Can anyone tell me if there is a difference between the 69 Camaro and Firebird Tie Rod ends? Moog shows 2 different part numbers, but I've seen them somewhere sold under the same part number. Are they interchangeable? Price is different as well....$40+ for Firebird and <$20 for Camaro.

Hmmm ... isn't this like Deja Vu all over again?

/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=001605

Ignore the bad humor attempts.

Q

Yes ignore Q , lol...
this was a topic about a week or so ago , where I already showed my ignorance!
and I found out.....
NO, they are not the same, YES, there is a difference

I checked out some prices at Oreilys. Thier part numbers are the same for 67 Birds and Cameros. Price was like $6 for the out and 11 for the inner.

LOL

Deja Vu

There can't be THAT much difference between the 2!!!

we never did make a decisive conclusion on camaro vs firebird tierods, i think.

if anyone finds out positively whether or not the tie-rods are interchangeable, please let the rest of us know, with the specific application used for which specific vehicle.

According to Oreilys they are. At least for 67.

67 and 68 front suspensions are the same for Camero and Firebird. 69 Firebird is on its own. I guess it was one of GM's better ideas

67 and 68 front suspensions are the same for Camaro and Firebird. 69 Firebird is on its own. I guess it was one of GM's better ideas

contrary to popular belief, part companies assign identical parts with identical #s, so if they are correct for more than one application, they cost the same.

maybe Oreilys is correct, but i do not trust catalogs as far as i can throw them. i could site many examples of incorrect parts store and mail order catalog parts, and not just on our cars. even dealer catalogs are not always right.

i'm just asking if someone has actually bought a tierod for a camaro, set it down next to one from a firebird, and verified that they are identical. or at least interchangeable, if not exact, and what the difference is. or if someone has bought one from a company which lists them as the same, and visually and physically verified that it is correct for their car, and if so, what part, what car, what steering (manual or power, and how many turns) and which company.

here's what i know, or think i know:

i put ps from a '69 on my '68, and the difference i could see was the ballstud was in the link, rather than the pitman arm. these were both 6cy firebirds with OEM parts. I had to by a '68 PS arm to match my link.

the front suspension (springs, control arms, knuckles, ball joints, and bushings) is interchangeable from all 67-69 firebirds, camaros, and 68-72 (possibly73) X bodies (nova/ventura/apollo). there are differences in spring rates, steering arm lengths, and where holes are drilled for brake hoses and bumpstops etc.. between models, brakes, and type of steering.

the 6cy firebird has a straight pitman arm, and the 8cy firebird has a curved pitman arm. the power steering and manual steering ragjoints are different. the 67-68 firebird has a ballstud in the pitman arm, the '69 has it in the centerlink.

if anyone has verified info conflicting any of this, or verified additional info, this would be a good thread to put it in. the more info the better.

i guess i'm looking mostly for verification of interchageability between tie-rods and sleeves, between years and models. i believe the replacement idler arm for these cars is a generic length now, and is supposed to work on all of them.

<editied for P/S swap memory>

six,

That's exactly the type of informations I was looking for. I am planning to buy 69 Camaro Tie Rod ends and do a comparison between them and my originals to see if there is a difference.

cool. i re-read that, and it sounded like i was really going off. i didn't mean to.

we have 1 vote for 67 tierods being the same on 'birds and 'maros and 1 vote for them being different. hopefully we get verified.

we have 2 votes for 69 tierods being different on birds and 'maros. looks like Drew will verify that. good luck.

(i tabbed votes from the other recent thread too. so far the only seeming verification is from Terry, who has tried it, but he wasn't real specific on the tie-rods, just the linkage in general hitting his headers)

there is a big difference.69 firebird outer tie rod ends are short stubby.

Outer Tie rod is ordered will be in the store tomorrow.

$20.99 vs $47.98.

Is it possible that the 69 Camaro sleeve is shorter than the Firebird sleeve to make up the difference in the length of the Tie Rod?

edit: we're posting at the same time

Terry, what do you know about the other years? and if you change both rods, and the sleeve, does it work?

No sixstarved, you aint goin' off, and it aint got nothin' to do with who's right/wrong.

(Heck! I don't know, and if I had to guess, I'd say that the first generation Camaros/Firebirds share those same components. I'd make that best guess because all auto makers are cheap. It coste money to retool--the reason why we have coperate GM engines rather than ones by seperate divisions--so why would they they retool on sister cars?)

I'm not even going to try to guess on Camaro/Firebird interchange, but on the 7 through 9 brids, I cannot see the reason that they wouldn't interchange.

If there is an interchange problem, it's to everyone's advangage to know about the problems. (I'v never done any six cylinder cars, so I didn't know there was a difference. I though that was a MoPar trick. For instance, you cannot just chunk an 8 into a 6 cylinder Duster because there is a torstion bar or cradle issue.)

So the only way to address interchange problems is to speak up.

Picked up the 69 Camaro Tie Rod end last night. At first glance it looks the same. I'll try to remove and compare to the 69 Firebird Tie Rod End tonight. I'll provide the details soon!

There is a difference in the 69 Outer tie Rod ends, then Camaro Tie Rod end is about 1.5 inches longer than the Firebird one, but would work fins with a shorter sleeve. I have a Camaro one on order to verify.

every component on the 69 firebird steering linkage is unique to the car.nothing on the linkage will interchange with any year camaro.67 and 68 is a different story.the center link is different,outer and inner tie rod ends are different,idler arm is different.that is why when i need to change a center link on my 69's it cost me 200 to 250 just for one part.alot of people rig wrong parts on their cars but i would never do that with the steering,brakes or any other component where safety could be an issue.i want to see my kids grow up.