Tie Rod Replacement

[240sx_Guy]

Difficulty: ** to ***

Time: x < 1 hour

Cost: 70 for OEM

Tools:

-Jackstands, Jack-Socket wrench-Wrenches, larger size -Pliers-Other basic tools based on situation

Materials:

- Inner tie rod, outer tie rod (bolts and pins come with)

Procedure:Take Wheels of designated side off and turn wheel for easy accessundo the codder pin and unbolt the castle nutTake the boot off the end of the inner tie rod (reuse later)Unhook the bracket holding the inner end of the inner tie rodunbolt the connection connect the new tie rod assembly, replace boot or reuse, connect iner and outer making sure you have the same dimensions as the previous tie rod Connect the outer tie rod to the spindlesecure with coder pinattach bootand put on the wheels...

test around the block and in your best interest; take the car for and alignments

thanks to PinkFishTacoyum for taking pics and for taking off the wheels

[pinkfishtacoyum]

Job well done if i do say so myself

[240sx_Guy]

thanks kevin

[onosqv]

You're lucky, my tie rod end was basically seized into the spindle - very difficult to remove, even w/ the ball-joint popper tools.

You make it seem so easy, you bastard

[240sx_Guy]

oh hell it was not the easiest job

well before the new tie rod i took the old one out to bend it striate, that was a p.i.m.a.

the tool is a pickle fork btw

[srpowered240sx]

good write up, easy job, but you make it look easier.

[240sx_Guy]

thank you sir

hope that ankle gets better

[onosqv]

the tool is a pickle fork btw

Only if you want to destroy the old tie rod end... I used a pickle fork & ball joint popper. The pickle fork works, but completely demolishes the old tie rod end bushing.

This isn't normally an issue, but I wanted to transmission from one car -> next one time, and pickle fork is out of the question.

Now I run spherical bearings there anyway, so no issues @ all, hee hee.

[vancouverbc]

[QUOTE=vancouverbc]

i bought this for around $15. have not tried it.

i think op meant cotter pin and i dont think that is the correct way to install cotter pin. the castle nut , i think is 19 mm.

there is a special tool for the inner tie rod removal .

someone mentioned a crow foot wrench for taking off the tie rod end. this nut is 19 mm.

zerothread?id=371240

Modified by vancouverbc at 9:20 PM 10/6/2008
Modified by vancouverbc at 6:47 PM 10/11/2008

[vancouverbc]

[keith0486]

what order do you remove them im confused lol jk

[S133P3R]

Im replacing my entire steering rack on my S13 didnt see a complete write up so ill compile my experiences into a post when i finish.... on with my question...

I see most ppl say use a ball joint remover/ crows foot/ pickle tickler (or whatever) but as far as re-connecting the tie rod ends to knuckles, do you need any special tools to push the rod end bolt up thru the knuckle arm?

[vancouverbc]

Im replacing my entire steering rack on my S13 didnt see a complete write up so ill compile my experiences into a post when i finish.... on with my question...

I see most ppl say use a ball joint remover/ crows foot/ pickle tickler (or whatever) but as far as re-connecting the tie rod ends to knuckles, do you need any special tools to push the rod end bolt up thru the knuckle arm?

nope. just tighten the nut.

looking forward to your write up . pictures. pictures. pictures. quality.

[vancouverbc]

http://www.nicoclub.com/articles.php?id=158892

zerothread?id=215877

[OutToWinPAHC]

Holy hell..... look at all the rust.

[S133P3R]

thanks for the links. ill tr to get some quality pics of either me or my friend can keep our hands clean enuff to operate a camera.also,i am using the bushing replacement post as a starting point and i dont know if i want to put the angle mod in as the rack was sold to me rebuilt and i dont want to pull it all apart yet.

[MastaYu]

wish this write up happened before i installed mine. Nice job

[twoclark426]

Wow. Thanks so much for posting this. I am a complete noob at working on cars, but I bought my 92 to start learning. Had a bent inner tie rod on drivers side, did the job in 1.5 hours. Great pics and info!

[sebazztard]

dude you just need a hammer the side to get the outer to pop out, theres no need for any tools, ive done this dozens of times without a single problem. other than that gj.

[240sx_Guy]

no problem.

[Protector]

Thanks for the great write up! Do you have any tips on how to remove the tie rods with round inner ball joints? I'm trying to swap mine, but when I took the boot off, I saw that the ball joints were round, and did not have a nut on them for me to grab with a wrench or adjustable pliers (see pictures below). I'm not sure how to take the tie rod off, short of removing the entire steering gear assembly. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

[OutToWinPAHC]

weird... they all should look like this

[Razi]

Perhaps try a pipe wrench?

[Protector]

Pipe wrench was too big to fit. I did manage to get them off with a pair of curved-jaw vice grips. Thank you for your suggestions.