Originally posted by DesertRAT:
Not entirely a fair statement. Centerlinks go bad even if you baby them if you have a lift.
He said tie-rods, not center links.
Tie-rods bend by crashing into stuff, and forcing one wheel into a different plane than the other.
They also bend when the centerlink goes and gets jammed up into the frame.
Careful driving (especially when you know the centerlink is damaged) will prevent the tie rods from bending.