Hello all, when I took my truck in for my tires and an alignment the inner tie rods were shot. I ordered some online and was wondering if they took anything special to change them, or if it's an easy garage fix. I'm not that "mechanically inclined" lol.

 

You will probably need a tie rod fork to get the tie rods loose.

 

You need either a pickle fork or a tie rod/ball joint separator tool. You have to remove the outer tie rod first to be able to remove the inner tie rod. The pickle fork and a big hammer will get the outer tie rod off of the steering knuckle with no problem but it will probably damage the boot in the process. If the outers are original and/or they have a lot of miles and/or the ball and socket is not in very good shape I would say do the inners and outers on both sides anyway. You wil need an alignment done no matter how you remove the outer tie rods, so you might as well save some trouble and the cost of another alignment down the road and do all 4 tie rods at once and then get it aligned.

What I did on my outer tie rods was I loosened the castle nut but left it threaded a few turns onto the stud end and whacked the stud end down with a 4 pound sledge hammer. It popped right loose but the castle nut still being in the stud end kept it from separating violently from the steering knuckle. Then I counted the number of turns it took to remove the outer from the inner tie rod as I was unscrewing it. I removed it, set it aside and then all I needed was a big ole adjustable wrench to unscrew the innner tie rod from the steering rack. You have to use pliers to remove the factory clamps on the boots on each side of the steering rack first. This will destroy the clamps so I just bought 6 of the equivalent sizes of screw-type hose clamps for reinstallation. Remove the boot then you have easy access to the inside hex head end of the inner tie rod.

Count the turns it takes to install the outer tie rods onto the new inners, turn them the same number of turns as it took to remove the old outer tie rod ends. It won't be perfect but it will be close enough that you can drive the truck safely to the tire shop for the alignment. Then the steering should be nice and tight, just like new again.

Jimmy

 

thank you. I'm sure if I can't find someone to loan me the proper tool to replace my tie rods I could pick one up cheaper than the $300 they want to charge at the alignment shop. I planned on replacing all of them since I have to remove the outers anyway it would be dumb not to replace them with the inners. Thanks for the instructions on how to do it. It doesn't seem terribly difficult to do myself. Thank you.

 

harbor freight

 

id say get the tie rod seperater when I did mine the hammer and pickle fork didn't do **** and I thought I broke the tool when they finally broke loose on the outside

 

You can rent a ball joint/tie rod separator tool for free at Advance or Autozone. You have to put up a deposit and you get the deposit back when you return the tool. You can buy a pickle fork set cheap at Harbor Freight, and they sell them at parts stores too. I bought my pickle forks at Harbor Freight. Here is a link to the one you need:

http://www.harborfreight.com/11-3-4-...ator-1740.html

They sell a whole press kit for ball joints and tie rods, it costs about 40 bucks but you really have no need for it. Check the parts stores for a rental tool, just be aware the tie rod/ball joint press tool can be a pain to use too. If you don't live where there is a lot of salt and crap on the roads and your tie rods are not siezed to the steering knuckle, you should be able to knock the tie rods loose with a pickle fork. When you tighten the castle nuts back down on the new tie rod ends it will pull the stud end up into the steering knuckle. Be sure to get new cotter pins if your new outers don't come with them.

It's a fairly easy job you can do for yourself at home and then get the truck aligned. No way is it worth paying someone $300.00 to do it.

Jimmy

 

Another tip is to whack the side edge of the steering knuckle next to the outer tie rod end a couple of good times with a 3 or 4 pound sledge hammer. It will make it easier to separate the tie rod end from the steering knuckle. It may even separate the parts for you if they are not siezed together.