GEN 1 RPG Tie Rods Withstand The Most Brutal Punishment!

[bigrig]

I have been so impressed with the RPG tie rods.

On the last poker run hosted by ROC, I ran my truck into a boulder going about 40mph and bent my steering knuckle. The RPG tie rods took the punishment and remained straight and true.

I have since fixed my truck and brought it in this weekend to get it aligned by a shop called Skip's Tires.

They told me (incorrectly) it couldn't be aligned and that the tie rods were bottomed out. I have had this trouble before because it seems that nobody at these shops has ever seen a tie rod with two heim joints.

In their frustration they went at them with what I can only assume was the jaws of life and marred up my beautiful tie rods.

Just wanted to share that the RPG tie rods can not only handle the harshest off road punishment but they can also take on any levels of ineptitude a shop can dish out.

I may reach out to Corry at RPG to see if they could sell me just a single aluminum body so I can make her pretty again, but then again I am just going to bang on it, so we'll see.

 

[Deleted member 12951]

Seems like I have to explain to the alignment shop tech every time how to adjust the tie rods before they get started.

 

[bigrig]

Seems like I have to explain the alignment shop tech every time how to adjust the tie rods before they get started.

The sad thing is I _did_ explain how the tie rods were set up. Next time I am going to get under the truck, undo the boots and make the mechanic physically see that there is another joint on the steering rack side.

 

[Deleted member 12951]

The sad thing is I _did_ explain how the tie rods were set up. Next time I am going to get under the truck, undo the boots and make the mechanic physically see that there is another joint on the steering rack side.

If you explained it to them and they still tore it up, I would talk to the manager and have them cover replacing/fixing what they screwed up. Did they do that to both sides? I don't have the RPG ones but have the SDHQ ones and there is a spot where they put a wrench to turn them.

 

[Yukon Joe]

The sad thing is I _did_ explain how the tie rods were set up. Next time I am going to get under the truck, undo the boots and make the mechanic physically see that there is another joint on the steering rack side.

That's is a good idea. I've also had to explain it. My rod ends look marred from some monkey wrenching on it the wrong way.

Hit yours with some black rustolium, will look good as new.
@Yukon Joe
Drive your raptor here!!!!
www.runraptorrun.com
( * Y * )

 

[bigrig]

That's is a good idea. I've also had to explain it. My rod ends look marred from some monkey wrenching on it the wrong way.

Hit yours with some black rustolium, will look good as new.
@Yukon Joe
Drive your raptor here!!!!
Great Lakes Raptor Excursions (GLRE) | Run Raptor Run
( * Y * )

You were reading my mind, I pulled out the rustolium this morning

 

[BABaracus]

What did you replace your steering knuckle with?

 

[bigrig]

What did you replace your steering knuckle with?

I replaced it with a stock replacement from Ford (along with stock UCA and LCA).

I toyed with the idea of getting a gusseted one but my intention is to go with the RPG long travel kit that includes their monster knuckle. That is a pretty expensive direction to go though, so I couldn't pull the trigger on that at this point.

So the stock replacement is just getting me back on the road and trails for now. Upgrades will come when the money does.

 

[BABaracus]

Yeah, i like the RPG setup as well. The knuckle looks very beefy. I might look into the SDHQ one since I don't expect to go too crazy in the Raptor for now.

 

[EricM]

So maybe it's just me, but wouldn't it have been cheaper and easier to replace a bent stock tie rod instead of both paying for a tie rod upgrade and then bending the knuckle?