offroadjoe

ok so i bought a honda civic and when i'm driving the front end shackes the faster i go the worse it gets so i jacked it up and one of my buddys told me to move the tire side to side and up and down ... up and down dosnt move but side to side has some play. so i was told it was the outer tie rod. i tryed taking the tie rob out took thebolt off but can't get it out its stuck .. do you guys have any idea onhow to take a tie rod out i dont think its been changed before.. i was wondering i dont no what its called but maybe i need to change that thing that i tie rob is screwed into ...please help? thanks

kris

Tie rod ends are what are going to help keep your toe settings. If they're torn up, the tire wobbles while the car is moving, effectively keeping your toe out of whack the entire time you're rolling down the road.

Tools you need:
17mm socket/ratchet
19mm combination wrench
Pliers for removing a cotter pin
Hammer or some other way to knock the tie rod end loose

How To:
Crack the lug nuts loose. Once the car's up in the air, you've got no resistance on them.

Jack up the car and put it on jack stands. I was doing both front tie rod ends, so I used the jack point under the front of the car and put jackstands under either tab behind the front wheels.

Once the car is up in the air, remove the lugs and pull the tire off. Still no pictures to this point. You can figure this out.


Grab a 19mm wrench and get to the lock nut at the inside edge of the outside tie rod end. I had left my wrenches at my dads place, so I'm stuck using this thing.



*IMPORTANT* YOU WANT TO TURN THE NUT LIKE YOU'RE TIGHTENING IT. THIS IS THE HARDEST PART OF DOING THIS JOB. IF YOU LOOSEN THE NUT, IT JUST MAKES THE TIE ROD END HARDER TO GET OFF *IMPORTANT*




Next you need to remove the cotter pin from the castle nut on the bottom of the outside tie rod end near the steering knuckle. My replacements came with new ones, just make sure you don't throw them down where you'll drive over them.





Next get a 17mm socket or wrench and remove that castle nut.




Once that nut is gone, you'll need to pop the end of the tie rod end out of the knuckle. You can either use a hammer and tap the end up, or you can use a tie rod end seperator (aka a pickle fork) to bust it out. Mine just came out by hand.




Next you'll want to start unthreading the tie rod end. Lefty loosey. It should come right off. If not, it has some flat spots you can use a wrench on to start it coming off. Mine has some corrosion inside, so make sure you oil it before putting the new one on.



Again, half my tools are still at my dads place, so I'm using this instead of my normal Tri-flow stuff.




Tie rod end out of it's old home. Make sure you clean up as much of the rust as you can. It's just going to cause headaches down the road.





Old vs. New



Deflection on the old peice under minor pressure:



Next to no deflection on the new peice under minor pressure:




To reinstall: Reverse the steps you took to pull it out!
Oil the threads you're screwing the tie rod end onto.
Thread it down to about the same place as the old one.
Put the end in the steering knuckle
Put the castle nut on
Put the cotter pin through it
Tighten the locknut down

What it should look like once you're done:




Much better than before!

Make sure you take the car to be alinged afterwards. Even if you eyeball it and get it close to where it was before, it's not going to be perfect.



written by Ricey McRicerton

offroadjoe

thanks soo much . thats what i was looking for