Has anyone upgraded thier tie rods? Can you recomend a good product?
Thanks.
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for the H2 that is.

 

there's only one manufacturer that i know of, and that's fabtech. you'll maintain the stock idler and pitman arms, but get new tie rods and stabilizer (i think the stabilizer is still included). their original kit included the idler and pitman arms, but they were recalled and we all got new stock parts. that was the first thing i replaced when i bought mine, one thing less to worry about, although they can be bent if you try hard enough (i heard of one instance, but have no firsthand knowledge). 4 wheel parts wholesalers carry them, but you can probably find them now at just about any aftermarket supply house. stallioncustoms may carry them, but i've never checked. fabtech will tell you that they don't work on non-lifted H2s, but that's bs. it's because they haven't put them on a stock vehicle, and want you to buy their lift kit.

 

do the improved tie-rods worsen ride?

 

Thanks SB, did you install youself? Was it a big job or what?

 

I Found a site that has upgrades for the tie-rods and pitman / Idler arms.

http://www.cognitomotorsports.com/

 

too big of a job to do myself, and you'll need an alignment, so i had a dealer recommended alignment shop do it. with the fabtech idler and pitman arms, my turning radius was reduced a bit. had to run over some pedestrians on u-turns after. as for the ride, no difference at all.

as for the cognito tie rods, haven't heard of anyone else using them, and from the pictures on their website, the fabtechs appear beefier. personally, the way fabtech handled the idler and pitman recall, i wouldn't use any other vendor's parts. their customer service was beyond anyone i've dealt with in a long time. they called to make sure i was happy with the recall work and ask if there was anything else they could do. can't beat that.

 

I just bought the Cognito Pitman/Idler kit, from Trail Duty, and had it installed today.
Installation took my non-dealer shop about an hour. Tech said I shouldn't need alignment, as I only have 1750 miles and no problems, before installation of the kit.
Steering seems tighter and more responsive.