drove it home.....

[evomind2]

sorry abt the cell phone pic....
drove this home 125 miles.....snapped tie rod. i swear i can break one of those over my knee.
luckily i made it home....
when i got home it was still tighter than hell. it would probably hold up to offroading better than stock..

[aetherH3]

nice rig job! haha, does anyone make beefier tie rods yet?

[Desert Dan]

Good Fix Evomind2...It beats walking
What did you use? a bolt and some clamps

How did you break it?

I hope you kept your speed down on the way home

[evomind2]

i was trying to climb up a rock "hill" and it just bent to shiat.....
i didnt do anything that i would have thought it would bend like that. tried to straighten it cause it was bent so far the vehicle was useless. when i tried to straighten it it snapped, as expected.
the fix was abt 5 steel bolts that reached from one broken end to the other and then "u" clamped. some guys helped and i got abt 30 miles b4 it gave way. luckily by a gas station that had u clamps. grabbed a couple more clamps and tightened everything as tight as i could.
i think my fix is stronger than the stock tie rod...sad.
after 125 miles home at 40-45 mph, it was still tight....
damn right it beats walking......

[fourfourto]

Nice trail fix.
A couple of 5 inch bolts and 2 to 4 clamps .

One time we drove a 66 chevy ss 300 miles with a bolt and a gear(greased up) in place of the broken ball joint.

[bjc]

Originally Posted by evomind2

when i got home it was still tighter than hell. it would probably hold up to offroading better than stock..

Fawk! Nice job MacGyver!

[NEOCON1]

Originally Posted by bjc

Fawk! Nice job MacGyver!

X2

[timgco]

that sucks, but glad you made it home safe.

[H3PAC]

They used to call that a "Rube Goldberg". I'm looking at that pic and LMAO. It looks like a Jethro special. I really like the nylon strap...nice touch. Very resourceful though! I don't think I could have ever engineered anything like that and I'd probably still be out there waiting for help. The funniest part is that you're probably right about your fix being the strongest part of the whole thing. You should bring it in to your dealer for routine service and not even mention it. I'd love to see the look on their faces when you say, "You found what on my tie rod? What's a tie rod?".

[evomind2]

Originally Posted by H3PAC

They used to call that a "Rube Goldberg". I'm looking at that pic and LMAO. It looks like a Jethro special. I really like the nylon strap...nice touch. Very resourceful though! I don't think I could have ever engineered anything like that and I'd probably still be out there waiting for help. The funniest part is that you're probably right about your fix being the strongest part of the whole thing. You should bring it in to your dealer for routine service and not even mention it. I'd love to see the look on their faces when you say, "You found what on my tie rod? What's a tie rod?".

haha...my buddy looked at it and asked what the nylon strap was for.....
i said, "thats just for affect..."

actually it was to keep the clamp from sliding. i dont think it did anything, but i was desperate..

[evomind2]

one last thing.....i wasnt gonna say anything but....
an old lifted jeep with bigger tires on it walked up the rocks i was trying to climb when i busted the tie rod.
he was modded similar to me, lifted, bigger tires, but that was it.
he walked up it, i broke.
theres a lot to be said about the durability of a solid front axle....
makes me think.

[NEOCON1]

[Desert Dan]

Make you think JK?

[NEOCON1]

makes me think about doin a SAS after its paid off and no warranty . probably swap both axles out and see what starts bustin then then it would be for Moab use only

[Desert Dan]

I think the one piece tie rod with a solid axle set up in a Jeep would tend to bend before breaking.

and if bent you can straighten it out with a jack

[evomind2]

Originally Posted by Desert Dan

Make you think JK?

haha...actually id like to get a convertible h1 next spring...ha. i know, no solid front axle, but damn i like it.
ill be looking for an 03-04 if all goes as planned.

in all honesty, for pure offroading, u cant beat the durability of the solid front axle. i know every vehicle has its weak points and all, but when u lift an h3 and put bigger tires on it, it stresses the front end components that much more. hit something too hard/fast and if ur lucky all u need is an alignment.
a bad thing abt the jk is that they are very crude/raw compared to the h3.
the level of refinement though greatly improved, isnt as good as the h3 for 95% of the time when u are ON road.
just my humble opinions.....
a lifted jk would be cool though...

[evomind2]

Originally Posted by Desert Dan

I think the one piece tie rod with a solid axle set up in a Jeep would tend to bend before breaking.

and if bent you can straighten it out with a jack

yep.