I was out the other day on some easy/moderate trails. At lunch I decided to to a mid day inspection of the under carriage of the Jeep. I found that I bent the Rock Krawler Tie Rod. Let me say that I was not racing or doing anything to extreme ( no high speeds or jumping or super large rocks). Let me know if you think the bar is bent and what should I do to fix the problem.

 

hard to say for sure as from the photos - for me, it just looks like it's rotated up. have you tried putting a long straight edge up to it? something a long carpenters level might help you to determine if it is in fact bent. and, if it is, that would be the first i've heard of it.

 

Should have a lifetime warranty. Call em up!

 

just emailed them. They are not wanting to warranty the part.

"Sir

Unfortunately we do not offer a lifetime warranty on our steering components. That is an impossible part to warranty since they simply are so vulnerable. No matter how strong or how big of a tie rod you put out there, it can be rammed on just about anything at any speed and this can happen. We bent a 2" solid tie rod on our rock racer the other day. Never thought it could happen, but it did. We can hook you up with one at cost however to get you taken care of.

Rock Krawler"

 

well, in all fairness, i do understand where they are coming from. if in fact your tie rod is really bent, it's not very much and honestly, it's really not that big of a deal. reset your toe and you should be fine.

 

I find it interesting that no where on their website does it state that steering components are not covered in their warranty.

"What is not covered
Bushings, hardware, brake lines, heim joints. These parts are subject to wear and are not considered defective when worn. They are warranted for 90 days from the date or purchase for defects in workmanship only. Products or components which have been subjected to accident, alteration, modification, improper installation, tampering, negligence, misuse, or products installed on a vehicle used in sanctioned racing events. A race is defined as any contest between two or more vehicles, or any contest of one or more vehicles against the clock, whether or not such contest is for a prize.
Vehicles used for government or commercial purposes. Rock Krawler Suspension does not warrant any product not manufactured by Rock Krawler Suspension. Rock Krawler Suspension products are not covered under warranty outside the United States of America. Rock Krawler Suspension shall not be liable for any loss, damage or injury, whether ordinary, direct, special, incidental or consequential damages, arising from the manufacture, sale, installation, resale, delivery, possession, handling or use of its products. Rock Krawler Suspension is not responsible for typographical errors either in pricing or in content. Warranties, policies and prices subject to change without notice."

 

To answer the concerns with this thread. We do not nor can we warranty the tie rod with a lifetime guarentee. Nor does our website state as such. Our warranty covers our hard parts of our suspension systems! How can we or anyone warranty a tie rod and say they could never be bent? That is impossible! We have even seen one person hook a winch to it. Our HD tie rod is 2.65 times stronger than the stock unit which bends very easily.

We offered this person one at cost to help him or her out!

Rock Krawler

 

If we learned anything from metallurgy 101 we know that once a metal has been bent it has become weaken and will continue to bend.

 

potentially, yes, however, what are your realistic options here? go back to stock? of all the tie rods i have seen for the JK, the RK is the beefiest and strongest and if you really bent yours, i can only assume you did it having a lot of fun on the trail. i know it's not the answer you want to hear but really, you should be just fine with what you've got.

 

Sir

We understand sh*t happens, that is why we are offering you one at cost to get you taken care of. We have never offered a lifetime warranty on our steering components. Not XJ/TJ/LJ or JK! The likely hood of someone being able to bend a tie rod no matter what it made out of is pretty descent! We bent one out of 2" solid on our buggy. It can happen.

Rock Krawler