Posted by Matt Wilson [172.69.69.73] on Sunday, March 25, 2018 at 17:48:51 :
Doing some research in Phil's Archives, I see that the tie rod ends are supposed to have either a spring/metal washer/rubber washer setup, or a boot, to keep out dirt. Right now, my '49 Power Wagon has the spring setup on one rod end, but nothing on the other rod end. The truck has been torn apart for several years, so it's possible I misplaced it, but unlikely, because I usually would have put the boot on the stud and threaded on the nut after taking the tie rod off the truck. Anyway, the rod end seems to be in good shape, and should be, since it's only been driven a few thousand miles since I installed these rod ends, which were NOS. Operating without a boot doesn't seem to have hurt it.
So my question is, have any of you guys bought one of the so-called "universal" tie rod end boots? If so, did it fit ok? Or does anyone have a part number for one that will fit properly?
Thanks.
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