Tie Rod end discrepancy help?

[Dibbons]

I am at the tire shop for a front end alignment for my 1972 Satellite Sebring Plus (power disc breaks) in preparation for my upcoming road trip. I brought along a new passenger side outer tie rod end they said needed replacement before the alignment. The mechanic tells me the tie rod end I purchased at AutoZone (made in China, of course) has the wrong threads, we need left hand threads and the new piece is right hand threads. The mechanic told me I have the wrong part.

The part number on the box is T401R. The "R" to me would indicate right side or passenger side which is what we are working on. When I told the mechanic the part number on the box looks correct, he added to the confusion by suggesting someone in the past put the wrong tie rod on the passenger side and that is why it is backwards now (I little hard to swallow, but previous owners have been known to screw things up in the past).

Now I don't know if I have the correct part or if the parts on the vehicle are not correct. The other thing I noticed is that the tie rod is in a sealed plastic bag that has other part numbers on it (not the T401R on the box). The numbers on the plastic bag are: line one: "ITEM" (a barcode) then "10213T" line two: "BATCH" (a barcode) then "PL39187".

Does anyone know what threads the outer, lower, passenger side tie rod has from the factory (left hand, counterclockwise threads to tighten) or right hand, clockwise threads to tighten)? Like I said above, what is on the car now, the female end is accepting a left hand thread. I don't know if I have the wrong part or if something installed on the car is wrong. I am in Mexico, so these guys are not Mopar experts and I am depending on you for help. Thank you.
P.S. This foto is a generic picture from the internet so you can be sure of the part I am talking about:

 

[Dibbons]

I think I may have answered my own question, the R and L on the part numbers may not designate Passenger or Driver side parts, they might refer to whether the part has left or right hand threads. If I am not mistaken, each side (both driver and passenger) use two tie rod ends and one is right hand threads and the other is left hand threads. That would mean each side needs one of each. if I ordered a "R" part and received a right hand threaded part, perhaps I received exactly what I ordered. I actually need a passenger side tie rod end but the one with left hand threads. Is that right?

 

[Bruzilla]

That would be correct. I had this same issue when I ordered a rebuild kit and thought all the ends were the same. I would advise having the guy install the one you have now on the other side while you go to the store and get the one you originally needed. If one rod end is bad, the other one isn't likely too far behind.

Get them both done, get one alignment done, and call it a day.

 

[moparnation74]

Make sure if you or whomever installs them that the "L" hand thread tie rods go inside..... a lot of people get them backwards...

if the inner and outer are visibly the same does it matter, no but it is not the correct placement....

 

[Dibbons]

Exactly, that's what caused all the confusion/turmoil in the first place, someone put the left hand threaded tie rod on the outside

 

[Bruzilla]

In all honesty I don't think it matters. Both tie rods get one R and one L threaded end, and other than thread direction they are the same so you can take the rod off, spin it 180 degrees, and put it back on. Since most folks replace all four ends at one time, mechanics will just build a rod and put it on without caring which end goes where.

 

[moes]

just a heads up, you can use the tie rod ends from a C Body car on your B body car, they are beefer than the B Body ones. C Body cars use the 11/16 shank tie rod ends and B Body cars use the 9/16 shank tie rod ends, they bolt right up with no modifications. I just did this on my 1970 Sport Satellite when I rebuilt the front end. You will have to use a C Body tie rod adjusting sleeve.

This is from Andy Finkbeiner's Mopar B-Body Performance Upgrades 1962-1979 book. He's talking about using the C Body 11/16 inch tie rod ends instead of the B Body 9/16 tie rod ends. He says although the increase of 1/8 inch in diameter does not seem like alot, it is enough to more than double the bending resistance of the tie rod shank. This is a significant increase in bending strength for such a small weight penalty.

 

[HT413]

If they condemned the tie rod end, they shoulda told you which thread you needed to buy - regardless of the R or L shoulda been where. Just sayin, it ain't like tie rod ends only come on 50 year old Mopars.

 

[coloradodave]

If they condemned the tie rod end, they shoulda told you which thread you needed to buy - regardless of the R or L shoulda been where. Just sayin, it ain't like tie rod ends only come on 50 year old Mopars.

Atta boy, HT. Go get em...

 

[440 PHIXX]

I’m dealing with that now... someone swapped them on the passenger side, and I only ordered 2 rht outside.