension boots are thicker so while there stronger it may not be helping

 

Sounds like the consensus then is the gap between the knuckle and the tie rod end may be too small. XRF did send me some more boots, but I think I tossed them since they were so thin. I'll have to go check.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

LOL

thin for a reason ?

 

Still shredding?

 

As a matter of fact, yes. I put my last Energy Suspension boot on a few months ago and it lasted two weeks. Contacted XRF again and they said they would do something. Never heard anything and they didn't reply to my emails. They have a lifetime warranty so I've just been running without it now. Not sure what else to do.

Shawn

 

Lame.

I was just about to replace my entire steering system with XRF parts, but looks like I'll just be replacing the drag link after hearing that.

 

Another guy on here had trouble with the XRF pass side tie rod end. I use Moog and have not had a problem. The Moog part does not have a boot at this joint, just a washer/rubber spacer.

 

You may have lost the taper on the knuckle. That's what happened to mine. I tried three different tie rods, xrf, moog and napa premium and all had the same result.

 

You mean the hole the tie rod stud fits into in the knuckle is worn? That would definetly decrease the space available for the boot. But how do you create wear in the knuckle?

Shawn

 

Yes, the hole the tie rod goes into is worn out. The tie rod could have had the slightest play or just been a tad loose and reamed the hole ever so slightly. I thought I was the only one on the planet to have the problem. But I have seen it on three trucks now, all on the passenger side. It's BS. I fortunately found some good used knuckles, but an option for you is to contact ruff tuff specialties and get their steering setup for the Fords. It utilizes larger GM tie rods. All you have to do is ream the holes, install the inserts so you a prepped for the larger tie rod taper.

 

Yeah, you're the first one I've found with the same issue. I had an Energy Suspension boot on the previous tie rod for years without issue. I replaced it with XRF and now immediately have a problem. If it was a worn knuckle, I should have been having the same issue with the old tie rod. What brand tie rods were you and the others having the issue with?

Shawn

 

Maybe try something other than a rubber boot like a polyurethane bushing?

 

That's not a bad idea. I can't stand the way the tie rod rolls back and forth going clunk clunk every time you turn the wheel. This looks like a solution to limit that. However, the Energy Suspension boots are basically the same thing I think, only they have a skirt on them. Unless these are made from much firmer Poly, I'm not sure they would last either. Also, depending on how hard it clamps down, it looks like it could put pressure towards pulling the ball out of it's socket. I'll call them and see what they say.

JcrOffroad, Inc. Polyurethane Bushing for Tie Rod Ends

Thanks,
Shawn

 

That looks similar to what I received with the Moog tie rod I installed on my truck a few years ago. Also, I was having the same tie rod boot trouble with the original tie rod. I thought maybe my problem was age related, but I had the same thing happen with the poly boot. I went ahead and rebuilt the front axle while I had it torn down the do the inner axle seals. I can not give you much feedback on boot/bushing Moog provides now, as I have put 500-1000 miles on the truck since I replaced everything up front in 2011. I am interested in what ends up fixing your trouble.

 

I don't like that bushing thing. The tapered "bolt" of the tie rod end is supposed to tighten down very tightly in the taper of the knuckle. With that bushing in there you might as well not be using any tapered parts at all and it has to lead to faster wear.

 

Since the bushing is made of polyurathane, it shouldn't provide much resistance against the "tapered bolt" seating fully in it's "cone." I could see your point if it was made of metal.

That place was closed today. I'll try tomorrow and post back what they say.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

I guess I misunderstood what was being done with it. Now that I've looked at the JCR link I know what's going on. I actually have a bushing like that on the draglink on my Jeep.

 

How do you like it? Does it work?

Shawn

 

Honestly I don't really notice a difference. It's off-road strictly and there are enough other noises, creaks, and pops going on when it's twisted up that I can't tell if it did anything or not.

 

I ran into this when I installed the XRF parts on the 96. I will go Moog next time. The Moog end is designed for a rubber and steel washer set up that limits tie rod roll.
This is correct: "The Moog part does not have a boot at this joint, just a washer/rubber spacer. "
I designed and machined a cup washer and poly washer to make the XRF work like the Moog. Great care must be taken to be sure it isn't too thick preventing the taper of the tie rod end from seating. Some compression of the poly washer but not too much, the angles change at full turn too.

I have pics and dimensions somewhere.

 

Are XRF and Moog better than Ford OEM replacement pieces? My factory pieces have 160k miles and are not close to needing replacement.

 

I used XRF then used Napa premium and still had the same issue. But it sounds like XRF is having come quality control issues if many folks are having the same issue.