Tie Rod End Makes Contact with Exhaust

[fiasco]

So this morning while investigating the source of my brake-squeal, I discovered the source of an unrelated and heretofore mysterious sound that seemed to be coming from the front suspension when I turned the wheels far to the right. It turns out that when I turn the wheels far to the right, the tie rod end that's connected to the idler arm makes contact with the exhaust. See the pics below.

Anyone have any easy-solution suggestions (other than, don't turn the wheels that far to the right)? I guess the obvious one is to reorient the exhaust to get it out of the way...but that's a pretty daunting task for a weekender like me.


Tie rod end, connected to the idler arm - view from the passenger side wheel well. Wheels oriented straight forward.


Tie rod end, connected to the idler arm - view from the passenger side wheel well. Wheels oriented all the way to the right. Tie rod end makes contact with exhaust.

Thanks!
-- se

[azruss]

If you are near the end of the steering travel, the easiest solution is to dent the exhaust pipe at the location to create a little clearance. On the other hand, the ball joint will do that for you without you doing anything.

[BEEK]

3 main reasons tie rod ends contact the exhaust are

1. motor mounts sagged and the exhaust pipe is not where it belongs
2. motor is not centered on its mounts in the crossmember, and the exhaust pipe is not where it belongs
3. a different motor has been installed, a 2.0l in a 1800 car and the 1800 head pipe is used, it is shorter and guess what, it is not where it belongs.

i would recommend checking these issues first

[joelbert2k]

Beek,
I suspect #3 is the issue. According to his signature it's a 69 with a 2ltr.

Steve,
Long time no see. New project?

[RRoller123]

Might also check to make sure that center of steering is truly center of steering, ie that when the wheels are forward, the same number of steering wheel turns go left to right lock to lock. I found when I bought mine that the tie rod ends were adjusted such that there was a great difference in length on either side although the car was well aligned. It sounds counterintuitive but it can be done. Imagine that one tie rod is tightened all the way short and one is made long to compensate the other side, and the steering wheel gets mounted registered over one set of bolts to either side, so it still points center with this adjustment. The steering wheels can be registered one set of mounting holes (or more) left or right and all appears well. The clearances are pretty small and this could be a source of problem. I still need to register my wheel one notch counter clockwidse and re-align to get things back where they should be. It is on Spring list!

[fiasco]

3 main reasons tie rod ends contact the exhaust are...

3. a different motor has been installed, a 2.0l in a 1800 car and the 1800 head pipe is used, it is shorter and guess what, it is not where it belongs.

Beek,
I suspect #3 is the issue. According to his signature it's a 69 with a 2ltr.

Steve,
Long time no see. New project?

Beek and Joel - I'm sure you're right, although I need to correct my sig. The engine is an 1800, I believe from a '76. Either way, it's not the original 1600, and so, of course, the exhaust is not original.

RRoller - the steering looks pretty well centered - at least to the eye of a non-expert.

This is a car that Mark Allison put together originally, and for the most part it's pretty well sorted. I have pushed the exhaust back and forth a little in the 2 years (or so) that I've had it - if I shift it toward the driver's side, it bangs against the differential at the back end. If I shift it toward the passenger's side, the tie rod end hits it. I'm afraid that my only recourse is some serious bending of the pipes - a project that I'm not real excited about. I like the "bang a dent in it" idea though. Maybe I'll just climb under there with a hammer in the morning (not really).

Joel - yep, it's been a while since I've been active on the forum. Mostly a combination of the car basically running well, and me not having any money to do anything to it. I picked it up from Mark a couple years ago to replace the '76 that got totaled. I did a couple projects right when I got it, but since then have just been driving it to work every day. I finally crawled under it this weekend to replace the transmission oil, and try to find the brake squeal. Calipers and pads all looked fine, but that's when I discovered the tie rod/exhaust thing. I may start showing up here a little more, as I have a couple projects that I want to do, and have cleared out some space in the garage. Mostly interior upgrades.

Cheers - and Merry Christmas!
-- se

[BEEK]

if you are moving the exhaust from the tail pipe, and you have collision issues. thats a simple solution unless the center section is welded to the rear section. in an oe setup just loosen the clamp from the center section to the rear muffler, then realign and retighten.

[fiasco]

if you are moving the exhaust from the tail pipe, and you have collision issues. thats a simple solution unless the center section is welded to the rear section. in an oe setup just loosen the clamp from the center section to the rear muffler, then realign and retighten.

It's one solid piece from stem to stern. Ok, it's actually a bunch of pieces welded together, but the outcome is the same. At one point I tried to take the whole thing out and see if I could gently bend it in strategic spots without kinking it, but since it's all one piece, and all I have are little, 2-ton jack stands, I couldn't get the car high enough off the ground to even get the thing out. That's one of those days that is much funnier in hindsight than it was when it happened.

I guess I could just cut a foot or so out of the exhaust pipe underneath the car, get a piece of flexible pipe and put it back together with clamps. That would be a fairly inexpensive fix, and might also allow me to take the whole assembly out when I need to. Hhmm...I may have to give that some more thought.

-- se

[tmooretxk]

Drive around until you find a really grimy muffler shop. They'll fix almost anything in ten minutes for $50 cash.

[scampbel98]

Yes I know its a zombie thread. I have the same problem. Did anyone find a solution?

[howard]

heat and bend, any muff shop should be able to move it. mine only need a small adjustment after i changed to a 4 2 1 manifold and had the same issue.

[scampbel98]

Thanks Howard, I'm curious what is/was your setup in terms of motor, car year etc? And did you also have the 4-bolt flange?

[howard]

1977 1800 orig manifold was 4 into 1. i had a early manifold 4-2-1 w/ 4 bolt flange and bought the rest of the system from auto ricambi i got the down pipe for 73-74 1592 & 1756 # ex5-474 and had to tweek it a little to clear the tie rod .