Which Tie Rod Ends Should Be Left Handed '37 LaSalle

[carlhungness]

       My notes are askew: Am I correct for the following, Left Inner & Right Outer tie rod ends are to be Right Handed.
          Right Inner and Left Outer Left Handed.
       Don't recall what part of what parts book I came up with the info, but my own notes have left me guessing.

[savemy67]

Hello Carl,

I don't think it makes a material difference as long as each tie rod has ends that are of opposite thread direction.  You will probably have to remember to push or pull the wrench on the adjusting sleeve depending on whether you want to extend or retract the length of the tie rod.

Respectfully submitted,

Christopher Winter

[Joe G 12138]

         I recently completely rebuilt the front end on my '37 LaSalle; maybe I can help answer that question or point you in the direction to figure it out. I too took notes before teardown, and had doubts on my sketches later. What was on my car was a mishmosh of various vintages and styles  of tie rod ends probably as the result of 80 years of gas station repairs. Before teardown, I noticed the shop manual instructions on toe-in adjustments were bas ackwards from my car. Using shop manual, what was supposed to increase did the opposite. I figured somebody used whatever was available that fit at the time. It worked and  that was good enough.
        When I re-did my tie rods with a correct matched set, I discovered that they behaved the same way. Moving them around, and reversing them made me think that the previous set was merely installed backwards; meaning left and right sides reversed on each unit. Now, adjustments could be done per instructions. BUT... now the grease fittings were pointing towards the front of the car, not the rear as before. They could still be accessed, but not as easily.
         Back to the shop manual. All pictures showing those grease fittings show them pointing to the rear of the car. That is common sense to prevent physical damage and also keep road grit out of the nipples. Access is easier when greasing. And all other fittings that can face the rear of the car do.
        The takeaway: Point the grease fittings towards the rear of the car; whichever way the tie rod end threads are. Both left and right tie rod assembies are the same, and will adjust the same thing with the same direction of rotation.  And if your's do the same as mine, new or old, we can say that the shop manual is wrong on toe-in adjustment procedure.     Joe Gibeault

[carlhungness]

       I get the idea, sort of. I've had hiccups with the new tie-rod ends. The first set of RH ends from MOOG, via Rock Auto screwed in about half way and bound up. When you hold the tie rod end up to a white sheet of paper, I could see a little jiggle in the threads.
      I re-installed the old ones and they screwed in all the way.
      I called and e mailed Rock Auto, and they said, "These are not listed for a 1937 LaSalle." Well, they were listed for that car and they changed the web site. Thus, no refund was forthcoming, and I'm mailing the  bent rod ends to Rock Auto's CEO along with a note that tells what an acerbic journalist I can be and wrath is on the way.
The ends, ES 262, also fit a plethora of other cars.
     The new set from NAPA, again MOOG had some funky grease zerks that would not fit my Screw ChekR..the originals are 1/4-28.
      The new tie rod ends had a hole on one side, not tapped, and a bung protrusion on the other that seemed ready for machining.
       The NAPA guy, very knowledgeable said, "Oh, nowadays they're sending self-tapping zerks so they can save one manufacturing operation." Sure enough, if you hold the zerk dead straight and carefully twist it in with a socket
you can (sort of) cut threads that you hope will last the life of the tie rod end.
      So, I'm not sure which side (that has the hole) you are referring to. I understand we want the zerks pointing to the rear, but it sure would be easier
if we knew, for example the right inner and left outer are RH threads and just the opposite on the other side.
    Buying the left hand tie rod ends is another chore, the prices are through the roof. Luckily a friend who did a '37 years ago had new ones he gave me.
      My own notes upon dis-assembly are gone.
      Thus I'll take another look, point the zerks in the correct direction and go from there.
      Thanks for the help, I'll copy your reply for future use.

[carlhungness]

   Rare Parts, a pretty respected firm does confirm their tie rod end#RP25158 is a right hand thread and fits Right Front Outer and Left Inner.
   Thus the left hand thread tie rod end RP 26451  fits Left Outer and Right Inner.
   These also, by the way place the grease zerk at the rear as mentioned in a previous post.

[carlhungness]

One last note regarding the tie rod ends here I failed to mention is eBay seller Patrick Mahoney has proven to be most helpful and you can see by his prior performance record he certainly is a responsible seller.