Trucks go further with MEYLE-HD quality

Hamburg/Frankfurt am Main, 11 September 2012. Fleet downtime costs clients and transport companies money but what really hurts is when a truck is off the road again after being repaired. To help workshops get vehicles back on the road for longer Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG has developed its very first re-engineered truck component and will be presenting it at Automechanika 2012. Wulf Gaertner Autoparts' engineers have designed a more robust tie rod end for DAF, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes Benz, R.V.I. and Scania trucks which lasts longer than its OE counterpart. The HD tie rod end can be used in a whole range of different vehicles produced by these six manufacturers, making things much easier in the workshop.

Problems in steering and suspension components are not unusual in trucks and tie rod ends are particularly vulnerable to the stresses caused by poor road conditions. Premature failure of a tie rod end can lead to steering play, which is likely to have an adverse effect on the steering. To reduce wear and avoid premature failure Wulf Gaertner Autoparts has now developed its very first HD tie rod end for trucks. Not only does this enhance quality, but it has been designed to fit different trucks built by DAF, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes Benz, R.V.I. and Scania, making it easier for workshops to respond to demand for tie rod end replacement simply and flexibly without tying storage capacity.

The principal improvement is an increase in the ball diameter from 40mm to 45mm. The larger contact area improves the load-carrying capacity by 25 per cent. The component also has a wear-resistant plastic socket, made to withstand high forces and temperatures by our German technology partner igus®. This combination of materials is carefully matched to deliver extra resistance to wear. The finely polished surface of the ball pin keeps the friction coefficient extremely low. The zinc flake coating of the housing ensures a high degree of protection against corrosion and the optimised rubber sleeve, for long-term sealing, contributes to the reliability of the tie rod end. Wulf Gaertner Autoparts also uses a high-performance grease specially adapted to the requirements of this specific tribological system. This greatly contributes to reducing wear and thanks to the highly stable lubricant film and high temperature resistance, also protects against corrosion-related failure – no coincidence, therefore, that the same lubricant is used in wind energy plants and ships.

The cumulative effect of these individual improvements is a high-grade MEYLE-HD tie rod end which lasts longer than its OE counterpart. Wulf Gaertner Autoparts gives a four-year warranty on its first MEYLE-HD truck component, no matter how many kilometres it has on the clock.