Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

I've got a '05 Hummer H2 with a Truxx leveling kit. I do a fair amount of off-roading and recently broke a tie rod, so now I'm looking at beefing up the front steering and suspension. So here I am for advice and guidance.

I'd like to replace the factory tie rods and do whatever is necessary to reduce the stress on these and related components when off-roading.

I've been looking at the Fabtech HD Tie Rod Assembly and wondering how it compares to the Cognito Tie Rod Kit. Since this is the 'weak link' that left me on the side of a mountain in Maine...I want to make certain that I am making the best possible choice when replacing. I know a lot of folks on this forum run the Fabtech rods...does anyone have opinions or thoughts about the Cognitos?

To reduce the stress on the tie rods I've also been looking at Cognito's Idler Pivot Kit, Pitman/Idler System, and Leveling System (with the replacement upper control arms). From what I've read it seems that these components strengthen the steering components connected to the tie rods and will achieve what I'm trying to achieve. Am I missing any thing here?

I've included the Cognito Leveling System to use as a replacement for my Truxx kit...it seems like a better way to go for leveling the truck out.

Lastly...once this is all said and done I'm planning on running 37/12.50/17 BFG Mud Terrains. I'm assuming that with the truck leveled and tie rods (and related components) replaced I shouldn't have any difficulty? Would that be a safe assumption?

Any guidance, advise, direction you can share would be most appreciated.

Re: Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

Out of what i've researched and from very recent offroading experience, go with Fabtech, but remember that you're always gonna brake things if you're gonna be offroading a lot, if the rods dont go something else will down the chain, Half shafts, hubs... and so on, one good lesson i've learned everytime you go offroading is to always have spare parts, as in Tie rods and whatever you can get your hands on so you dont get stock in a side of a mountain.

Luckily I had a lot of help and someone with an extra Tie-rod when I bent mine, it took under an hour to replace and I was good to go, never again... without any spares...... and yes, even Fabtechs.:beerchug:

Re: Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

Good feedback...some Wrangler-dudes that I ran into on the trail (and helped replace my tie rod) said the same thing..."travel with spare parts"

Anyone with experience with Cognito pivot kit/system? And/or the upper control arm replacement?

Re: Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/search.php

Re: Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

I have the fabtechs and still carry a spare. In fact I now have a spare set of fabtechs. Even fabtechs can be broken. Just have to work alot harder to do it. My spare parts crate I carry on my roof contains

1/2 shaft
tie rods
hubs
Idler arm
Idler arm bracket
Pitman Arm
and an assortment of nuts and bolts.

When I switch to Cognito upper control arms I will have spare factory upper control arms as well.

Re: Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

I suggest not going with the Fabtechs as they will not sell individual parts and if you have a failure - you will have to buy an entire new set. Cognito OEM style HD tie rods are made from some factory as the Fabtechs and they sell individual parts for their tie rods.

The fabtechs will bend at the inner joint and will wear out over time. This is why you will want the availability of the individual parts.

Re: Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

Thanks...that was my first stop.

After that I decided to put my question out there, outlining my specific situation, and solicit feedback specific to me in lieu of relying on info collected from a series of hijacked threads each touching on only a single aspect of my situation.

I bookmarked your link though...

Re: Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

I was being a little bit of a smarta$$ by doing that. ;)

You may want to read this thread about the Cognito Pitman/Idler Arm support kit... http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/s...hlight=cognito I still haven't done anything with my truck to remedy that situation, but it mostly just sits in the garage after buying an F250 earlier this year.

I have Fabtech tierods, and had the Fabtech pitman, which was replaced (free) with a Moog back a couple years ago under the Fabtech pitman recall.

Re: Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

Wow... thanks a ton for posting a link to that particular thread. I have a shopping list that has a lot of Cognito parts on it, including the PISK2008 (pitman/idler support kit), but now learning of the difficulties that you and others have had with this kit, and Cognito in general, I am left at a crossroads.

My shopping list is (was?):

UCAK100001 (front end level kit) (or UCAK100044 (H2 Uni-ball Upper Control Arms))
BILSTEIN-BE5-E381-T0 (longer-than-stock shocks for use with UCAK100001)
SBELKHD-1000 (end-links for use with UCAK100001)
PISK2008 (pitman/idler support kit)
IPAWG8 (Idler Pivot kit)
TRK100045 (tie rods)

I wasn't planning to buy any spare tie-rods yet since I don't know if, post installation, the tie-rod will then be the weak point that fails. I am fairly inexperienced and compiled that list after much research on this forum and others so I am again thankful to you for posting that link to further my education (and complicate my shopping ;) ).

Re: Broken Tie Rod...Never Again!
 

Mike,

Keep in mind that Summit does some REALLY CRAZY **** when he goes wheeling lol. He is one of those guys that is always pushing it too the limit. I would no doubt recommend the HD tie rods. But keep in mind the HD tie rods are still the weekest point of the steering system and they still fail.

In fact at Windrock Glen handed me his set of Fabtech tie rods as the inner ball joints where shot. I needed the Dust/Grease Boots off of them as mine had tears in them. So go ahead with the tie rods and Pitman Idler support kit. It really does correct any problems that may come down the road or trail.