Cat 426 inner tierod end replacement $240?

[taggmann]

Got my cat moving yesterday( mostly thanks to you guys, see cat 426 drive electric solenoid) and felt so good about it I thought I would put on the new inner tie-rod ends it needs. Not as worried about them failing as I am them pounding the rack clean out of the machine. Anyway Cat will only sell the whole tie-rod. My outers are fine and they want $240.00 a piece. As an old farmboy who hates buying parts I don't need and it looks like it should come apart to change just the inner's anyway. Has anyone been down this road and found a replacement for just the inner? Thanks; John

 

[willie59]

Can you post a pic of the problem part?

 

[Cmark]

Try taking the part to your local Ford new holland dealer. They may be able to match it up.

 

[taggmann]

Hey; Yeah New Holland is a good idea,I know the rear is N.H. Here is a link to pic.s. you can see where it should un-screw. http://s596.photobucket.com/albums/tt41/taggmann99/tierod end/ Thanks; John

 

[Phil]

Looks something like the alignment couplers used in industrial equipment, for attaching a cylinder rod to tooling. Try a truck parts store, some have numerous supplier catalogs. I was able to match up most of the driveshaft parts for my 580K at our local truck and trailer parts outlet, and saved a few bucks. Phil

 

[Lee-online]

The only servicable parts are the boots and hardware.

 

[jrtraderny]

Got my cat moving yesterday( mostly thanks to you guys, see cat 426 drive electric solenoid) and felt so good about it I thought I would put on the new inner tie-rod ends it needs. Not as worried about them failing as I am them pounding the rack clean out of the machine. Anyway Cat will only sell the whole tie-rod. My outers are fine and they want $240.00 a piece. As an old farmboy who hates buying parts I don't need and it looks like it should come apart to change just the inner's anyway. Has anyone been down this road and found a replacement for just the inner? Thanks; John

try COSTEX Tractor Parts in Florida, you'll get the whole thing but they are 1/2 the cost of Cat. You'll need the Cat part #.
jr

 

[taggmann]

Thanks for all the leads fellas. I will chase them down by the end of the week and let you know. John

 

[taggmann]

Just to update; I called costex they want $104.00 + shipping and after closer inspection my outer's aren't all that great anyway so for about 60 bucks an end, it doesn't sound to bad.
Thanks; John

 

[GeoffD]

There should be a cat classic out there for between 140 and 180

 

[taggmann]

I like the classic parts line idea. It has saved me money in the past forsure.

 

[Conn]

jrtraderny
Thanks for the tip, COSTEX looks like what I need for my Cat 426. My RH tie rod just broke today at the inner ball joint. Does anyone know how to replace it on a 4wd? The service manual mentions grabbing the square block at the end of the steering cylinder, but the 4wd does not have that block. When I turn RH ball joint, the ball joint on the LH side turns. Can I just hold one side and unscrew the other side? Do both sides have RH threads?

 

[taggmann]

Glad to see the thread still helpful! Too bad the service manual is not more descriptive! I have yet too change mine, are they still 104 bucks? I would not spin the rack. If you can tell the tread direction of the new ones it should be helpful? the originals might also be lock-tited?

 

[Conn]

Just got the RH tie rod, they are $140 from COSTEX. The hoe is a Cat 426 4WD. The LH rod is 9R2842, the RH is 9R2843. I had to hold the other tie rod inner ball joint to keep the steering cylinder rod from turning. The LH and RH rods are both RH threads. The LH tie rod ball joint broke loose, first, so I had to unscrew the LH side. Once it was unscrewed, I could access the flats on the steering cylinder rod. The rod end has thin walls at the threaded hole, so to make sure you don't deform the end (don't ask me how I know), I took off the cylinder stop that's located between the inner ball joint and the cylinder rod, and screwed the inner ball joint back into the rod end without the stop. Then I grabbed the rod end flats one one side, and the tie rod on the other side and broke loose the tie rod. The service manual says torque to 440 lb.ft. or apply thread lock and torque to 185 lb.ft. This backhoe is for off road farm use, so I antisiezed everything and torqued to 150 lb.ft. I want to be able to take it apart without pipe wrenching everything. The flats on the inner ball joint are 2" and only 1/2" wide, so I ground the face of a 2" open end wrench to fit the 1/2" wide slot, but when I reassembled it, realized there's a little slop on the stops. you may be able to knock the stops back a little, and use a wrench without grinding on it.

 

[jrtraderny]

Glad everythings working out ok for you guys.
jr