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ProjectGS DIY: Inner Tie Rod Replacement. Possibly cure to your tirewear problems!
08-12-11, 02:28 AM
#1
ProjectGS DIY: Inner Tie Rod Replacement. Possibly cure to your tirewear problems!
Mods: Keep in this in the general section for now. This is bit of info could possibly cure the crazy tirewear many people experience here. Trying to get as much exposure so fellow 2GS members can fix their tire wear problems.
For the last year or so, I have wondered why in the world my front alignment would ALWAYS go out of whack every month or two. I mean, it was BAAAAD! The rear tires alignment were always perfect and never a single problem.
IMPORTANT UPDATE! ~~ My results 4 months after this post
My alignment was a bit better after replacing the inner tie rod, but toe alignment would randomly drift out of spec after a while. I took it to my friend that works at Lexus and we put it up on the lift to check everything out. He even got a few of the senior techs out there to come to try and diagnose the problem. Well, turns out it was something extremely stupid. The camber adjustment eccentric bolt needs to be REALLY cranked down. The senior tech told him to get a 3ft long breaker bar and just lay into it.
I didn't want to bug my friend at Lexus because they usually have to stay after hours to work on personal cars or on cars not coming through the shop. So I had firestone do my alignment previously because I also have the lifetime alignment plan with them so it was free. Their(Firestone) problem was that they didn't crank the camber bolt down enough and it caused the camber to drift around every time I would hit a major bump. Some days the toe would be in and some days it would be out. They would set the camber and toe dead on according to the Hunter alignment machine, but I guess the tech didn't crank the bolt down tight enough. My friend cranked the bolt down, we threw it back on the alignment machine, and then dialed in all the settings to perfect. After that, I haven't had a single problem and I've been driving it hard for a while now since we've set the alignment.
So, for you guys that are getting whacky alignments that drift out of spec after a few days or weeks...MAKE SURE you check that camber bolt!!!! I've gone though 3-4 sets of tires and replaced every possible balljoint/bushing trying to figure out the stupid problem!
Update: Posted picture of camber bolt location.
This was the condition of my BRAND NEW front tires after about 3-4k miles!
It got to the point where I hated to drive this car because it was chewing up tires so bad. $400-500 every two months for tires adds up quick! I went to get alignments 4-5 times, and it was the same every time. It would be perfect and solid for a few weeks, then I would feel the alignment drift off spec after that. For a while I kept getting the car re-aligned every month or so. I knew something wasn't right so I changed all the front end parts. I did the Daizen lower arm, upper arm, and caster bushings. I also bought and installed new lower ball joints, outer tie rods, and I even replaced the caster arms with new ones. I did all that to no avail, the alignment would go bad after a month! The other day, I did a full inspection of the whole front end suspension, and I also did a DIY alignment. Basically just eyeballing the toe and camber until it's close. I noticed that the whole tie rod was wobbling as I was turning it. I am shocked, and also not at the same time that the technician at the alignment facility didn't catch it. It's not just a little wobble, the whole tie rod was moving in a oval motion about 1/2" out of round! I'm guessing that the previous owner of the car might of hit a curb or something to cause this.
Anyways, I replaced the inner tie rod and took some pictures to guide those who are adventurous to DIY this job. It's more difficult and easier to mess up on than doing the lower balljoints and outer tie rods, so don't attempt this unless you mechanical skills are at least intermediate level.
To diagnose if this is your problem, loosen the 19mm locking nut on the outer tie rod end. Then turn the 14mm inner tie rod shaft to see if it spins straight. It should spin perfectly straight, if there is any slight bend or deviation then you have a problem.
ProjectGS DIY: Inner Tie Rod Replacement
August 12, 2011
by: Jeff Tsai
This is the area of interest. I've noticed that nobody here has ever mentioned replacing this part. It's not commonly replaced, but this might be your cause if you are having constant alignment troubles.
The inner tie rod is sealed inside the flexible dust tube. This is to keep dust out of the steering rack. Mine was still in good shape. Be sure to pick up a new one if yours is ripped, cracked, or torn. If the boot is not sealed, it will destroy the steering rack in very short order.
Undo the hose clamp holding the small side of the dust boot. Also, loosen the locking nut on the tie rod (19mm).
After loosening the 19mm nut, unscrew tie rod linkage all the way (14mm). After it pops out, I propped the outer tie rod against the caster arm bolt as shown here. This prevents the spindle and brake rotor from swinging around freely.
Grab the boot and try to rotate it so you can have easier access to the clamp holding on the dust boot. If the boot is stuck, don't force it or else you might rip it. If you plan to replace the boot, then it's up to you to rip it off of there. There's a small stainless clamp holding the big end of the boot. Use a flathead and needle nose pliers to pull the clamp apart.
