LS1_PNYTAMR

iTrader: (1)

okay i was going down a back road and i could see there was nothing ahead for miles just fields on either side.. i laid into the gas... and hit a very deep pothole at a very high high rate of speed.. almost cuased me to lose the car.. fistailed about 30times lets put it that way

now my steering wheel is 20 degrees off center, still goes straight.. but that lil rod up front that moves the wheel back and forth is bent like a rainbow lol.. what did i do? what do i do NOW?

minivette

Sounds like you need a new rack and pinion.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

Actually, that rod should be the inner and outer tie rods that are bent. The rack may or may not have survived. You probably have lots of toe in and will probably destroy your front tires very quickly. I'd not drive it until you get the parts replaced and an alignment done. If you can post pictures, it would help.

LS1_PNYTAMR

iTrader: (1)

i think its just the tie rod.. supposedly the rest is fine.. i have no clue how to check.. whatever is done will be done by me and me only.. the reason i dont think its the tie rod is b/c the car isn't out of alingment ect.. the damn rod there is just bent!

how hard is this to replace the rod only?

JasonWW

iTrader: (2)

It has to be out of alignment. If the arm that moves the wheel is bent, then it effectivly became shorter. It will cause the wheel of that side to be pointed inward wghich is called toe in. Toe in is very sensitive on these cars. If you turn either tie rod even 1/16 of a rotation it will effect the toe. You may not feel or see it now, but the tire will wear very quickly, probably both tires.

The tie rod end by the streering knuckle has the balljoint on one end and the threaded hole on the other. The actual tie rod goes from the rack and pinion assembly and threads into the tie rod end. There is a jam nut to lock it into place.

It's pretty straight forward to replace the rack, but I think the tie rod can be changed just by itself. The mystery part is under the rubber boot. I've never seen in there, but I've heard they can be changed out.

Try searching for tierod or rack or a similar key word.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

It's out of alignment.


You probably have a "bunch" of toe in and will destroy tires in short order if you don't get that corrected. I'd get an inner and outer tie rod installed and get it to the alignment shop. Don't forget to get the threaded "sleeve" that couples the inner and outer tie rods and replace it as well (you'll need it and it may be damaged as well....I bent the coupler on a car years ago).

JasonWW

iTrader: (2)

trackbird, what the hell is the inner/outer tie rod and sleeve? I see only one rod on each side. The tie rod end threads onto the outer end of each one. The inner end is hidden by the boot, btu it appears to have a universal joint combined with a joint to allow it to rotate freely.

You sound like your describing an older vehicle using a saginaw gear box.

You probably know more about it than me, so do you have any pics of what you are talking about? I'd like to learn.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

The inner tie rod should bolt to the end of the rack. Under the boot.

I just looked, you are correct, I forgot that the outer tie rod end screws directly to what would be the "inner tie rod". Scratch that, you just need a tie rod and a tie rod end. Oops, my mistake.

JasonWW

iTrader: (2)

Have you ever seen under the boot? How is the rod removed from the rack?

I'd love to get a pic under the boot if anyone has one.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

Go to gmpartsdirect.com, click on catalog, pick steering/suspension. Expand that, click tie rods. On the right will be a link to a line drawing, but you'll get an idea (I couldn't get the link to post earlier, I tried).