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inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:03 am
by ae87
which one is longer manual rack or ps inner tie rods>?

Re: inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:35 am
by ga_goosh
they are about the same. I know a parts guy that grabbed a set of moog power inners and a set of manual inners. the only difference he could see was the price tag. just go with the cheaper of the two. if you want more angle get the rack spacers from battle version or torparts

Re: inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:04 pm
by Deuce Cam
This is a good question that I'm also curious about.

IIRC I'm using moog manual inners that I bought new. When I picked up my used manual rack it had inners on it already. The overall length was the same between the 2, but there were some differences, pic below:

(The top rod type is unkown, and the bottom is the moog rod.)
Image

I never tried the used tie rods that came with the rack. They were removed and donated to a friend (I'm not sure if he ever tried them).

I ended up installing the rack with the new moog inner tie rods, and also new t3 outer tie rods/knuckles. I also attempted to install t3 rca's but encountered a problem. With the suspension at full droop (full stroke tokico blues, uncut megan springs) there wasn't enough room to fit the rca. The only way I could get room to fit the rca was to jack up the strut without it bolted to the knuckle/control arm (I don't recommend doing this) so there was enough room to fit the rca. The issue with this is the suspension binds at the inner tie rod bushing at full droop with the rca's installed :(. Needless to say I'm not running the rca's because of this.

I spoke with Gabe from t3 about this and he had never had this problem, but he also told me he hasn't used moog tie rods. I also haven't heard of anyone else having this problem.

Moral of the story is there may be small differences between manual and power inner tie rods, and there may also be differences between manufacturers. In my case I have a feeling the moog tie rods I got have a smaller range of motion, or less articulation than they should have, but that's just speculation on my part.

Re: inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:18 pm
by eightsixgts
Did you install the outer tie rod above or below the knuckle?

Re: inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:26 pm
by Deuce Cam
Below like stock. Placing it above the knuckle would provide more clearance I suppose, but it would also mess up the geometry.

Re: inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:50 pm
by totta crolla
Whilst the physical length is the same the thread length may be different between p/s and non p/s tie rods.
Also watch out for different angles of articulation. Some rods allow more up and down movement, use this type.

Re: inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:56 pm
by Deuce Cam
^I had a feeling. Unfortunately I didn't think to compare the range of motion on the tie rods I pictured above before installing. I had no idea it could be an issue until I tried installing the rca's after everything else.

Does anyone know which tie rods provide more articulation/range of movement than the moog tie rods? I assume oem is probably the best bet, but I'm curious about aftermarket stuff since the oem tie rods are like $100 each. Plus I'm not even sure if they're still available.

Re: inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:00 pm
by LongGrain
the threads are not different.

Re: inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:11 pm
by totta crolla
LongGrain wrote:the threads are not different.

The photo above suggests otherwise.
Certainly some of the outer tie rods are different lengths and use the wrong inners and outers together and
you will run out of toe adjustment.
I know as I have just been through this.

Re: inner tie rod difference?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:35 pm
by Deuce Cam
Disclaimer: Again, I'm not sure what tie rods are on top in the pic above. They came on an mr2 rack, but they're definitely not mr2 tie rods. Mr2 inners are much longer overall compared to ae86 inners. Regardless, I would not recommend using inner tie rods with less threads, PERIOD, for the reasons totta corolla mentioned.