How to straighten a Tie Rod?

[GinNB]

My .02. Pretty soon you'll have enough to buy a coffee for your buddy in town!

If I need a tractor NOW, I get it moving whatever it takes as long it's safe. For example, if a tierod bends while moving bucketsful of rocks down a steep rocky field and I plan to continue doing that then a mickeymouse fix isn't in the cards. If I hit a stump by accident and it's a rare occurrence then I'll either heat or put a pipe on whatever's bent. If I'm not confident in the long-term reliability of the fix then I add a note to my FixItList on my PocketPC so I don't forget. Every tractor and vehicle has an spot on my FixItList, so when I notice a problem it gets remembered the next time that vehicle goes in the garage. Every so often every vehicle gets a checkup and garage time for problems and preventive maintenance.

Depending on your vise and the bent part, lots of time the vice or the workbench gives way before the part straightens out. A heavy duty steel table is worth its weight in gold (or fixed parts). If not, even a 2x4 table secured to the wall with hardwood boards underneath for the vice to be bolted to isn't bad. I made do with a 2x6 table with a sheetmetal top for ages but got tired of trying to straighten big things by wedging them into tractor crevices (or whatever else was handy) when I needed some real strength. New welding table with heavyduty vise is 3.5'x5.5' and the deck is 3/4" AS400 plate with a reinforcing strip in the middle.

 

[bbirder]

I had an old Case 830 that had the tire rod repaired by welding a stiffener on it. This was done with acetylene and held up for over 40 years in rough service. It seems it is worth a try. You can always replace it later.

 

[teg]

kubota wants just under $100 for a new tie rod... so I'm going to fix this one that I got (for better or worst). I showed up at my buddy's place with a new 6" swivel vise (payment for other work ). He gone till next week but said I can use his shop!!! Can someone tell me how to light an oxy-acetylene torch Please!!! I'm sure I can figure it out with trial and error (maybe a little heavy on the error side ).

The plan will be put the tie rod into the vise and use a long cheater pipe on the end with the big nut (I got a 8" bolt screwed in to the nut side). Heat till cherry red, then slide the pipe over and try and bend it. Just needs to be close. If it breaks, I'll try and weld it together (let my friend look it over when he gets back and weld it correctly )

Welding table and old vise will not be a problem, it's a little lighter then a sheman tank. Speaking of which: YouTube - How to build a 2/5 th scale SHERMAN Tank. part 1 I only watched the first few minutes of it, pretty neat.

 

[orezok]

The technical term for what happens when a piece of steel is bent while cold is "work hardening". The bent steel actually strengthens and becomes harder, but it also becomes more brittle. A suggestion before heating and bending, I would grind down the threads in the immediate area of the bend to avoid stress risers created by the "notching" caused by the threads. It looks like there are plenty of threads available and a few missing ones will not hurt.

 

[teg]

Thanks for that information, orezok. I will grind down the threads that you can see. I was going to run a few welding beads around the area after I bend it straight... but makes sense grind it down first then add extra welds after (to build it up).

I thought this was going to be a simple tasks but now I'm getting worried (not worried enough to pay $100) but I might wait till next week when my friend returns. I've been using the tractor with it bent this way for about 100 hours, I don't think it needs to be super strong. It's a push and pull rod. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[SPYDERLK]

kubota wants just under $100 for a new tie rod... so I'm going to fix this one that I got (for better or worst). I showed up at my buddy's place with a new 6" swivel vise (payment for other work ). He gone till next week but said I can use his shop!!! Can someone tell me how to light an oxy-acetylene torch Please!!! I'm sure I can figure it out with trial and error (maybe a little heavy on the error side ).

The plan will be put the tie rod into the vise and use a long cheater pipe on the end with the big nut (I got a 8" bolt screwed in to the nut side). Heat till cherry red, then slide the pipe over and try and bend it. Just needs to be close. If it breaks, I'll try and weld it together (let my friend look it over when he gets back and weld it correctly )

Welding table and old vise will not be a problem, it's a little lighter then a sheman tank. Speaking of which: YouTube - How to build a 2/5 th scale SHERMAN Tank. part 1 I only watched the first few minutes of it, pretty neat.

The idea on lighting the torch is that you want to light the pure acetylene and then add O2 carefully. You will need to bring the gases up in steps because too much O2 % will cause the flame to burn back into the torch and can quickly destroy the torch. You want to see the bright blue-white part of the flame about 1/2" long. It gets shorter and shorter as O2% rises, and if it disappears back into the tip youre getting in trouble. When shutting down turn O2 off first.
Cherry red will assure that you dont crack it but will also anneal the steel making it weaker and more susceptible to bending in use. A lower heat would better preserve the original properties of the metal and should prevent cracking just fine especially if you grind the threads to the root as orezok suggested. The 6 to 800 degree range should be safe. To gauge this temp you need to expose metal and see a silver shine in the area of interest. Heat the area til the shine goes thru straw brown and then becomes blue. Bend now.
larry

 

[teg]

WOW, cool, thanks SPYDERLK. I've seen my friend do it lots of time and I'm pretty sure I can light it (very slowly). I will not rush it. I just wasn't 100% sure which gas to light first!!! I'm leaning MORE towards waiting for my friend but would love to give it a shot! I have 1/2" rod that I will practice on first.

I think he has a cutting torch on his setup, now. I assume I can use that (don't think I've seen any other torch).

 

[machmeter62]

WOW, cool, thanks SPYDERLK. I've seen my friend do it lots of time and I'm pretty sure I can light it (very slowly). I will not rush it. I just wasn't 100% sure which gas to light first!!! I'm leaning MORE towards waiting for my friend but would love to give it a shot! I have 1/2" rod that I will practice on first.

I think he has a cutting torch on his setup, now. I assume I can use that (don't think I've seen any other torch).

TEG: Did you shop prices on the internet; i.e. tractorsmart.com and others, for a discount price for your tie-rod? That sounds like a dealer quote that also charges $10 for a "rattle can" of matching paint?

 

[teg]

Sun of a Gun!!! how did you know I paid $10.51 for a can of gray spray paint... #%@^&*$

No, I didn't shop around... I don't think I'll get a new tie rod for below *MY* price of $50 bucks (yes, wife thinks I'm nuts, too). I don't see the problem of trying to bend this back in line and saving my $$ for beer (or something important). I'll try and heat it up Friday night and see how it bends. Photo is of the threads ground down, the threads you do see are "good".

I do want to say "Thank You" for everyone's input... ...and if it does break, I will try and weld it back together. I'll let you know how it comes out.

EDIT. I went to tractorsmart.com ...am I missing something, all I found was filters?

 

[orezok]

...Cherry red will assure that you dont crack it but will also anneal the steel making it weaker and more susceptible to bending in use. A lower heat would better preserve the original properties of the metal and should prevent cracking just fine especially if you grind the threads to the root as orezok suggested. The 6 to 800 degree range should be safe. To gauge this temp you need to expose metal and see a silver shine in the area of interest. Heat the area til the shine goes thru straw brown and then becomes blue. Bend now.
larry

Amazing what a topic like this does to your memory. From my metallurgy courses that I took 40 years ago, I remembered that the austenetic temperature of mild steel is 1,333 degrees. This is the temperature at which the steel transforms to a crystaline structure and the carbon is absorbed into the latice. It is generally determined to be "cherry red". It's a useful temperature because if you heat steel above the austenetic temperature you can control it's properties during cooling by either quenching it to harden it or slow cooling (annealing) to maintain ductility.

The short answer is heat it to no more than a dull red and you avoid any complications.