2000 Inner Tie Rod - My Experience

Went for an alignment, they said I needed right inner and outer tie rod. I have only done the outers before. I researched inner tie rod replacement on this forum and came up with mixed info. Basically what it seems to boil down to is you either have to pull the whole steering rack -or- get a special tool to remove the inner tie rod with the rack in place.

The special tool is basically a ridiculously deep 1-5/16" socket (about 16" deep) that fits over the whole inner tie rod then you use a ratchet or breaker bar on it.

I went to Autozone and bought the parts & rented the special tool for $30. The guy at autozone warned me," that tool never works for anyone." Upon examining the tool and the tie rod I found that Autozone's inner tie rod is manufactured in a way that doesn't allow the special tool to even fit at all onto the inner tie rod. I went to VIP auto parts down the road and bought a tie rod that was of the correct design to use the tool then returned the one I bought at autozone.

Jacked up the van, pulled the wheel, removed tie rod end, removed inner tie rod boot. NOW, on the inner tie rod there was a pin (more like a rivet) through the threaded area that needs to be removed. I simply tapped a chisel carefully under the lip of the rivet then pried the pin up and out.

Next I put the special tool over the inner tie rod, used a medium size breaker bar start loosening it then used a ratchet to remove it with ease. Put new tie rod on, screwed it in, torqued it to 65 ft. lbs, insert new pin that came with it, put boot back on (nylon zip tie on inside, metal clip on outside). Finally I put on a new tie rod end, greased it, buttoned everything up, and took it for an alignment today.

So, basically, make sure you get the special tool and a compatible tie rod then the job is not very hard. I had never done (or seen) and inner tie rod before.

This was my experience, I hope it helps someone.

Sounds good! Thanks for sharing your experience!

Hmmmm - I wonder how the folks who designed the AutoZone part expect you to be able to use it...

Good info blank line guy! Honestly I think most owners wind up with a new steering rack assy before the inners wear out.:banghead: Were your tires wearing funny to prompt you to do an alignment? FWIW, I haven't done an alignment on my vehicles in about 20yrs.

Joel

Good info blank line guy! Honestly I think most owners wind up with a new steering rack assy before the inners wear out.:banghead: Were your tires wearing funny to prompt you to do an alignment? FWIW, I haven't done an alignment on my vehicles in about 20yrs.

Joel

Yeah, it was shaking at highway speeds and the front right tire had bare wire sticking out. Besides that I did a tie rod end on drivers side this summer and now the inner tie rod and tie rod end on pass side so with all of that crap I wanted an alignment before putting new tires on.

Why are people replacing the whole rack? Is there a common failure? Looks like it would be a PITA to get the whole rack out of this van.

I also got an alignment on my Saturn this year but then again that was after replacing the engine cradle, both ball joints, front wheel bearings, shocks, and tie rod ends. :licka: It needed it BAD!

bump

Why are people replacing the whole rack? Is there a common failure? Looks like it would be a PITA to get the whole rack out of this van.

There were a number of rack seal failures ... I had one on my '99. Don't know when it was corrected.

Data point: At 95K miles, I've had no rack problems on my 2000.

This was very interesting and timely, since I need to do the same thing to my '01 this weekend!

I did a little snooping on the Autozone website and I see that they have two tools to do the job. The one was the long socket, that you described, and the other was a crow's foot socket that attaches to the longer tool for those tie rods that don't have a full hex at the end. Didn't they offer you the other half of the tool?

Thanks for the write-up. It was very helpful.

This was very interesting and timely, since I need to do the same thing to my '01 this weekend!

I did a little snooping on the Autozone website and I see that they have two tools to do the job. The one was the long socket, that you described, and the other was a crow's foot socket that attaches to the longer tool for those tie rods that don't have a full hex at the end. Didn't they offer you the other half of the tool?

Thanks for the write-up. It was very helpful.

I personally looked at that other tool. It looked like a really crappy poorly cast half of a socket type thing. I didn't understand how it could be useful for changing this tie rod, maybe it is for a different vehicle/tierod? Not sure about that one but the other tool worked good for me!

Good luck this weekend.

FYI, I used an open end wrench to do mine. It's tight, and there's barely enough swing to get it on an off, but I managed it. I saw the tool, but @ $100 I decided to try something else. I've forgotten the size of the wrench... was it 1 5/16?

A good crows-foot would have been perfect, but I didn't find one.

Any chance you could use a 3/4" drive socket (big enough drive to let rod pass through) and then a pipe wrench on the OD of the socket?

Anyone try welding a piece of pipe on the socket to make a tool?

I like some of the most recent suggestions, that might come in handy at some point, but I've always managed to squeez in an open end or and adjustable in there even on the really tightly packed in early Escort. At this point, I don't see the need to use a socket for a wrench to turn what a wrench can already turn on its own. Unless, there is an alignment problem. I saw an alignment tech change the same inner tie ride on my escort with the special hollowed open long shafted socket like zing!!! It was a thing to behold! I have some to change on my taurus and windy. I'll see what AZ or AA can loan me.

bump

Why are people replacing the whole rack? Is there a common failure? Looks like it would be a PITA to get the whole rack out of this van.

