gtstcactus

Ok folks I seem to have hit a snag on another DIY attempt....

Trying to replace the steering rack inner tie rod.....

I managed to get the outer tie rod free from the knuckle with some difficulty and a trip to auto parts store to get a tie rod seperator.... However it was at the expense of the "grease sack" thingy.. So it's now a requirement I replace both inner and outer, which is probably sensible anyway...

The trouble I'm having it I can't seem to get the "alignment nut" (the nut jammed up against the outer tie rod) to loosen, budge, move at all...

I also don't seem to be able to get outer tie rod to turn at all to break free of the inner....

Not being able to get the outer off means I can't get the tie rod tool on the inner to remove it....

Space is extremely tight, the car is on jack stands, so it's not very high off the ground, so I can't wave great big tools around....

I've sprayed the offending nuts / threads with CRC several times, and as it's now dark have sprayed them a final time and left them to sit for the night...

I've used enough force that I thought the spanner I was using might break, I can't really get a great angle on it as it is....

I'm starting to wonder if I'm trying to turn the damn things the correct way..????

Correct me if I' wrong.... The outer tie rod should be turned counter clockwise to remove it??

Which way should I turn the alignment / lock nut to break it free?? clockwise to tighten it, moving it away from the outer tie rod?? or counter clock wise if it's even possible??

I don't seem to be able to get a good enough grip on the inner rod so I can spin the outer tie rod off...

FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LeX2K

Seeing you are also replacing the inner tie rod, you could take a hack saw and cut it in half.

A large crescent wrench can work well on these nuts, tighten up the thumbscrew as much as possible after you have it on the nut and hit the wrench with a hammer. Oh on the nuts, rotate them clockwise as you are facing the wheels.

gtstcactus

So took another trip to the auto parts store...

got the outer tie rod to go with my inner...

Got a few extra tools etc a rubber mallet, another hacksaw, pipe wrench, larger cresant spanner, another 19mm spanner, and some CRC Penetr8....

so I think the only other thing to try would be a propane torch if I don't succeed with something this time around.....

The CRC stuff is supposed to freeze the offending parts to sub zero temps to crack and penetrate so hopefully it's better than the regular CRC lubricant stuff....

I think it would have been cheaper to just have the mechanic do the job by this stage, lol

but I did get some nice tools

and I'm sure I'll get a nice warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction if and when I complete the task

gtstcactus

SUCCESS!!!!

I really don't see how anyone could get a pipe wrench onto the inner tie rod, the space is just so limited!!

CRC Penetr8 is an awesome product! Much better than regular CRC for breaking seized nuts etc..

I blasted the alignment jam nut with the CRC Penetr8 and then used my new larger crescent spanner and a ring spanner and it broke free right away... I'd already taken the outer tie rod out of the knuckle, so I put it back in and fastened the castle nut to do it... Then once the alignment nut was broken free, I discovered that the threaded bolt part of the outer tie rod was now rotating with the castle nut when I went to remove it I don't know why it chose to rotate with the nut now, but it meant I couldn't get the nut back off the remove the outer tie rod from the knuckle again...

Fortunately I had purchased a nut cracker when I was doing the rear strut swap, so I put this on cranked it tight and it busted the nut off quick time!

So I got the outer off the inner....

Got the boot off........

Can someone tell me the purpose of the claw washers & staking it????

Had a little trouble getting the tie rod tool on but not much, removed the inner tie rod, swapped in the new one...... put the boot on, zip ties to secure the boot at the inner end... I couldn't get anything in the stake the claw washer.... it was positioned correctly just not staked, I'll have to find something to get in their and stake them with, I just couldn't get enough access to stake the damned thing.... so I'll have to go back and do that I guess... Used the torque wrench to apply the spec'd torque 76ft/lbs I think...

I put the outer on the same number of turns as the old one came off, and it seemed to be in the right place when I compared it with the old one, secured the jam nut. Fastened the outer to the knuckle, tightened the castle nut and applied the cotter pin.. realised I'd left the clip off that secures the outer end of the boot so I used another zip tie on that end...

Wheel back on, job done more or less....

I suppose I'd better go to the tyre shop in the morning for an alignment... I'm not too certain how hard it is to do an alignment DIY style....

I wouldn't mind saving the $50 it costs for an alignment, so I'll probably spend the next couple of hours watching youtube vids & reading up on DIY alignments...

So all in all it probably would have been cheaper to just have got the mechanic to do the inner & outer tie rod replacement.... Having said that, I've done it once now, so will be able to do it myself on this and hopefully any future vehicles I own...

Most of the cost was in buying tools for the job, so I don't mind so much - I'll just call it an investment... Some of the tools I'll get use out of for lots of stuff... The specialized tools like the inner tie rod tool and the tie rod separator not so much but I wouldn't be at all surprised if in 6 months I have to replace the passenger side inner & outer tie rods, at least I'll have all the tools this time!

