suspension/steering damage?? your comments appreciated

[sanioll]

Today I took out all the tires, simply doing some pre-inspection checkup. Don't want to fail the yearly inspection.

My front left tire moves back and forth. theres a little free play. Its not the axles, that thing thats holding it there, but steering metal part.

I'm sorry i dont know the names for the parts, but see pic below. That rod, it turns the tire for steering. It has rubber part, that part is old and worn out.

When i was moving the tire back and forth, thats the only thing thats loose. theres like 2-3 mm play, and it clicks metal to metal, becuase rubber is very old.

My question is how and where i can obtain it, and how can i change it? Can it be done in your own garage? What tools needed?? i dont have a compresor or impact gun yet.

if let say i changed it, will i need an alignment after that or not??

thanks, i appreciate your help

[sanioll]

dont mind the oil on parts, i usually spray wd40 to prevent corrosion.

[skylinedreams]

that thing is your tie rod end. from what i've read is they are relatively easy to change. but i won't know if thats true untill I change mine tomorrow. as to where you get a new one I'm not sure maybe a nissan dealer. or maybe advanced auto has them.

[st33f]

easy to change... get a friend and a laser tool to do the toe... or a tape measure and a straightedge

[wickedpelf]

check out everythingnissan.com i had to get a new one it cost me something like 75$ shipped...not too bad considering it was a new nissan part, from a dealer... and yes anytime u mess with the susspension its always a good idea to get an alignment

[sanioll]

IF I CHANGE IT, I WILL CHANGE BOTH SIDES. DO I NEED ANY EXTRA POWERFUL IMPACT GUN, ETC., OR CAN IT BE DONE WITH SIMPLE WRENCHES??

I'M GOING TO GET FOUR NEW TIRES IN COUPLE DAYS, MIGHT AS WELL CHANGE IT NOW, THEN GET AN ALIGNMENT WHEN NEW TIRES ARE IN.

ALSO, CAN I SIMPLY MARK THE LOCATION OF THE SCREW OVER THERE, AND SIMPLY PUT BACK ON LIKE THAT?? IN THAT CASE ALIGNMENT SHOULD BE SAME.

ALSO, WHAT IS THE ACTUAL FULL NAME OF IT?? I'M GOING TO GET IT FROM ADVANCE AUTO PARTS.

IS IT ONLY THAT SMALL 4" LOOKING PART??

THANKS

[skylinedreams]

its a tie rod end and yes it is that 4" piece your arrows are pointing at. as for the alignment it would seem logical if its screwed in the same amount of turns that it would be the same but i would get an alignment as soon as you can to be sure.

[sanioll]

wait a minute, cant i just replace that rubber boot instead of whole tie rod end??

its a metal, it doesnt change shape, or after 14 years does it??

i'm would like to know, that tie rod end, does come out the tie rod right? you can simply unscrew it outta there.

Well, change it tomorrow. Please come back and inform me how did it go. And some pics if you got.

[sanioll]

OH OKAY, SO U NEED S SPECIAL TOOL FOR THAT HUH. I THOUGHT HAMMER WOULD DO IT, SINCE I'M NOT GOING TO USE OLD TIE ROD ENDS.

[sanioll]

ALSO DONT FORGET TO LOOK INTO SERVICE MANUAL.

[574-240sx]

You shouldn't need a special tool, mine came out with a small tap from a hammer. Mark the placement on the tie rod and tie end so you know how far to screw the new tie rod end on until you get a proper alignment.

You say there is free play in the wheel to the left to the right that can also be caused by bad wheel bearings.

[sensibleS13driver]

sanioll, considering what you said about my car Im not very impressed with your wheel and tire package.

[sanioll]

sanioll, considering what you said about my car Im not very impressed with your wheel and tire package.

oh hehe, youre that guy running civic thin tires on a 240sx. yeah, well, these tires are on stock alloys for 92 240sx se, no extreme higher performance. They are worn out goodyear 205 HR15. lots of dry/wet grip. a bit trouble in snow though.

P.S. sorry, but i still stand by my words. you cant just drive 240sx with thin tires. its unacceptable. your lateral acceleration is probably less than .7g. if thats the case, then you should be driving a honda civic.

that tilted exhaust and thin tires gave that 240 very ugly look. I just re-read your old post, and see that its not your vehicle.

