Spicer/Dana Steer Axle Tie Rods

Spicer/Dana makes a drive/steer axle that's very common on a number of brands and models of off road equipment, especially telehandlers. I have one in the shop right now with a common problem to these axles, the seal boots that seal the ball joints on the steering tie rods fail long before the ball joint fails, grease/lubrication is lost, dirt and moisture enter the ball joint, destruction on the way in short order. So far I haven't found a source for the seals alone, you have to purchase the complete tie rod unit. On this particular telehandler (brand doesn't matter) replacement tie rods from the OEM were $650 a piece, for 4 of them that's a chunk of change.

I called my local TransAxle distributor, they have a store here in town, and many locations across the country. I knew they were a Spicer/Dana distributor. I got the genuine Spicer/Dana ties rods for $325 each. Bonus for me, the Spicer/Dana distribution center is just about 80 miles from me in Cookville TN, and the UPS hub for E TN is right here in Knoxville, so I got them overnight without having to pay next day delivery charges. Sweet! So if you have a Spicer/Dana steer axle, get the numbers off the tag on the axle and give TransAxle a shot at it, they saved me a bunch of money on this go around.

http://www.transaxle.com/

Looks similar to the case 580 backhoe ever since we put solid tires on ours they seem to break more often

ball joint dust seals

Over here in the UK there are companies that produce spare dust seals / rubber boots

there is a requirement in the countries annual vehicle safety inspection that if a rubber balljoint boot is split it is a test failure



www.balljointboots.co..uk
www.southwalesprops.co.uk/propshaft/consumables/ball_joint.htm
www.mecatech.co.uk/line/6-ball-joint-covers.html
www.bailcast.com/ball-joint-dust-covers/


this company in California produce boots for motorsport applications
www.energysuspension.com/universal-products/tie-rod-end-dust-boots.html
this is a stockist
www.autozone.com/suspension-steering-tire-and-wheel/ball-joint-boot

there is a company from Bulgaria that has an Ebay shop
http://dustboots.eu/
there is a pdf catalogue that lists sizes


hopefully you can find something that fits your tie rod application cheaper than replacing the whole assembly

A family member running logging trucks and gear swears by only pumping one shot of grease in a new one and never greasing it again extended the service lift on his gear. His thought process was to never lift the seal by over greasing.

Have done this for years. Fuller #10427 Boot. Super stretchy, durable and cost effective. Any truck shop will have it.

Thanks for that reply DoyleX. That's not the same seal boots that are used on these tie rod ends, although they may work as a suitable alternative. Interesting.

I just ordered three axle shafts from a Dana distributor for their 213 series axles, common on telehandlers. $733 from Dana, $1700 from Genie. Quite a markup! Good info on those boots!