I FUBARED A Fabtech tie rod

[ROX]

I wasn't going to say anything before Moab, but I have the same issue.

I had new idler/pitman/steering gear put in my rig in Febuary. In March, I installed the Cognito Steering kit, and Fabtech tie rods. (From Trailduty!)

I drove to Arizona, hit one trail on Saturday, and I can hear the whole front end POPPING LOUDLY! It started about the 3rd ledge I went up, and they weren't even that steep.

I have noticed that a lot of the grease is out of the passenger side inner tie rod seal, so I need to put more in. There's only a small amount out of the drivers side. I have to get under there and look closely to see if the gear is worn out and jack it up to check for play in the steering gear.

I have spare tie rods too, just in case.
I'm really bummed.

It sounds like we've got the same issues, Alan.
You're not alone.

Are you talking about the swaybar link and the tie rod banging together? That will happen when a tie rod bends. (trust me I know) I've not had the swaybar itself hit the tie rod. (I haven't ever broken a tie rod either, just bent them) What happens is that when the truck is climbing, the front wheels have traction, and the CL starts to rotate up and back causing the tie rod joints to take all the force of the wheels pulling the truck up the incline. If this motion happens too fast it causes the tie rods at the end of the CL to whip back, causing them to bend or break joints. This usually takes out the swaybar link that sits just behind the tie rod. (ps never get cheap swaybar links from Napa, the bushings suck, they'll work in a pinch but wear out in no time.) If your swaybar link is bent at all, or the bushings are out, they will pop and make noise too. Can you wiggle it or see any rubber missing?

Supposedly, the Cognito kit is supposed to take the rotation out of the centerlink. After this weekend, I'm not convinced that's the case.
I've never run the fabtech tie rods before, so I'm unfamiliar with them. I'm headed to Moab this weekend, and I'm sure I'll have all the bugs worked out while I'm there.

Anyway, those are a couple of my experiences, I hope it helps.