Even though the functionality is the priority, but art has to be considered too. In this case, functionality is not even fixed yet. I may have found your post in this thread abit offensive, but i guess that is your wisdom of automotive knowledge.======================================================

OK, TIE ROD ENDS, BACK TO TOPIC MATES.

[sensibleS13driver]

my car has 205's and stock exhaust so quit being a hater, and if you disapprove that much then keep it to yourself, I have no problem other than that you had some bone to pick with me so I am defending myself, nothing personal.

[sanioll]

nothing personal.

"kool"

can we get back to topic now.

[KFL]

1-loosen the nut a little and mark position or count the threads even. You may need to get pb blaster etc.as that bolt has been there a while and maybe stuck pretty good.

2-remove top nut off

3-hammer down on the thread. You may need a big 5lbs hammer if its seized due to the excess play its been at.

4-spin off tie rod end and replace.5-torque to spec

I would just get some teins if you plan on driving hard but oem is okay for a daily driver. P.S Easy with wd40 its not good for rubber so if it splashes onto any bushings reduces life by a little..spray can of rustoleum-etc..

[Veriest1]

Eh, SPL sells tie rod ends now as well. And having to change to Z32 tie rods is a small price to pay for fitment.

[sanioll]

P.S Easy with wd40 its not good for rubber so if it splashes onto any bushings reduces life by a little..spray can of rustoleum-etc..

wow, thanks. i usually spray it everywhwere, well now i know. ==================================================

went to advance auto parts, nice guys work there. one of them took his time and helped me. Found the part in the next store. So i had to drive 50 damn miles to get it.

Yup it says made in japan. I like that sign. brand new, two of them.

see, single out of box pic below:

[sanioll]

yes that screw is really tight there. i tried to move it other day, but no luck.

i'm going to spray some pb blaster for a day or two, before actually replacing it.

thanks everyone.

P.S. skylinedreams, let me know how it went, after you're done.

[sanioll]

MORE PICS.

AFTER SOME PB BLASTER.

[sanioll]

OH YEAH, WHEN I DO THIS, I'LL TAKE SOME MORE PICS, AND POST A FULL DIY HERE.

[skylinedreams]

well i just finished mine the ends are so easy to change pretty much unbolt the top and screw it off the inner rod although I do recommend loosening the nut on the inner side of the tie rod end before you remove the top bolt (wish i had a camera I could make more sense of this) other than that I just counted how many time the end turned before it came off the inner rod. I test drove my car down the street and it doesnt seem to veer in any direction. on a scale of 1 to 10 I give it a 3. but thats only if you have a lot of rust (like me) and everything is a b&%!@ to turn changing the inner rods is a whole different story definetly not as easy as the ends. but good luck to you I don't think you'll have any problems.

[sanioll]

can you just put a wrench on it, and try to get inner nut first. basically use one wrench, and all the force is being held by outer side?? is that an acceptable thing to do??

i'm going to heat the inner nut if it doesn't move.

[skylinedreams]

I don't think heating will be nessasary i think it was a 19mm wrench. just use some elbow grease and it will loosen. the only reason I say do that first is so the the inner rod can't spin when your loosening the nut.

[sanioll]

its 0927 am, going to get some breakfast, and get to work on it.

let see how long it will take me.

[sanioll]

ha ha ha, i'm done, dammit i'm done.

took me 1 hour 30 minutes. Why so long, well, i had to make sure everything is perfect. Everything is torqued to the spec and everything.

Took it for a test drive. Feels as before, and that vibration between 58-62mph is a bit less. Its my tires and alignment thats causing hte vibration so i'm getting new tires anyways.

I cant believe it. Me, the newbie, replaced his tie rod ends. whoo hoooooo.

DIY is coming soon.

[sanioll]

hehe, i made one mistake though.

i torqued both sides to 49 ft/lbs. Manual says Caution: 36 must be the maximum.

well i'm really tired, wonder what it will do to it.

[sanioll]

dammit, should i retorque it back to its specs?? 36 ft/lbs is the max??

what will happen if i got 50 ft/lbs?? ANYONE??