Picked up my new (to me) power rack, now have inner tie rod questions.

I picked up a used early 944 power rack and pinion today. Thanks to all who advised getting a power rack.

Because of how the suspension we have altered, we need inner tie rods that are at least 1.5 inches shorter per side than the early tie rods. No, this is not the later rack setup, it is indeed the early setup.

Are there other Porsche (or VW or Audi) inner tie rods with the male M14 x 1.5 thread on both ends, that are at least 1.5" shorter than early 944 tie rods, and use the same protective boot, or one that can be modified?

Is there a chart of inner tie rod lengths and construction?

Why are you needing shorter tie rods? What year model car are you putting this on?

Admin wrote:Why are you needing shorter tie rods? What year model car are you putting this on?

There was a prototype Porsche made for Studebaker in 1956. Here is a photo:





However, this is another Studebaker.
I am making an updated 1963 Studebaker Avanti with LS1, with associated parts from various sources.


It has Corvette front suspension narrowed 3" to fit under the Studebaker. This narrowing has required a power rack with approximately 22.5" inner tie rod centers (Porsche). However, I need shorter innner tie rods than the early Porsche 944's to connect with the steering arms.


The forum's help has been greatly appreciated.

Here is a link to some of the changes made: http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/garage/1963-Studebaker-Avanti-694-grobb284.html

Here is a link to photos of the LS1 Studebaker build:

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/album.php?albumid=8376

You're in luck, because I researched swap options and the Early 944 Power inner Tie-rods are 13.75" and the Late Power inner Tie-rods are 15.00"......and my notes point to you needing this Toyota inner tie rod if you want to go even shorter than the early 944 offset with a power rack.......

http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MOOG%2DEV261

What is the type of outer tie-rod that the Vette spindle accepts? The 944 spindles are all 1.00" Taper-per-Foot....They are NOT METRIC.

Oh BTW....Badass Build you got going there.....

You're also in luck if your front end spindle is a C4 vette as it's outer tie-rod accepts the Toyota inner tie-rod threading (M14 x 1.5 RH)

xschop wrote:What is the type of outer tie-rod that the Vette spindle accepts? The 944 spindles are all 1.00" Taper-per-Foot....They are NOT METRIC.

I don't recall what the taper per foot is. I should remember because I had tapered sleeves made for the rear suspension heims.

I just planned on using the Corvette outer tie rods as they are M14 x 1.5 female like the Porsche outer tie rods.

By the way, any idea of the length of the Toyota inner tie rod ?

It's on the bottom of the page in the link....

12.85" M14x1.50R Male

xschop wrote:It's on the bottom of the page in the link....

12.85" M14x1.50R Male

I apologize, I scanned the page and thought that it was just an advertisement at the bottom.

Is there a chart of these inner tie rods, for I may need to be a little shorter?
I saw on Fleabay that there were a number of inexpensive inner tie rods for Volvo's for ZF racks that looked similar but shorter.

Also, I am having great difficulty in breaking the inner tie rods loose from the rack, after peening back the indent in the notch. Any suggestions?

That tie-rod has plenty of threading that you can cut off, BTDT....

Heat the rack end with a propane torch and get it almost cherry hot and pop the tie-rod loose with a long handle wrench and rubber mallet.....BTDT too

The Vovlo 240 tie-rods are M14 x 2.0 so they are no go

xschop wrote:That tie-rod has plenty of threading that you can cut off, BTDT....

Heat the rack end with a propane torch and get it almost cherry hot and pop the tie-rod loose with a long handle wrench and rubber mallet.....BTDT too

Did that and it broke loose. Surprised that one end was that tight. By heating the rack shaft with a propane torch, would that end's seal get damaged?

By getting the tie rods off, they were as you said 13.875.

So figuring backwards, I need inner rods of 11.625 length. A little shorter than what I anticipated. Anything close to that?

Make sure you are calculating total wheelbase shortened and divide by 2

That Tie-rod can be cut down and even Die-threaded further in....BTDT as well

This one may be too short for your mod.....

http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MOOG%2DEV189

But this one looks to be 100% bolt-on....

http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MOOG%2DEV190

LOL, I actually used those on a bump steer kit.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-INNER-TIE-ROD-ENDS-CHEVY-NOVA-TOYOTA-COROLLA-85-88-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1e6067b281QQitemZ130466427521QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

I would have traded you. I just recently bought a manual rack for more driving feed back.

xschop wrote:But this one looks to be 100% bolt-on....

http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MOOG%2DEV190

This looks great for overall length, as well as threads.

Does the Porsche bellows boot grommet fit the slot in this inner tie rod, or did you have to modify it in some way?

Also the link to Fleabay, when you purchased those parts, how were their quality? That's a lot less expensive than from Advance Auto here. Having said that though, they could be the same part.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

The bellows notch was right on as well. I had realized yesterday that these were the exact inner tie-rods that I installed on my car after I swapped in the RX7 control arms and Late spindles, it allowed for a super short (lightweight) heim adapter for my bump-steer kit I built.

I'm not 100% sure if that was the exact seller, but that is close to the cost for them. If you haven't figured it out, Advance, Autozone, Oreilleys, use the same parts as Ebay suppliers for the most part, and just adjust price accordingly. I've got over 4000 miles or so on mine with no problems. Glad to help. I bet that thing will be a blast to ride in when it's done.