Tie Rod thread engagement....

[aarvig]

Hey guys,
I am wondering what the minimum depth of threads are required for a tie rod to be safe.  I measured the depth of my tie rods to be just shy of 2 inches. (Capable of being screwed onto tie rods about 2"). The drivers side tie rod end has about 1 1/4 inches of thread inside it while the passenger side has about 1 1/16 inches of threads inside.  Is this safe enough thread engagement?  With these settings the rotors measure pretty close to parallel.  I am just concerned that tie rods don't have enough thread engagement to develop maximum strength.  Looking for advice guys.  Thanks!

[s_reynolds]

I would think you should be good to go with that much thread engagement. A 100 years ago the rule of thumb for manufacturing was that if you had at least 3-5 full thread engagement you were good, but I always thought that was a little on the low side. My 2 cents worth..

Sam

[mandmGuys]

Aaron, I usually figure 1.5 x bolt diameter to be safe. Curious, did you cut the rods on the rack or were they already cut? I think they ship long, I know I cut mine after getting everything pretty well set up. Knew you put yours together at Lake City to start.

Mark

[aarvig]

Mark,
We did cut it initially in Lake City but I noticed the front wheels were still toed out.  When I went to screw in the tie rods I realized they were bottoming out before I could get the rotors parallel.  So, I cut some more off here at home.  It was late and dark in my shop when I did it and I took a wee bit more than I should of, primarily due to a miscalculation.  But, most opinions say I'm fine at this point.  If I run into a below minimum thread engagement issue after adjusting toe on the final alignment...well, I'll have to replace the rack.  But I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

[mandmGuys]

Don't sweat it, and the inner rod(s) are replaceable if necessary, no need to do the whole rack.

Mark