Trying to track down the size and thread count for the tie rod ends, in particular the one at the pitman arm. Thanks all!

 

Ahhhhh... I just tossed my old castle nuts after replacing the entire steering system.

I can tell you that the socket size for the tie rod castle nuts (they were all the same size) was 19mm.

What I would do is take one of the other castle nuts off (any of the other tie-rods) and take it to the hardware store and check the size. You can easily confirm that it's the same nut by testing it on the one you're missing and making sure it threads on smoothly.

 

Adding this in for an FYI. Thought it would be easy to just go down the hardware store and pick them up. It's not. They have 1/2-20 castle nuts but they're too thick and you can't put the cotter pins back in. I used Loctite to tide me over till I got the correct part, Crown 274428.

 

One night i was in a red light in the left lane turn. Imagine my surprise when turning my jeep went straight. This happened

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I was able to find the castle nut in the road but the threads were gone and thanks goodness I had in hand some wire. With this hack job I was able to get home very slow. Lol.

 

Cant you just buy longer cotter pins at the hardware store, too? Maybe I misunderstood.

 

"Tall" would have been a better description. The nut covered the hole in the threads.

Old stock, new Crown, hardware store nuts:

 

Those are 1/2" by 24 pitch. I buy them at a fastener store (specialize in bolts)

 

If you have a fastenal locally take it to them. If they don't have a fastener most likely noone does.

 

I'd double-check that, cause the Crowns (and those big hardware store nuts) are 1/2-20.

 

I got mine at Amazon

 

Now I understand. I thought that the new nuts would take a larger socket... In the future you can always try two nuts as a jam nut when in a bad situation like that. Also, hardware stores sell nuts that are called prevailing torque nuts which are really good about not loosening.

 

Did try that, but the "prevail" is too high too, and didn't touch the threads.




I ended up Loctiting the big nuts till the J0274428s came in.

 

Let mer rephrase that. They are supposed to be 1/2X24

 

For the prevailing I meant the type which has irregularly cut threads so that it would back, not the types with a soft material that add friction that way.

 

I thought since you had an '86 they were using 1/2 24 back then, but according to the parts finder on Oconee's eBay site they list the '86 as having 1/2 20 too, so I'm stumped.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tie-Rod-End...5.c10#viTabs_0