Tie rod slightly slightly bent - questions

[ReconMZ]

I crawled a little too hard yesterday and noticed a slight pull to the right (2-4 degrees on the steering wheel is visible), and when I looked, the tie rod was ever so slightly bent. It's barely noticeable, so I don't have a good pic of the bend.
My questions are (since it last happened four years ago with a JK, and then I upgraded to Synergy):
Do I just go to the dealer, have him replace it, and do an alignment?
Is there a way to tackle it into warranty, given it was somewhat expected when off-roading?
if I choose to upgrade, what warranties may be voided, if at all?
I prefer to stay stock but don't rule out upgrading.
Thanks in advance.

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[mikem20]

I can’t imagine this would be replaced as a warranty claim. If you’d already bent it once, I’d replace it with a stronger one. Peace of mind next time you’re out.
a new TR shouldn't affect the warranty on your jeep.

 

[GrayHawk20]

I can’t imagine this would be replaced as a warranty claim. If you’d already bent it once, I’d replace it with a stronger one. Peace of mind next time you’re out.
a new TR shouldn't affect the warranty on your jeep.

It can affect the the warranty since it’ll be non OEM plus if the dealership can pinpoint the issue back to the aftermarket tie rod they will. Just a thought especially since dealers will try to find every excuse to not warranty it. I know when I went years ago for an issue they needed to look at it to see if it had been offroad before any warranty work would be done (it was new to me since I had never heard of them doing that process in the beginning)

 

[roaniecowpony]

Trying to get it replaced under warranty would be like putting too much salt on a steak dinner, eating it, then asking the restaurant for your money back because it was too salty. It's dishonest.

Your power steering box is a hydraulic actuator that can generate a huge amount of force on the draglink and tierod, especially when your jeep has the front tire(s) against a large immoveable rock and you try to turn the steering wheel. Additionally, when you're wheeling and the weight of the jeep presses/slams the tire against a rock or hole, the forces feed back through the tierod and draglink.

First, the stock tierod is a piece of crap ... for hard wheeling. The tube is staked over the tierod ends. Hard use will loosen the staking eventually. There is a small hole with a rivet part way down the weak thinwall tube, where it will likely buckle if bent much more than yours.

Since you wheel hard, replace the stock trackbar as well. It suffers from similar issues. Me, I have all Metalcloak tierod, draglink, and trackbar, which are much stronger than stock.

The warranty on your jeep will be completely intact and valid, except for the parts you replace in the steering, which would be covered by the part. manufacturer.

The warranty worry-ers are worrying about the wrong thing, IMO. Failure of your tierod or draglink at the wrong time on the highway could be extremely hazardous. Failure on the trail, will leave you stranded. Replace the stock tierod and draglink with a good aftermarket brand. There are many.

 

[chevymitchell]

I crawled a little too hard yesterday and noticed a slight pull to the right (2-4 degrees on the steering wheel is visible), and when I looked, the tie rod was ever so slightly bent. It's barely noticeable, so I don't have a good pic of the bend.
My questions are (since it last happened four years ago with a JK, and then I upgraded to Synergy):
Do I just go to the dealer, have him replace it, and do an alignment?
Is there a way to tackle it into warranty, given it was somewhat expected when off-roading?
if I choose to upgrade, what warranties may be voided, if at all?
I prefer to stay stock but don't rule out upgrading.
Thanks in advance.

Just adjust it and keep wheeling. One little bend isn't going to hurt the tie-rod. It's a great excuse to upgrade, but don't look too far into this. If it's only off by a touch, adjust the error out and keep this tie-rod until you bend it more. It's not going to fold over a small bend and it's perfectly safe to still use.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

Upgrade it to something heavy duty, keep the old one, and if you ever need to take it in for other warranty related issues in the front suspension, put the old one back in before the dealer visit.

 

[ReconMZ]

The dealer got under the jeep and says the tie rod wasn't bent but the steering wheel could have gone out of alignment so he straightened it and once I'm on the highway I'll see if the pull was all in my head. It could have been JUST the steering off vs. alignment...
Who knows, I think I am scarred from the JK era...

 

[roaniecowpony]

The dealer got under the jeep and says the tie rod wasn't bent but the steering wheel could have gone out of alignment so he straightened it and once I'm on the highway I'll see if the pull was all in my head. It could have been JUST the steering off vs. alignment...
Who knows, I think I am scarred from the JK era...

Jack the front end, spin the tires and scribe a dead straight line on the tire (a pencil works in a jamb). Get a friend to help measure front and rear. You should have about 1/8" toe in.

 

[stumblinhorse]

I lived the “jk era” and loved it.

But the JL era has technology. Go to your Offroad pages app on unconnect and see if your steering wheel is not aligned… If it shows 0* and you are not going straight then align it…

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