You want cool ?

HD Single Piece Draglink

the one with the OEM end uses a Moog part

i actually just did this and it's super nice to roll the bar to center the wheel


ps I did this and tie rod ends without taking off my tires or jacking the truck up ;-)

 

you don't need an alignment for a drag link replacement it changes nothing alignment wise

 

When they called they asked why I thought I needed an alignment. The old front tires were balding on the outside of the tire. They said this was due to the bad drag link. I'm going to see what I can see tomorrow. I like the idea of rolling to straighten the wheel.

 

OEM drag link for my 04 was about $200 at Autonation WBL. Another $20 for a Harbor Freight seperator and the job was done. ZMANN is right on about the alignment. The adjusting sleeve will center the wheel but the alignment is unaffected.

 

A drag link just pulls and pushes the steering knuckle ( layman's)

so not sure why they are pointing fingers at it vs ball joint/tie rod issues ?

how many miles ?

and I agree moog isn't what it used to be but these are 1/3 the price as OEM and are easy to replace so i gave them a try

I was not impressed with the MooG tie rod ends compared to OEM but the drag link ends were fine IMO

 

I have 151,000 miles.

 

I put all Moog problem solver parts on my truck. I think Moog will do fine, keep them lubricated and they will go longer then OEM. Mainly because you can keep grease in them.

Now if your drag Link was bad enough your front wheels may have been racking left to right. That can saw off the edges of the tires from that. As far as drag links go my input is ball sockets don't fail they just wear. Heim Joints can have full on failure..

 

My moog drag link is doing just fine. I borrowed tools from Autozone to do it myself.

 

Heim Joints can have full on failure..

Heim joints ? who is talking heim's ?

maybe some confusion on my link ?
the PMF i linked to runs tie rods at both ends it does have an off road variant with a heim but thats not for us

 

I saw a picture of a Hymen joint in that picture.

 

I am confused by all the parts that come up when I enter my VIN on fordparts.com. I thought I would need 3304A&B but there is also a MEF-2. Then I also came across MDOE-37 and MDOE-40 on autopartswarehouse.com. All say Drag Link. How do I determine which matches to what I have? When I called a local dealer my area and they said there are a few options and sent me a diagram asking me to pick what part I wanted. On the diagram there was only 3304A&B. No MEF or MDOE. So confused.

 

there is a thread with MooG part #'s

you after MooG or OEM ?

 

6.4 is the same front end wise except for sway bar end links
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/6-...vetrain-problems/1209049-front-suspension-part-numbers-inside.html#post14602841

 

OEM didn't look that much more expensive. If that's the case I'll stick with OEM.

 

This is the same diagram the dealer sent me. http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/general-6-0l-discussion/1208857-steering-parts-info-2.html

 

I thought OEM was way more when I priced em
still I would be tempted to install zerk fitting in the OEM

 

I like the idea of a zirk fitting. And I guess price difference is all relative to what someone is willing to pay. I had read a couple of posts that said the Moog were noticeably less substantial that oem. Still, does that matter? I don't know. I do know I don't want to do it again next year. So if its $100 or so more no biggie. I'll put off getting the new radio in my truck for another month. The part numbers are still perplexing me.

 

that was my post LOL

i was not impressed with the tie rod outers from Moog but the lower drag link end was fine

i did not use the OEM or MooG upper drag link because i hate paying for that much disposable metal so I used the PMF with a stubby MooG upper

 

The confusion was in the OEM numbers. Amazon ( I know, not the best source for parts info) shows Moog DS300037 doesn't fit but Moog DS80749 does fit. How about the other end? I've never messed with front end suspension so I apologize now for my ignorance but isn't the drag link comprised of three parts (counting the sleeve)? Thanks for all the info so far. I really appreciate it.

 

Hmm
i see the same amazon fitment result on the long side
let me check i may need to adjust that post maybe the 6.4 is different on that part

 

good catch I changed that thread to show
Moog DS80749 Drag Link for the 6.0 i missed that variance originally

 

I figured
I couldn't find one with the tie rod style

 

I crawled under for the first time since getting it back from the dealer. I gave the drag link a twist and there is a little bit of movement but not much. How do you know for sure that the drag link has gone out? To be honest I've never had any driving issues. No death wobble. I drive mostly on the road but we have a cabin that's about a mile off the road on a dirt road. Little bit of washboard but the truck drives fine on it.

 

I don't know if this was worth doing but I took a short video if ya'll wouldn't mind taking a look. I checked out some other "how to tell if your drag link is bad" videos on Youtube and mine is nowhere near that bad. Here is what I have going on.

 

Trackbar most of the time wears out the bushing that connects it to the frame. The bolt connecting it wears out the bushing in the OEM trackbar.
The bushing can be purchased by itself IIRC from Ford. But if your truck is lifted I think its best to use a aftermarket trackbar because they are designed for the geometry.

Now the ball socket at the axle can also wear and become loose. Most common affect of a worn trackbar or draglink is the truck will wander or hunt around in the steering. Wont be crisp or tight at the wheel. If your draglink is loose I can see it chewing on your tires a bit like a shopping carts wheels dance around back and forth.

Me myself I cant stand any play in my steering, these trucks are too big and a handful to drive already. Last thing I want to worry about is it going in a direction on its own. If you have 100K or more miles on the truck odds are it needs to have steering parts replaced. These things are heavy and the OEM joints cant even be greased so they aren't going to last very long. We still have a 2002 Tahoe we bought new and Chevy put grease-able joints on everything! Ford should have all of our boots hanging out of their A_SS for screwing everyone like they did. The Tahoe steering is tight as a tick on a dogs a_ss and it has 160,000 miles on it with 315/60/20 tires.

 

the bars, tie rod and drag , can and should be able to roll a little so that's not a concern

what is a problem is when the ball socket wears out and the ball can flop around on a tie rod that can cause toe out /in issues

on a drag link in can cause the front end to float a little

the only real way to see this is have someone turn the steering while you watch the joints for unusual movement