Det,
You are right. The upstream components from the tie rod are the center link, unlikely to damage that, the idler pitman arms, the next biggest problem, and the steering gear, this could be a problem.
I just came back from the Hummer club event at Kinzalow where I tested Rubber Duck's new HD tie rods. They differ slightly from the pictures that were posted since those were of the first version and these are the second, since I broke the first ones. The part that needed reengineered was the piece that attaches to the center link. It turns out that the threaded part on the one pictured is a week point at the threads. Due to the smaller diameter needed to thread in and the threads were sharp cut this provided a point for a crack to start.
The new version is a two piece solution with a machined piece that slides about an 1.5 inches over the end of the center link with a bolt in the middle to hold it on. It is about 1 inch bigger in diameter than the center link and is threaded on the out side. This allows the second piece, which has the tapered hole for the tie rode to attach to, to thread over the out side. This allows for this piece to expand in size as it approaches the center link rather that be machine down is size where it attaches. This solved the original issue.
I have started another thread with lots of pictures of the trails and links to more
Kinzalow thread. There are also pictures of the damage to the under carriage of my truck after the second day while they were replacing the idler and pitman arms as well as the steering gear. Now, the idler and pitman were shot when we arrived and were not worn out due to the tie rods. But after three days of wheeling they needed to be changed.
I don’t think you will break the new tie rods; this is a good thing since they are not fun to change on the trail. However, they will allow you to put more pressure on the idler and pitman arms but they tend to wear out and I haven't seen them break on the trail. But a solution needs to be found.