Anyone had a TRE break like this?

mmmkay325

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2005
Location
Waxhaw
Ok i consider myself VERY luck on this one. I've got a 1-ton YJ that I've built for the rocks but still keep it quite streetable as I don't have a towrig to haul it around. So when the weather nice on Friday I like to drive to work. Anyhow my setup is hp60 with reverse hi-steer chevy 7/8 TRE ton steering and hydroassist.

I was making a rather quick left turn going through a stop light and most of the weight of the yj shifted and loaded the right front tire. As I was making the turn and turning the steering wheel back to straighten up I felt a POP in the steering...nothing huge but definitely noticable and maybe the steering just a little looser...but it felt no where near as bad as it turned out. I was only 3-4miles from work on a slow country 2 lane road so I continued on it. It held together until I pulled into work and was trying to park in my spot and the joint finally fell apart.

I'm just wondering if others have broke a TRE like this before...and what causes that washer collar/retainer piece to fail like that, allowing the joint to separate? I'm running a 2234R end and assuming it was a combination of weight/hydro assist and maybe just a weak part...but it's got me scratching my head and little apprehensive about it happening again cause i got lucky and was going slow...but if this happened at speed in a turn it would bring the SUCK on quick! :eek:

aimg7.imageshack.us_img7_9186_tregnu.jpg


Everyone likes pics, so here my heep pimping its new paint job... just without steering:flipoff2:
aimg541.imageshack.us_img541_5213_img00221201106031204.jpg
 
I know the feeling, but had a different type of fail. I run Chevy 1-ton TRE's on the TJ and had the cotter pin fall out and the nut come off, thus allowing the TRE to come off the passenger wheel at 55 mph back in April.
 
Never seen that before. Its amazing you still had steering enough to get that far. Was this on the tie rod or drag link? If they're not already, try Moog, they're supposed to be top notch for TRE's.
 
Thats why most guys who wheel hard run heims with safety washers. TRE's are great for light trail use and street driving, they stay tight longer than most heims. I've seen a few come apart like that.
One thing that may have caused it is the way your hydro ram pushes on the tie-rod. Usually with Hydo assist you'd have a tie rod and the ram would mount to it with a tab that's either under it or on the axle side. When it pushes on the TR it tries to roll it prying the TRE's apart. Or it may not be parellel with the TR and pushes up on it at that end.

Very nice Jeep by the way.
 
VortecJeep said:
I know the feeling, but had a different type of fail. I run Chevy 1-ton TRE's on the TJ and had the cotter pin fall out and the nut come off, thus allowing the TRE to come off the passenger wheel at 55 mph back in April.
Click to expand...

I'm telling ya...we got lucky, could've been a lot worse!:beer:

GrnRanger said:
Never seen that before. Its amazing you still had steering enough to get that far. Was this on the tie rod or drag link? If they're not already, try Moog, they're supposed to be top notch for TRE's.
Click to expand...

no joke...seriously i felt like a total tool once it finally let go in the safety of the parking lot....thinking i could have seriously hurt myself, wrecked my junk or worse hurt someone else for driving on it that far after the intential pop....but literally the steering didn't give me much feedback to tell me something was seriously wrong, if felt about 95% fine....and I keep my steering tight on this rig because I drive it sooo much on the road... it's gotta perform like a sports car for me to be confident in it! i'm almost 100% sure these tres are pos autozone cheaps...should have known better. If i stay with the tre's i'll definitely go the moog route.

MarsFab said:
Thats why most guys who wheel hard run heims with safety washers. TRE's are great for light trail use and street driving, they stay tight longer than most heims. I've seen a few come apart like that.
One thing that may have caused it is the way your hydro ram pushes on the tie-rod. Usually with Hydo assist you'd have a tie rod and the ram would mount to it with a tab that's either under it or on the axle side. When it pushes on the TR it tries to roll it prying the TRE's apart. Or it may not be parellel with the TR and pushes up on it at that end.
Very nice Jeep by the way.
Click to expand...

Yeah i think it's getting to the point, i need to man up and look into heims. If they loosen up my steering too much for my comfort to street....i'll just talk the wife into another tow rig again! :rolleyes: Luckly i was carrying spares so i was able to fix it on my lunch break....but that's beyond the point, either i need to rework my angles on the my ram or just upgrade to something stronger. I really don't want a repeat of today but with a worse outcome. I'll post some pics in the morning and see if ya'll think my ram setup contributed to it.

Hey I really appreciate all ya'lls feedback and compliments!!:beer::beer:
 
I've seen it happen as well. Mostly due to people over flexing the TRE or by not having the ram travel matched to the pitman arm throw. We put heims on almost everything though. I have every heim, safety washer and highmisalignment spacer combo for steering here at the shop so give me a shout when you're looking at changing.
Alex
 
CarolinaTruggies said:
I've seen it happen as well. Mostly due to people over flexing the TRE or by not having the ram travel matched to the pitman arm throw. We put heims on almost everything though. I have every heim, safety washer and highmisalignment spacer combo for steering here at the shop so give me a shout when you're looking at changing.
Alex
Click to expand...

I like the sound of that even better! I'll swing by your shop and let ya'll hook me up!:driver:
 
I love my heim setup on my zj man its for sure the way to go!
 
I have seen it multiple times. A buddy of mine had it happen on the trail. We were able to get it back to gather with a lot of filing and hammering so we could get it back to the trailer (we had no other options). TRE are just not meant to be used on rigs with lockers, big tires and hydraulic steering. I would not use TRE on rig of any brand. Heims with a safety washer is the only way to go. I am glad that no one was hurt and that you were not traveling at highway speeds.
Like other have said you do have a great looking Jeep!
 
Barnes 4wd said:
I have seen it multiple times. A buddy of mine had it happen on the trail. We were able to get it back to gather with a lot of filing and hammering so we could get it back to the trailer (we had no other options). TRE are just not meant to be used on rigs with lockers, big tires and hydraulic steering. I would not use TRE on rig of any brand. Heims with a safety washer is the only way to go. I am glad that no one was hurt and that you were not traveling at highway speeds.
Like other have said you do have a great looking Jeep!
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
Back
Top