were drag links rebuildable?

T

Topher5150

Senior Member
Surfing through eBay and found a handful of rebuild kits for drag links for 30s-40s Fords. Was this really a thing or just kind of a band-aid?
 
28-32 cars and trucks. 48-53 1/2 ton trucks were. Maybe some others. Not 35-48 cars as far as I know.
 
My '35 had a bent drag link from before 1955 as I imagine since when I acquired it in 1991... it came with a 1955 plate.

My drag link was not rebuild-able. I had to replace it. Did that just before my Hunter alignment last fall.
 
‘35-‘48 tie rod/drag link ends were not made to rebuild…although if you have the time and ingenuity, it is possible. Back when EFV8CA fine point judging was just that, and folks were searching for original, rare two piece, side grease fitting drag links, I was able to rebuild some. It involved pressing the stud, spring and spacers out. Most often, the issue with them is that the spring has collapsed which is the reason for the sloppy stud. If the end cap didn’t cave in when pressed out, and/or the cast lip broke, they were not rebuildable. If all went well, I was able to take the guts out of a new tie rod end and install them in the old drag link ends. If you would like to try doing that, I have plenty of NORS tie rod ends. Still, the short answer to your question is NO!
 
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