Parts: - Inner tie rod $40NZD delivered to my door overnight
: - Outer tie rod $46NZD from Repco
: - pack of 25 zip ties $8NZD

Tools: - Inner tie rod tool $125NZD delivered to my door overnight
: - Tie rod seperator $60NZD from Repco
: - 300mm Crescent spanner $20NZD
: - 14inch pipe wrench $10NZD
: - 19mm ring spanner/spanner $20NZD
: - rubber mallet $12NZD
: - CRC Penetr8 $18NZD
: - Hacksaw $10NZD

Total $369NZD which is about $308USD

If all had gone well at the mechanics it would probably have cost about $100NZD in labour (1 hour) + (I estimate $120NZD maybe more in parts) so about $185USD total...

Not really the most cost effective way to get the job done, given I'd planned on doing it to save money, then it became more about not being defeated and surrendering the task to a mechanic so that's ok I guess.....Next time when I have to do the other side (and I will) it'll just be the cost of parts..........

I might have been able to save a little on the tools if I'd been prepared to order everything online and wait for delivery, but this was more of a need it done NOW job...

I already had a couple of different 19mm spanners but I wanted a better feeling one, perhaps I could have gone without it... As it turned out I didn't actually need the pipe wrench, rubber mallet or hacksaw, so I could have saved $50NZD ($40USD) in tools if I'd been more frugal, but I didn't want to make another trip to the auto parts store so just got everything I thought I might need (apart from a propane torch)

LeX2K

You MUST stake the washer! If for any reason the inner tie rod becomes loose it could potentially fall off the rack and you'll at best damage the front suspension.

Congrats on doing the job yourself. Take the car to an alignment shop, strings and guess work are no match for an alignment machine.

artbuc

I agree if you are lucky enough to find a shop with calibrated equipment and qualified techs. However, if you know some basic math and are patient, you can do an alignment which is superior to most shops for pretty much next to zero cost. I spent $4-5 for fishing line. My 99 Avy steers perfectly and tire wear is dead even after replacing the passenger side inner and outer tie rod ends.

LeX2K

Good point. I take mine to an independent shop that does a great job, the tech even let me look at the setup while he was doing it. He got everything bang on, no way I could have done that myself. A few years ago I took my one car in after replacing some suspension stuff and the alignment was actually worse afterwards.

I just don't have the patience or time to do it myself, props to people that do.

Mythotical

I do my own alignment, I had been an alignment and ride control specialist for four of my fifteen years as a mechanic and I have a buddy who owns a tire shop with a brand new Hunter machine. For those who do not, string and a bit of math works just as well as the $50,000 machine but the machine is faster and can measure a lot more angles. I can also say that a little applyed leverage and a few knocks with a hammer has made it possible for me to never have to use a tie rod separator. You just have to pry up on the tie rod end and smack the knuckle at the same time and the outer tie rod end will just pop right out without damage to the grease boot. But before you separate the outer tie rod you should first loosen the jam nut, then turn the inner tie rod some to break it free and then separate the outer tie rod. This will make it easy to separate the inner from the outer in order to use the inner tool.

gtstcactus

Ok been to an alignment shop..... The front drivers side wheel (side I did tie rods) was 19mm out which I quite a lot in terms of alignment from what I gather... The car felt awful to drive this morning when I drove it to the alignment shop... Goes to show that despite putting the outer back on the same number of rotations as the old came off and what not different brand of product must have slightly different sized threads or some other minor differences... It looked like the replacements where bang on in terms of size & position but clearly not...

Car feels so much better now, it didn't really feel like anything was wrong before I did the work and got the alignment but the after steering feels much more responsive, perhaps a little lighter and isn't pulling one way or the other...

Mythotical much of what you say I learnt along the way.... loosen the jam nut before seperating from the knuckle! It's possible I might have been able to free the tie rod without purchasing the tie rod separator... but after putting the nut back on upside down and giving it a few good blows with the hammer and it not moving at all, I tried the pry bar to leverage it up with no joy, a couple more smacks with the hammer, curse and swear a little, watch a youtube video on the subject - wonder why isn't this working so easy for me??????? I then got the separator... I was starting to think it wasn't going to break free with that tool also! I had it on very tight and it still hadn't budged, I decided to stop and spray the jam nut with CRC pentr8 and whacked the jam nut with a spanner an the tie rod popped out of the knuckle! Funny how it happened when I was doing something else after getting pissed off with it...

I think the outer tie rod might have been doomed anyway as the wire bit that secures the grease boot at the bottom was missing - it must have broken or fallen off somewhere sometime, so it was probably a bit lite on grease anyway, the separator made sure it was stuffed for certain!

I grabbed a mini sized hammer from super cheap auto this morning, I'll go back and stake the claw washer tomorrow as it'll be dark when I get home from work...

So the car got it's warrant of fitness today when I took it back in for the recheck!

I've still got quite a bit of maintenance to do to get everything to a satisfactory level, and then keep it there... So I'm sure the car will provide me with much to do if I find myself with idle hands at any stage!

Mythotical

No worries man, glad it all worked out. I forgot to mention that I use a 4' pry bar that i have named Moose to pry up and then smack the side of the knuckle where the outer tie rod goes. Works for ball joints too.