[urq] RE : Rear tie rods for my 1983 : is there an alternative to OEM ?

[Louis-Alain Richard]

Bingo !

After spending a couple nights browsing the online catalogues, I have
found a part that is identical to the rear urq tie rod ends, early style
(857 501 499A, or Lemfoerder 13687 which is NLA...).

So, drum roll please...

The tie rod end that fits an urQ is a Suzuki truck part ! ES3045 (or
ES3045R, or ES3045RL) is a 16x1.5mm right-hand threaded part with a cone
shank that looks and fits correctly in the urq strut. 

The funny part is that I browsed the online Lemfoerder and Moog/TRW
catalogues for all the European brands, thinking that one MB or BMW or
Porsche tie rod would fit (many looked the same in photo), but none that
I saw in person at my FLAPS was correct. Each was either 14x1.5 (VW
urBeetle) or the cone shank was too short (BMW 6-series or MB W123/124),
or ...

Then, my FLAPS person began to open its Japanese inventory boxes, and
this Suzuki Sidekick/Tracker/Samurai 90mm outer tie rod was looking very
similar to my eye...

It is now installed on my car, and I have a few reminders in Outlook to
check if everything is still tight in a few days. One lost urQ wheel per
city per century is enough :-)...

Oh, by the way, it is a 12.00$CDN part... so I will always have some in
stock, like the upper strut mounts or the radiator fan switches...

Another solution that I was following was the urBeetle 14x1.5mm tie rod
(311 415 812C, 11.00$CDN). To make it fits the bent part of the
assembly, one would have to create an hybrid adjusting sleeve: you take
a 22 mm steel billet, 88 mm long, and you have your preferred shop
thread each end with a 16x1.5 left-hand thread portion, and the other is
14x1.5 right hand thread. Then, you ask them to make a short slot in
each end, and reinstall the 2 pinch collars. And voila, a nice and cheap
rear tie-rod that uses garden variety urBeetle parts.

So, if you want to do the same, wait a week or two and then ask me if
everything is OK. I will remove the wheel and look closely for anything
strange.

Louis-Alain



> -----Original Message-----
> 
> I need a rear tie rod for my early 1983 : 857 501 499A. If memory
> serve, they are expensive, right ?
> 
> Since it is only the external part that is worn, can I replace it with
> a similar part from a more common car ?
> 
> Louis-Alain