Once the clamps are off, the boot should slide off with a bit of force. push it out of the way so you can work on removing the inner tie rod.
On the tie rod, there is a locking ring with tabs that holds the tie rod tight. Use a flathead and hammer to knock the tabs back. Once you pushed the tabs out of the way, use a large adjustable wrench to loosen the inner tie rod. It is just threaded on there. It's on there pretty tight so you will have to use significant force or have someone help you.
The whole assembly removed and all of the parts involved.
This is how the end of the steering rack should look. Take this time to clean off any dust or grease that may of accumulated anywhere on there. Keep in mind, if this shaft gets dirty it will accelerate wear on the steering rack.
Here's a comparison of the old tie rod. If you notice near where the threads start, the rod is bent very slightly. It is off about 2-3'degrees, but when installed on the vehicle that can be a very significant change in toe angle.
Start installation of the new inner tie rod. Make sure to have the locking ring on there. The two tabs mate up to the grooves on the end of the steering rack.
Assembled and good to go.
Now you need to hammer in the tabs on both sides and pack grease in the ball joint area.
Here's the bottom of the tie rod. You MUST hammer both of these locking tabs in or else your steering may come loose!
Re-install the boot. I was careful when removing the clamp, so I managed to reuse the original stainless clamp on the big end. If you damage yours beyond reuse, don't worry. Just goto your local hardware store and try to find some stainless zip ties. If you can't find them there, then look online for them. This is how it should look with everything installed and completed.
For the last year or so, I have wondered why in the world my front alignment would ALWAYS go out of whack every month or two. I mean, it was BAAAAD! The rear tires alignment were always perfect and never a single problem.
IMPORTANT UPDATE! ~~ My results 4 months after this post
My alignment was a bit better after replacing the inner tie rod, but toe alignment would randomly drift out of spec after a while. I took it to my friend that works at Lexus and we put it up on the lift to check everything out. He even got a few of the senior techs out there to come to try and diagnose the problem. Well, turns out it was something extremely stupid. The camber adjustment eccentric bolt needs to be REALLY cranked down. The senior tech told him to get a 3ft long breaker bar and just lay into it.
I didn't want to bug my friend at Lexus because they usually have to stay after hours to work on personal cars or on cars not coming through the shop. So I had firestone do my alignment previously because I also have the lifetime alignment plan with them so it was free. Their(Firestone) problem was that they didn't crank the camber bolt down enough and it caused the camber to drift around every time I would hit a major bump. Some days the toe would be in and some days it would be out. They would set the camber and toe dead on according to the Hunter alignment machine, but I guess the tech didn't crank the bolt down tight enough. My friend cranked the bolt down, we threw it back on the alignment machine, and then dialed in all the settings to perfect. After that, I haven't had a single problem and I've been driving it hard for a while now since we've set the alignment.
So, for you guys that are getting whacky alignments that drift out of spec after a few days or weeks...MAKE SURE you check that camber bolt!!!! I've gone though 3-4 sets of tires and replaced every possible balljoint/bushing trying to figure out the stupid problem!
Update: Posted picture of camber bolt location.
This was the condition of my BRAND NEW front tires after about 3-4k miles!
It got to the point where I hated to drive this car because it was chewing up tires so bad. $400-500 every two months for tires adds up quick! I went to get alignments 4-5 times, and it was the same every time. It would be perfect and solid for a few weeks, then I would feel the alignment drift off spec after that. For a while I kept getting the car re-aligned every month or so. I knew something wasn't right so I changed all the front end parts. I did the Daizen lower arm, upper arm, and caster bushings. I also bought and installed new lower ball joints, outer tie rods, and I even replaced the caster arms with new ones. I did all that to no avail, the alignment would go bad after a month! The other day, I did a full inspection of the whole front end suspension, and I also did a DIY alignment. Basically just eyeballing the toe and camber until it's close. I noticed that the whole tie rod was wobbling as I was turning it. I am shocked, and also not at the same time that the technician at the alignment facility didn't catch it. It's not just a little wobble, the whole tie rod was moving in a oval motion about 1/2" out of round! I'm guessing that the previous owner of the car might of hit a curb or something to cause this.
Anyways, I replaced the inner tie rod and took some pictures to guide those who are adventurous to DIY this job. It's more difficult and easier to mess up on than doing the lower balljoints and outer tie rods, so don't attempt this unless you mechanical skills are at least intermediate level.
To diagnose if this is your problem, loosen the 19mm locking nut on the outer tie rod end. Then turn the 14mm inner tie rod shaft to see if it spins straight. It should spin perfectly straight, if there is any slight bend or deviation then you have a problem.
