Safety Inspector snagged front inner tie rods due to wear. I can't seem to find any information on how to replace them. I guess the biggest concern is whether or not the rack and pinion has to be removed to accomplish the job. Any guidance would be appreciated..
How do you change inner tie rods?
- Thread starter Heggmonic
- Start date
How could he dianose that the inner tie rods are bad? There is a joint at the end of the rod inside the rack but i would think the seals inside the rack would be bad first.
what are the symptoms or problem with the inner tie rods?
what are the symptoms or problem with the inner tie rods?
Thanks Jeff, that was just what I was going to ask... I looked at the manual again and I assume that if you position the end of the rack far enough over, there should be enough access. I will need the tool to torque the rack end (unless I use my trusty human arm and a wrench). Would you happen to know the size required or if it is thinner than a wrench (my parts are in transit so I have not seen the depth of the slot in the rod for tightening)? Maybe I can borrow from the tool crib at work if that is the case?
As far as I am concerned the Mechanic is not the “sharpest knife in the drawer” anyway. He snagged the exhaust for not exiting the car, I bought and installed a factory exhaust and guess what, it does not extend past the rear bumper either. He also snagged a clutch pedal rubber and my rear seat being loose, and no seat belts (I removed the rear seat to let it dry due to water ingress and threw it back in for the safety, and yes the belts were under the seat…). He also snagged flammable liquid on the exhaust (near the CAT). Looks like a minor tranny rear seal leak. They want that cleaned so it doesn’t explode :-0!
Anyway I checked myself and there does not seem to be any lateral play, they twist pretty easily, but I would not say that is abnormal. The outer tie rods show normal wear (car has 125 k don’t know if they are original though) I do feel a small amount of play in the steering wheel. I have not had a chance to drive the car any distance since I did the lower ball joints (pass side was shot). Do you know if there is a fool proof way to determine if it is the rack end or something inside the rack and pinion assy?
Anyway I checked myself and there does not seem to be any lateral play, they twist pretty easily, but I would not say that is abnormal. The outer tie rods show normal wear (car has 125 k don’t know if they are original though) I do feel a small amount of play in the steering wheel. I have not had a chance to drive the car any distance since I did the lower ball joints (pass side was shot). Do you know if there is a fool proof way to determine if it is the rack end or something inside the rack and pinion assy?
Halsupramk3 said:
What joint inside the rack? The inner tie rods are external, and the spherical joint on them can have play. You can feel it when you try to move the tire. Any good mechanic should be able to tell if the tie rods are bad or not.
are we talking about the inner tie rod ends that come out of the rack or the tie rod ends that connect to the knuckle at the tire? the tie rod ends connect to that and the inner tie rods. the other end of the inner tie rods is connected to a joint inside the rubber boot and it will spin freely at this end continuosly to allow adjustment in and out at the threaded end to the outer tie rod end. i have never heard of the inner tie rod end being faulty other than maybe at the joint that is inside the boot. The outer tie rod end wears out at its ball joint but if the inner rod was bad at the end that is in the rack i would think it would be better money spent to just replace the whole rack.
If the outer tie rod end is worn out remove the nut, loosen the lock nuts on the inner tie rod. Knockk out the ball joint on the tie rod and replace with new. Go get an alignment.
i am glad we dont have that excessive big brother inspections down here. Just check that all the lights work and horn and thats about it.
If the outer tie rod end is worn out remove the nut, loosen the lock nuts on the inner tie rod. Knockk out the ball joint on the tie rod and replace with new. Go get an alignment.
i am glad we dont have that excessive big brother inspections down here. Just check that all the lights work and horn and thats about it.
The joint that the inner tie rod spins in, is part of the inner tie rod. That entire thing is threaded into the the rack.
The inner tie rod is threaded into the rack and has a spherical joint on it, the outer tie rod is threaded onto the inner tie rod and has a ball joint on it, which is connected to the steering knuckle.
Sounds like you don't know how steering systems work. If the joint inside the boot wears... you replace the inner tie rods, since that's what the inner tie rod is.
The inner tie rod is threaded into the rack and has a spherical joint on it, the outer tie rod is threaded onto the inner tie rod and has a ball joint on it, which is connected to the steering knuckle.
Sounds like you don't know how steering systems work. If the joint inside the boot wears... you replace the inner tie rods, since that's what the inner tie rod is.
Heggmonic said:
The space available is fairly thin. I ended up taking 2 large adjustable wrenches and grinding them thin. I can check when I get home how thin I had to make them, but it's probably around 3/8". That's what those special wrench adapters get you. You'll see how large they are when your parts show up. You also get to bend a washer into place to make sure that large nut doesn't loosen, which is a pain, but not impossible. The TSRM is your friend.
All this can be done with the rack in place, like Jeff said.
Asterix
edit: turns out I only ground down one wrench, and that one to 0.3" thick. Not a lot of room, as I said. It's a 12" crescent wrench that opens to 1.4". It's a big nut...
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Halsupramk3 said:
Lots of play in the steering wheels before the car wants to turn. Jack up the front of thte car and shake the wheel left and right to check if it wobbles. If it does. Replace! My passanger side wobbled BAD!!!!! fixed it and my steering became instantly tighter.