Drag link vs tie rod?

[Hillbillydrums]

I'm a little confused here. The tie rod shaped thing on my 75 k10 is done for. Slop in the wheel starts there. Its the on on the front side, attached to the arm from the gear box.
Is the part for a tie rod the same as a drag link or am i mistaken? can someone point me to the part i need? Thanks a ton.

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Result.aspx/Chevrolet%20Truck-K10%201/2%20Ton%204WD%20-%20Pickup/_/N-27689%20599001%20101975%2050014%202014036/Ne-25000

[blazer74]

Drag link is what you want, pitman to steering arm, change them both.
Tie rod and tie rod ends  connect your steering knuckles together.

[Irish_Alley]

tie rods tie the wheels together

[enaberif]

And there are too many versions of those. I have the first generation which is the annoying version :\

[Irish_Alley]

And there are too many versions of those. I have the first generation which is the annoying version :\

yup at the only way to tell is how theyre mounted cause you can swap axles so your year of the truck might not match the year of the axle. and the spindles are tapered different. on my mud truck i have 2nd gen on the passengers side and 3rd on the passengers. i would not recommend this for a street truck due to the fact my tie rod is mounted on the bottom of the passengers side and top on the drivers side

[Hillbillydrums]

Drag link is what you want, pitman to steering arm, change them both.
Tie rod and tie rod ends  connect your steering knuckles together.

so what about the lengths shown there? 8.34" and 6.43"?  Is one a front and one rear? Or are they like certain options?

[VileZambonie]

The drag link is comprised of two tie rod ends and an adjusting sleeve.

[VileZambonie]

http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=4875.msg22670#msg22670

[blazer74]

Drag link is what you want, pitman to steering arm, change them both.
Tie rod and tie rod ends  connect your steering knuckles together.

so what about the lengths shown there? 8.34" and 6.43"?  Is one a front and one rear? Or are they like certain options?

It tells you which one is which. Ask for the drag link ends and the sleeve in the middle if you want it.  Very simple setup that was used for a lot of years.

Your alignment shop should have told you about the play in the drag link. Don't go back to them. IMHO

Also check the rag joint at the input of the gearbox from the column for looseness.

[blazer74]

Tie rods are connected to knuckles/spindle which connects to the axle housing with ball joints.
The hub/ rotor  rides on the spindle with bearings. The wheels are bolted to the hub/rotor with the lug nuts so yes the tie rods connect the wheels together.

[blazer74]

Tie rod end

Drag links.

[Hillbillydrums]

Drag link is what you want, pitman to steering arm, change them both.
Tie rod and tie rod ends  connect your steering knuckles together.

so what about the lengths shown there? 8.34" and 6.43"?  Is one a front and one rear? Or are they like certain options?

It tells you which one is which. Ask for the drag link ends and the sleeve in the middle if you want it.  Very simple setup that was used for a lot of years.

Your alignment shop should have told you about the play in the drag link. Don't go back to them. IMHO

Also check the rag joint at the input of the gearbox from the column for looseness.

I havent gone to an alignment shop. This is garage work. My steering box and rag joing was shot. Took the whole set up from my parts truck and bolted them up to mine. Now i have power steering. buut still sloppy steering. Both drag links look shot. Next pay day i'll grab some new ones. Maybe tie rods too just for the sake of replacing 41yr old parts. Then after ill get to an alignment shop and get her tweaked into place.