ProjectGS DIY: Inner Tie Rod Replacement
August 12, 2011
by: Jeff Tsai
This is the area of interest. I've noticed that nobody here has ever mentioned replacing this part. It's not commonly replaced, but this might be your cause if you are having constant alignment troubles.
The inner tie rod is sealed inside the flexible dust tube. This is to keep dust out of the steering rack. Mine was still in good shape. Be sure to pick up a new one if yours is ripped, cracked, or torn. If the boot is not sealed, it will destroy the steering rack in very short order.
Undo the hose clamp holding the small side of the dust boot. Also, loosen the locking nut on the tie rod (19mm).
After loosening the 19mm nut, unscrew tie rod linkage all the way (14mm). After it pops out, I propped the outer tie rod against the caster arm bolt as shown here. This prevents the spindle and brake rotor from swinging around freely.
Grab the boot and try to rotate it so you can have easier access to the clamp holding on the dust boot. If the boot is stuck, don't force it or else you might rip it. If you plan to replace the boot, then it's up to you to rip it off of there. There's a small stainless clamp holding the big end of the boot. Use a flathead and needle nose pliers to pull the clamp apart.
Once the clamps are off, the boot should slide off with a bit of force. push it out of the way so you can work on removing the inner tie rod.
On the tie rod, there is a locking ring with tabs that holds the tie rod tight. Use a flathead and hammer to knock the tabs back. Once you pushed the tabs out of the way, use a large adjustable wrench to loosen the inner tie rod. It is just threaded on there. It's on there pretty tight so you will have to use significant force or have someone help you.
The whole assembly removed and all of the parts involved.
This is how the end of the steering rack should look. Take this time to clean off any dust or grease that may of accumulated anywhere on there. Keep in mind, if this shaft gets dirty it will accelerate wear on the steering rack.
Here's a comparison of the old tie rod. If you notice near where the threads start, the rod is bent very slightly. It is off about 2-3'degrees, but when installed on the vehicle that can be a very significant change in toe angle.
Start installation of the new inner tie rod. Make sure to have the locking ring on there. The two tabs mate up to the grooves on the end of the steering rack.
Assembled and good to go.
Now you need to hammer in the tabs on both sides and pack grease in the ball joint area.
Here's the bottom of the tie rod. You MUST hammer both of these locking tabs in or else your steering may come loose!
Re-install the boot. I was careful when removing the clamp, so I managed to reuse the original stainless clamp on the big end. If you damage yours beyond reuse, don't worry. Just goto your local hardware store and try to find some stainless zip ties. If you can't find them there, then look online for them. This is how it should look with everything installed and completed.
Last edited by JeffTsai; 01-16-12 at 10:14 PM.
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unityman (08-25-18)
08-12-11, 07:37 AM
#5
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maybe i will try this i have serious tire wear issues only in the front..... i even do all my own alignments and they are always within factory specs, but wear out waaaaaaay faster than the rears
i'm on my 3rd set of fronts now (i even flip them left to right to use up both corners
) and my rears are only now getting ready for replacement
ive done the same as you as well.... replaced every bushing in the front along with new ball joints, UCA, and outer tie rods
i'm on my 3rd set of fronts now (i even flip them left to right to use up both corners
) and my rears are only now getting ready for replacementive done the same as you as well.... replaced every bushing in the front along with new ball joints, UCA, and outer tie rods
08-12-11, 08:52 AM
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Wow! That's a sweet DIY right there. I really wish I had time and a helper to do this one.
Thanks for taking the time to share this. Its gonna help lots of us out for sure.
Thanks for taking the time to share this. Its gonna help lots of us out for sure.
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08-12-11, 09:03 AM
#8
very nice DIY jeff, i have noticed my alignment constantly moves also... i have been trying to get figs to make some inner tie rods but to no avail so far
i guess im gonna order some you happen to have a part # for the OEM's jeff as i dont see them on here
http://lexus.sewellparts.com/images/...000/450853.jpg
i ALSO have a ?, did this actually fix your alignment issues or is this as of yet to be determined?
i guess im gonna order some you happen to have a part # for the OEM's jeff as i dont see them on here
http://lexus.sewellparts.com/images/...000/450853.jpg
i ALSO have a ?, did this actually fix your alignment issues or is this as of yet to be determined?
Last edited by sakataj; 08-12-11 at 11:01 AM.
08-12-11, 04:42 PM
#13
I'm going in for an alignment on Monday. I'll keep you guys posted if the alignment drifts out of spec. I'm 90%+ sure that this will solve my problem though. If you saw in person how bad the inner tie rod was bent, I'm sure you would understand.
