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Thing only tie rod ?
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sam_w
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PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 11:05 am    Post subject: Thing only tie rod ? Reply with quote

I bent my tie rod on the Mojave road and in looking for a replacement I find that there is a Thing only part, available from TTS. Does anyone actually use the Thing only tie rod, or just the standard beetle one?
The left hand side is common to beetles.
It has a part number of 131415801F


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The right hand part is
Item Number: 181415802

Unit Price: $95.00 here
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mondshine
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PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sam-
You seem to be pretty tough on tie rods.

i don't know if the tie rods from TTS are any different than standard Beetle, but Herr Kubelmann told me he reinforces tie rods by inserting a cut-to-length piece of Beetle stabilizer bars into the hollow portion of the stock tie rods.

I suppose the only possible downside of strengthening the tie rods would be to cause, or at least encourage the breakage of a more costly and more difficult to service part elsewhere.

Maybe an "off-roader" will chime in re: the viability of converting to a kingpin front axle which has a reputation for being more robust than the ball joint axles.
There must be a wide variety of aftermarket parts to "beef-up" a kingpin axle.

Good luck, Mondshine
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Thing_Man73
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PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 2:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would re-enforce it as noted or quit running into things Laughing I have raced many off-road cars in the past and always ran Big Beef type tie rods and also bigger tie rods ends because when you get a little 'out of it' the weak links begin to bend. If you do not want to buy a new one, just straighten that one and weld some Angle Iron down both sides of the length of it, works well for the Weekend Warrior.
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randybriscoe
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PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What exactly is the difference? The tubing diameter? The alloy? The length? Shape of the ends?

Wait, wait...It's gotta be the shape! Different spindles would probably require different tie rod end angles.
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mondshine
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PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 8:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, the difference, whatever it is, is not in the tie rod ends.
The right tie rod (the whole assembly) does have a 181 part number, but according to my ETKA the (separately available) tie rod ends do not. The inner end (with the eyelet for the steering damper bushing) has a 131 part number, and the outer end has a 311 part number. All four of the tie rod ends have the same part numbers as a 1974 standard Beetle.

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nwflvw
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PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2015 6:51 am    Post subject: Right tie rod Reply with quote

Believe the Thing right tie rod is about 1" longer. You might check with Mike Basso for a used one. You can probably use a Beetle one but it would be weak for off road use.
I always used a piece of sway bar cut to the right length as a tie rod insert for off road use. Vince
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HIGHTOWER
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PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2015 11:36 am    Post subject: tie rod Reply with quote

I am pretty sure that the tie rod from a thing is thing only.
It is smal on the outside and thicker in the middle.
You can see it on the picture from tts.

I checked mine and looks all original.
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2015 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I bought my Thing, one of the first things I did was get a piece of tubing, run the original tie rod through it, and weld her up. Don't know if my tie rod was Thing specific or not, but I do know it was bent and I didn't want that happening again without sufficient cause.
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Solomon Grundy
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PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2015 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Last year I had to order new upper and lower ball ends because most of them were shot. I struggled to find any local chaps in the Silicon Valley that could handle not only putting them on my 481 but then also align the front properly.
I found one old school gent down the street in Sunnyvale; who actually did them back in the day. I brought all the parts in from TTS and he dialed it in for only $200. No more worn tires… I also get my propane there. .
George’s Fuel & Auto Repair
http://www.yelp.com/biz/georges-fuel-and-auto-repair-sunnyvale
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randybriscoe
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 9:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So we still don't know the actual difference? I have a set of original '75 type 1 tie rods I'll take over to the shop and compare.
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There isn't much difference in the pictures of the rods supplied by TTS

http://www.thethingshop.com/TIE-ROD-RIGHT-COMPLETE/productinfo/181415802/

and what Wolfsberg West shows for the Beetle.

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=113415802B

It would seem that the diameters of the rods must be the same or very close to it.
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HIGHTOWER
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The difference is there,if you look closely to the pictures you can see that te one from the thing hase a thikker center.
The ends are the same diameter like a bug.

On the pictur from beetle one no thick part in the center.
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sharkskinman
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 10:06 pm    Post subject: Re: Thing only tie rod ? Reply with quote

OG vs TTS..

Not happy
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 8:30 am    Post subject: Re: Thing only tie rod ? Reply with quote

Tie rods actually have a 3 digit part # imprinted on them
Often times they’re hard to find after 45 years of use
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