Tie Rods And Tie Rod Ends - VR6

[P3rks 11]

My tie rod ends are in a dire need of replacement on my 1993 VR6.

 

Are OE the best to go for? How about pattern parts such as Febi? Do they last as long and are as good quality?

 

What about rose jointed ends such as Compbrake ones: http://www.compbrake.com/cars/vw/corrado/vw-corrado-inc-vr6-tracka-rod-ends-pair.html

 

Is it worth while replacing the Ties rods at the same time?

 

I'm an OE whore at heart and i know that OE stuff has lasted nearly 20 years so I know they are good. But at nearly £250 for the tie rods and ends from VW I don't really want to pay that if I don't have to. So are there any other OEM ones which fit or any other alternative? :scratch:

[owen g60 10]

AVS are very reasonable on price.

 

Search vwspares and they will appear

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Jesus prices are soaring. When I did my track rods, they were £75 a side from VW. TREs only £30 or something a side on top. £250!!!

 

In view of that I can see the temptation to fit pattern ones, but they are NOT the same. I don't care what anyone says, they just aren't the same quality at all. But it's up to you really. You can fit some cheapies to get you by I suppose.

 

Don't go near spherical bearings on a road car unless you don't mind changing them every couple of 1000 miles.

[swiftkid 1]

Absolutely no point replacing the tie rod, its a straight piece of metal. Only time theres any need in changing them is when they are bent and even then when mine was bent I considered just straightening it.

 

£250... they are absolutely taking the **** now, I understand that you pay for quality but that is just absurd. Just looked AVS where I usually get parts from and the tie rods and ends are £22.50, I very much doubt over the lifespan of the car I would need to change the tie rod 10 times to warrant shelling out £250. The rod ends are £10 for pattern ones, I used pattern on my last corrado and in the 2 years I owned it I didn't have to replace it again.

[P3rks 11]

Jesus prices are soaring. When I did my track rods, they were £75 a side from VW. TREs only £30 or something a side on top. £250!!!

 

In view of that I can see the temptation to fit pattern ones, but they are NOT the same. I don't care what anyone says, they just aren't the same quality at all. But it's up to you really. You can fit some cheapies to get you by I suppose.

 

Don't go near spherical bearings on a road car unless you don't mind changing them every couple of 1000 miles.

 

Absolutely no point replacing the tie rod, its a straight piece of metal. Only time theres any need in changing them is when they are bent and even then when mine was bent I considered just straightening it.

 

£250... they are absolutely taking the **** now, I understand that you pay for quality but that is just absurd. Just looked AVS where I usually get parts from and the tie rods and ends are £22.50, I very much doubt over the lifespan of the car I would need to change the tie rod 10 times to warrant shelling out £250. The rod ends are £10 for pattern ones, I used pattern on my last corrado and in the 2 years I owned it I didn't have to replace it again.

 

Yep, I was quoted £109.12 ea + VAT from VW which equals £261.89 for the pair including VAT. TPS were a little more reasonable at £90.93 ea + VAT (including my small discount) which equates to £218.23 all in.

 

Just to confirm part numbers were: 1H0 422 803A/804A

 

They (TPS) also want £23.40 for a steering rack boot, per side! For a bit of rubber. Pattern parts are about £3.

 

I am in the same thought as you my fishy friend, you can't beat OE stuff, it's lasted this long and will do so again. I've never had a good experience with pattern parts as they always need replacing within a few years rather than the decades OE stuff lasts. Now OE quality (OE suppliers, exact same part just not stamped VW) is where the clever moneys at.

 

AVS sell Febi Track rods including ends for less than £50 a pair delivered.

 

BUT for £25 delivered you can get both track rod ends which are made by TRW.. I can only presume that these are OE quality as TRW make the racks/rods/ends for VW. Would you guys agree? Could be a lesser evil so to speak.

Edited May 4, 2012 by P3rks

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Absolutely no point replacing the tie rod, its a straight piece of metal.

 

Except when the inner BJ is worn as it's part of the tie rod.

 

BUT for £25 delivered you can get both track rod ends which are made by TRW.. I can only presume that these are OE quality as TRW make the racks/rods/ends for VW. Would you guys agree? Could be a lesser evil so to speak.

 

Difficult to say, but TRW are definitely an OEM supplier. Like you, I've had problems in the past with pattern parts. For example, you would think a Sachs clutch is a Sachs clutch wouldn't you? Wrong! £90 odd from GSF, £130 ish from VW (back in 2004ish). When you put the two side by side, the differences become clear. The pattern clutch, even though it was made by the same OEM supplier, was nowhere near as good as the genuine one. Extra machining of the pressure plate fingers had been done to the genuine one, but not the pattern. Net result = Pattern juddered after 2 weeks. OEM didn't.

 

That's the thing. OEM suppliers to car makers have to make parts to a certain standard. To the aftermarket, they do not. It's a gamble we all take but as Swifty says, you're unlikely to have 10 patter TREs fail on you during your ownership of the car :D

Edited May 4, 2012 by Kevin Bacon

[KIPVW 0]

The ones on my vr (from new are TRW) and the ones i just ordered from VW are also TRW so they obviously make them vw to sell. :)

[VW_OwneR_85 2]

yea like fishwick said above the inner track rod has a ball joint on the end , so its not just a straight peice of metal, i replaced one of my track rod ends months ago , i forget the brand but it was a cheapy , but the boot split a few weeks later so its not ideal, im sure theres cheaper brands out there which would hold up fine though,

i was planning on replaceing both track rods/ends and ball joints from vw before haveing wheel alignment , but seeing the price above im not going to now!

[GlosterOx 0]

What about Lemforder from ECP, have had these fitted previously and they seemed good quality plus much cheaper tham OE?

 

Ian.

[davidwort 0]

Lemforder are good, they are an OEM supplier AFAIK, generally more expensive than the other pattern parts around, their complete wishbones are VAG ones from what I can see.

FEBI track rods from AVS rusted really bad on me after one winter, only cosmetic though as the joints themselves seem to be holding up fine.

The pattern complete track rod and end I just fitted to the 8v was 9 quid trade (OK, not a widetrack one), but at that price I don't care if I replace it every year :lol: