Changing outer tie rods
10-07-2012, 08:21 PM
#1
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Changing outer tie rods I'm going to be replacing my outer tie rods tmrw and i was reading up on how to do it. This is my first time doing tie rods BTW. couple questions: after i loosen the jam nut, will the tie rod just spin off? what do i do if its stuck on there? i watched a how to video, and they made it look so easy. but i know its not going to be a 5 min job lol...
thanks!
thanks!
10-07-2012, 08:29 PM
#2
pretty much cut and dry here..loosen the jam nut BEFORE you unbolt the tie rod end from the knuckel, itll make life much easier..trust me. when you loosen the jam nut try to keep it butted aginst the tie rod to minimize throwing it out of adjustment, or count how many times the tie rod spins to get off the threaded rod.
the tie rod end should spin right off once you get the jam nut loose and tie rod unbolted from the knuckel. if it dont, dont be afraid to put some channel locks of vice grips on it to get it to spin off, you wont hurt the old one. G.L
the tie rod end should spin right off once you get the jam nut loose and tie rod unbolted from the knuckel. if it dont, dont be afraid to put some channel locks of vice grips on it to get it to spin off, you wont hurt the old one. G.L
10-07-2012, 08:39 PM
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cool man thanks. i was just worried if it didnt come off once i get the jam nut off, how i'd get it to spin off. should i put the vise grips on the tie rod shaft and use a wrench to twist off the tie rod?
10-07-2012, 08:49 PM
#4
n.p
you can do that, but in my experience...ive done ALOT of tie rod ends,
and have never had one seized on the threaded rod..i think your chances of
that happening are slim to none, however, IF its stuck use any means possible
to get it off..its old, its junk, and all you care about is getting it off!
you can do that, but in my experience...ive done ALOT of tie rod ends,
and have never had one seized on the threaded rod..i think your chances of
that happening are slim to none, however, IF its stuck use any means possible
to get it off..its old, its junk, and all you care about is getting it off!
10-07-2012, 08:59 PM
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ahh alright. so i probably won't have to deal with a seized on tie rod. good deal. thank you JayZeig! i'll chime in tmrw and let you know how it goes.
10-08-2012, 08:51 PM
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did both the toe rods this morning, took me a minute to figure out the first one then the 2nd one was a breeze. like you said, they were not seized on! thanks for the help man.
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10-15-2012, 11:22 AM
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I'm going to be replacing my outer tie rods tmrw and i was reading up on how to do it. This is my first time doing tie rods BTW. couple questions: after i loosen the jam nut, will the tie rod just spin off? what do i do if its stuck on there? i watched a how to video, and they made it look so easy. but i know its not going to be a 5 min job lol...
thanks!
thanks!
10-15-2012, 11:48 AM
#11
Control arm bushings...good luck. I tried pressing the old bushings out of my upper front control arms and collapsed the control arm before the bushing moved at all. If you're only doing the rear bushings, you might be better off just buying an aftermarket set rather than screwing with pressing bushings in the stock arms.
10-16-2012, 02:52 AM
#13
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Okay. Im gonna do it myself then lol. Big hammer time! Bushings sound like bad news. So im better off with some new LCA's with bushings? If there is a magic place for all the parts let me know. Ill follow the writtin directions above. 500 is out of control!
10-16-2012, 11:25 AM
#14
For rear LCAs, replacements are inexpensive and easy to change; front control arms are significantly more expensive (I think mine were about $700 shipped for poly uppers and rod-end lowers) and require an alignment once they go back in, plus pulling the shock/spring assembly. If you're doing the fronts, you may think about having new ball joints pressed in while the arms are out, just to save pulling them again in the future. Also on the fronts, if you decide to replace the bushings on them, either go OEM rubber or 1LE upgraded rubber - poly is a bad choice for front lower control arms.
10-17-2012, 01:44 AM
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Amazon and Rock Auto are both good for replacement parts. Rock Auto is normally a bit cheaper on individual parts, but sometimes free shipping from Amazon beats the price on big orders.
For rear LCAs, replacements are inexpensive and easy to change; front control arms are significantly more expensive (I think mine were about $700 shipped for poly uppers and rod-end lowers) and require an alignment once they go back in, plus pulling the shock/spring assembly. If you're doing the fronts, you may think about having new ball joints pressed in while the arms are out, just to save pulling them again in the future. Also on the fronts, if you decide to replace the bushings on them, either go OEM rubber or 1LE upgraded rubber - poly is a bad choice for front lower control arms.
For rear LCAs, replacements are inexpensive and easy to change; front control arms are significantly more expensive (I think mine were about $700 shipped for poly uppers and rod-end lowers) and require an alignment once they go back in, plus pulling the shock/spring assembly. If you're doing the fronts, you may think about having new ball joints pressed in while the arms are out, just to save pulling them again in the future. Also on the fronts, if you decide to replace the bushings on them, either go OEM rubber or 1LE upgraded rubber - poly is a bad choice for front lower control arms.
Last edited by HuddSS; 10-17-2012 at 01:52 AM.
10-17-2012, 08:00 AM
#16
For the rear control arms, a rod/poly combo LCA would probably work the best, as the rod-end will allow the axle to move without binding the arm, while the poly on the body side will eliminate a lot of the added NVH from the rod-end side of the LCA. On the front control arms, if you want to use new OEM rubber bushings, you'd probably be better off just buying the bushings and having a machine shop press the old ones out and new ones in on your stock control arms, rather than buying new control arms (UMI or BMR may be able to "special" a set with stock rubber bushings instead of poly, but the size difference between the two types may be significant enough that it's not something that can safely be used).
I've got all UMI suspension on my car and don't have any complaints; BMR makes good stuff too. UMI is local enough that I get my parts the day after I order, which staves off my "click the tracking number 100 times a day" OCD habit.
10-19-2012, 08:58 AM
#20
1.) Take out the cotter pin.
2.) Remove castle nut.
3.) With the spindle ready to support the weight. Use either a rubber mallet or BFH, give her a good whack and it will fall out.
4.) Mark the inner tie rode with some tape before spinning off the old outer tie rod.
5.) Check to see if the new and old are the same length. If they are, mark the difference from the tape line.
6.) Thread on the new outer tie rod to the tape mark, torque down sequence to 35 ft/lbs, increase 1/6 turn or to a maximum of 52 ft/lbs and insert cotter pin.
You're done.
- Kevin
2.) Remove castle nut.
3.) With the spindle ready to support the weight. Use either a rubber mallet or BFH, give her a good whack and it will fall out.
4.) Mark the inner tie rode with some tape before spinning off the old outer tie rod.
5.) Check to see if the new and old are the same length. If they are, mark the difference from the tape line.
6.) Thread on the new outer tie rod to the tape mark, torque down sequence to 35 ft/lbs, increase 1/6 turn or to a maximum of 52 ft/lbs and insert cotter pin.
You're done.
- Kevin
