Cognito Motorsports Heavy Duty Tie Rod Steering Kit (w/after market spindles) 01-07 Chevy/GM 8-Lug

For the GM 01-06 8-Lug vehicles, including the 1500HD, 2500, 2500HD, 3500, and 2500 Suburban/YukonXL/Avalanche

Overview:

This tie rod system is designed to replace the factory tie rod assemblies from the ends of the drag link all the way out to the spindles. The factory outer tie rod and the inner ball and socket joint are eliminated and replaced with Heim joint rod end units. The tie rod assembly uses left and right hand threads along with a straight adjuster tube so that the perfect toe setting can be achieved. Some companies use an adjuster with a bend in it, which will prevent fine adjustment of the toe setting because the adjuster must make a full revolution to place the bend in the correct position.

Strength:
The Cognito tie rod adjuster tubes are made from 1” diameter DOM steel tubing. These replace the factory adjusters which neck down to about ½” at the threads. The factory unit is notorious for bending where the threads meet the outer tie rod. Another weak spot on the factory assembly is the inner ball and socket, which is also replaced with the Cognito unit. We use rod ends that have a ¾” shank and body, but with a 5/8” hole for the mounting points. The rod ends are Teflon lined, which means they are self lubricating. Although the rod ends are stronger than factory tie rods, they are still subject to wear and tear, and should be replaced if excessive wear and slop is present. It is always suggested not to dry steer the vehicle, which means do not try and steer the vehicle while the tires are not rolling. Dry steering introduces a lot of stress on steering components, especially when using oversized tires that have a lot of grip on the driving surface.

Installation:
There is no welding or major cutting required to install this kit. The tapered hole in the spindle on some vehicles may have to be modified slightly due to casting and machining variations of the factory spindles. The factory outer tie rod studs are a metric size, while the Cognito kit uses Standard thread sizes. Occasionally, a 1/2” drill bit will need to be chased thru the small end of the tapered hole to allow the Cognito spindle stud to pass thru. View the installation instructions here.

Kit includes:
2 tie rod adjuster tubes, 2 steering adapters, 2 spindle studs, 2 left hand thread heim joint rod ends, 2 right hand thread heim joint rod ends, and installation hardware. The adjuster tubes are black powder coated.

Note:
If you are experiencing Tie Rod Problems and are not using the Pitman and Idler Arm Support System(PISK2008), your problem is most likely caused by the Pitman and Idler Arms. You must add the PISK2008 to avoid further Tie Rod problems.