Increasing tie rod length - suspension upgrade

[cudajames]

As part of my disc brake upgrade on my 66 barracuda I upgrade to 1972 disc brake spindles, plus large ball joints

Now, my tie rods are to short. I can back out the inner/outer ends to the correct length but that leaves very little of the ends in the factory sleeve. I do not think this is a good option

At this stage I would like to stay at 9/16th thread ( i have new ends for the project) and do not see any advantage changing to 11/16th - besides thicker
I've done some research, 19060-69 tie rod ends are 3.94" long and 1970-72 is 4.0" so not really an improvement
I did do some research on upgrading the sleeve - the factory is 8.25" long
I found QA1 has steel sleeves - but these are 8.0" long (PST has them also - do not know the length)

My question - would the steel sleeves be able to support the stress of the car with minimum tie rod end inside the sleeve?

What other options are out that that I have missed

 

[jos51700]

I can't say much on the early A cars, I've always kept the swaps to a "system" (i.e., K frame and all) which don't swap from early to late A, and mixing/matching early/late A steering parts just seems like bad omen.

I would not risk this. The rule of thumb for regular fastener thread engagement is 1.5 fastener diameter, bare minimum, so your tie rods need to be in the sleeves something like .85", and most of the time, the recommendation is 2 times fastener diameter.

That said, the consequences of a failure are catastrophic, you're not going to just coast quietly to a stop on the side of the road.

So I wouldn't recommend it, but perhaps someone with more early A experience has something more valuable to say.

 

[Marshalearp]

Assuming you have a shop or somewhere to work, and a vice, simply go to your local metal supply and purchase two feet of 3/4" DOM tube 1/8" wall. Then purchase a 9/16" right hand tap, and a 9/16" left hand tap and make your own; whatever length you need. You'll spend about $ 50.00 or so, but you will have a pair of bulletproof tie rods.

 

[Duane]

As part of my disc brake upgrade on my 66 barracuda I upgrade to 1972 disc brake spindles, plus large ball joints

Now, my tie rods are to short. I can back out the inner/outer ends to the correct length but that leaves very little of the ends in the factory sleeve. I do not think this is a good option

At this stage I would like to stay at 9/16th thread ( i have new ends for the project) and do not see any advantage changing to 11/16th - besides thicker
I've done some research, 19060-69 tie rod ends are 3.94" long and 1970-72 is 4.0" so not really an improvement
I did do some research on upgrading the sleeve - the factory is 8.25" long
I found QA1 has steel sleeves - but these are 8.0" long (PST has them also - do not know the length)

My question - would the steel sleeves be able to support the stress of the car with minimum tie rod end inside the sleeve?

What other options are out that that I have missed

I may be mistaken but I had the 72 disc brake option on my dart years ago. Mine were the four piston calliper deal which I believe was only available on a 72 dusters.
I believe those spindles used a unique lower ball joint that has the tie rod located differently. Perhaps you need to verify that you have a 72 a body duster disc brake lower ball joint that are the correct parts for those spindles. In other words you may have the wrong lower ball joints.

 

[GeorgeH]

Might be able to find an over the counter longer tie rod sleeves off a different model line to get you where you need to. Ie B or E body, Diplomat etc. Sleeves are only threaded so deep and I like to see some threads past the threaded part into the center. I no longer have access to the catalogs with the specs to come up with a part number, but have come come up with solutions like this in the past mixing and matching, checking stud tapers etc.

X'2 on the violent ending if you hit a pot hole and the threads pull out with what you have.