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Outer Tie Rod End Replacement

DIY: 
15K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Joeyjethro 
#1 ·
Here is a DIY on replacing you outer tie rod ends. I did the left but the process is exactly the same for the right side. It's fairly common for tie rod ends to go bad. You can tell if yours are bad if you grab a hold of them and they freely rock back and forth. The tie rod end being bad can cause vibration in the steering wheel and result in poor and even dangerous handling. Anyway, here goes:

Tools needed:
Needlenose Pliers
Hammer
22mm Wrench
Ratchet or Wrench 17mm
17mm socket
Tape Measure
Jack
Jackstands or Blocks
Torch (optional)
Impact Wrench (optional)

Step 1
Jack the car up high enough to get the wheel off. Put a jackstand under the car as well as the jack in case for any reason the jack fails. Then take the wheel off.



Step 2
Turn the steering wheel all the way to one side so you've got more room to work
(Turn the wheel all the way to the right if you're doing the left tie rod end)
(Turn the wheel all the way to the left if you're doing the right tie rod end)

Step 3
Break the jam nut loose. Yes this sounds easy but it is very difficult and will be the most time consuming step of them all. I had to use the torch to heat up the nut, then beat it with a hammer, then it would finally spin loose. **NOTE** the jam nut will spin clockwise NOT counter-clockwise.


(You can see here I have the jam nut loose and slightly separated)

Step 4
Remove the pin that keeps the castle nut in place that attaches the tie rod end to the hub assembly. Then remove the nut.





Step 5
You will see the bolt sticking down where you just took the nut off. Hit this up with a hammer to disconnect the tie rod end from the hub assembly. This might take a little force depending on your car's miles, age, driving conditions, etc.



Step 6
Measure how far out the tie rod end is from the inner assembly. Measure from where the bolt sticks down out of the tie rod end to any point on the rest of the tie rod. Mark the spot though because you will need to measure again when you put the new tie rod end on to be sure its the same distance as before. This will keep your alignment as close as possible to what it was.

Step 7
Take the tie rod end off the tie rod itself. It will spin off counter-clockwise. You might need to hold the tie rod in place while you spin the tie rod end off with a pair of pliers or vice grips.

Step 8
Put on your new tie rod end!! Now comes that measuring mentioned in step 6. It is still recommended that you get an alignment after doing this because it can still throw off your alignment even though you measured and were careful, etc, etc. I'm getting my alignment done the following day.

Step 9
When you've got the tie rod end at the desired length, mine happened to be 11 3/8 in, put the tie rod end back in the whole that attaches it to the hub assembly.

Step 10
Tighten the jam nut back against the tie rod end to keep it from moving. There's no certain torque it has to be, just get it to where you're confident its tight.

Step 11
Put the nut on that holds the tie rod end down and attaches it to the hub assembly. That is supposed to be at 26-30 ft-lbs of torque, I set it at 30 and called it good.

Step 12
Put your wheel(s) back on, let the car down off the jack, step back and admire your work. A job well done.
 
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#4 ·
Yes, but they're "lubed for life", thus not easy to add grease down the road.
 
#5 ·
Good overall DIY for this task.

My suggestions are:

Step 6 should be step 2A.

Another step (call it step 2B) is:
-Wrap tape completely aorund the tierod ~midway along the tierod, beyond the threads.
-On the steering knuckle, close to where the outer tierod goes through the knuckle, wrap the knuckle outer edge (where the outer tierod goes through the knuckle) with a length of tape.
-Make a vertical mark on this 2nd piece of tape where it's easy to get to with a tape measure for the next part.
-Using a tape measure, measure from the near end of the tape on the tierod to the vertical line on the knuckle...... write this number down.

Continue with the rest of the DIY.

When reassembling, spin the new tierod on close to where it needs to be, feed the stud through the knuckle and hand tight the castle nut.
Check the dimension between the 2 tape marks in "2B" and spin the tierod one way or the other until the dimension is correct.

Tighten everything up & complete the rest of the DIY.

Congrats.

PS, this method of marking is a bit more precise thus retaing your alignment.

PPS, I also wirebrush the tierod threads really well, then coat the threads with Never-Seize as well as the threads where the tierod end stud threads are. Never know if you need to adjust something later on.
 
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