Yes, I had my 99 done earlier this year in May. Had seal problems. Cost me about $650.00 to have the dealer do it with tie rod ends replaced too.

Any chance you could use a 3/4" drive socket (big enough drive to let rod pass through) and then a pipe wrench on the OD of the socket?

Anyone try welding a piece of pipe on the socket to make a tool?

I have done things like that in the past and considered it here but I didn't have a 1-5/8" socket in my junk collection (or my good tools). I can't explain how handy torches and a welder are when working on cars. Being able to "customize" tools has saved me a lot of time on various projects. I keep a supply of less than desirable tools under my workbench for just that purpose.

I have a retired auto mechanic living on both sides of my place. One of them is old enough to remember working on Model A's!!!. Anyhow, I needed to change my inner tie rod end, and each of them offered the use of that special wrench. I looked at the wrench, and the Windstar's underside, and took it down the street to my favorite shop. They charged me $60 to change the rod ends, inner and outer, and the outer on the other side and align the front end. Money well spent.

Wintonboy,

You changed 3 tie rods and didn't do all 4? I sure would have done all 4 - in fact, I have a single inner that needs replacement and I'm debating if I should do the inner/outer on that side, both inners, or all 4 since every time you replace one, you have to get an alignment.

$60, that had to be for the labor and alignment, right? You supplied the parts?

Regards
Tom

I have a retired auto mechanic living on both sides of my place. One of them is old enough to remember working on Model A's!!!. Anyhow, I needed to change my inner tie rod end, and each of them offered the use of that special wrench. I looked at the wrench, and the Windstar's underside, and took it down the street to my favorite shop. They charged me $60 to change the rod ends, inner and outer, and the outer on the other side and align the front end. Money well spent.

Where I live, an alignment alone will run at least $60. The labor for the tie rods is minimal, probably under an hour to replace both tie rods, all four joints. It looks like you got a great deal.

Me too went to Autozone and their tools are simply the wrong ones:

1) Correct hex size but merely a 16" deep well - will not pass over larger diameter of the actual ball joint.

2) Slotted fabricated socket: would have worked I think but the hext size was too big.

So basically, they don't carry the prropriate tool.

Auto Supermarket said they have one but now I'm skeptical.

I thought I was going to do this job and now I'm fussing around with the tool. The thought of making a big open end wrench work sounds real good.

Mr. Creosote,
I realy don't understand your name, but anyway. Ford I believe on all of mine, starts out with a continuous hex shaped ball joint end on the inner tie rod. When I replaced one, the aftermarket, I think like you said, is rounded around the ball joint, and just the far end is hex shaped. If one could fashion or get a crow foot or like tool for the size of the inner tie rod hex, that would work. I couldn't wait to get the loaner tool and wasn't sure if it would even work after all the bad chatter on the loaners, so I found a large enough adjustable to take it off, as I have done on other vehicles. Then to make my life easier for putting on and taking off the new one with the rounded end later, I very carefully ground down the hax from ~1-5/16" (33-34mm) to fit my 1-1/4" wrench. The rack will have to be turned all the way out to do this. The driver side is easier because there are more openings underneath it to get to it with a wrench,so you may be able to get to it better that way, whereas on the rt side has the exhaust pipes, etc. to only allow you to get to it from the wheel well. I was also removing the sway bar links, so I took them off and worked on the tie rod with them gone. BIG help.

.

Tripletdaddy are you saying that if you (I) have a 1 5/16" box wrench then it will work to undo the OEM part? Does this wrench need to be slim? I've got a big adjustable wrench which is about 5/16" thick. Will this do?

Piper

For me, a long deepwell will NOT work - you would have to have something like a crowsfoot if you want to do it in that manner.

After I heard that someone else did it with a wrench, I said screw the specialty tools and successfully did mine with the 1-5/16 open end wrench. The only issue is that you don't have a lot of room to turn the nut so you have to turn the wrench over after each pull. There is just barely enough room to do this. The wrench does NOT have to be slim.

If you want to get medieval on it, you might be able to use a ball peen hammer to dent in the floorboard right where the wrench motion is stopped.

I remember one side was easier than the other.

The hardest part is getting the boot back on the rack housing and clamping it.

Also, when you pull the boot off, there is a balance tube which connects to the other boot. If you are carefull, you will not pull it out of the other boot. If you do, then you have to get under the other side to get the tube back in that boot before you slide your boot on.

As Mr. Creosote said, there is room to get at it with a wide wrench. I don't have a 1-5/16" wrench so I had to use a large adjustable to get it off. I think Mr C used a combo wrench. That size gets really long. An adjustable tends not to be so long. I often will crack it with the larger wrench first and then use the shortest adjustable. There is an aluminum rivet tapped into a hole on the side of the hex nut to keep it from loosening. I always thought getting it out whole with a sharp tool and side cutting pliers, it would be easier to crack it loose. Not sure that is true, but all the after markets I've seen use a hardened roll pin, which I found to be a pita to install, that must be removed next time. On the pass side, I had to turn the wheel as far as it could go so that I could get my wrench on it as there wasn't room to get to it from below. The driver's side has all sorts of room to get at it from below. I think I covered some of this in my previous post. Oh, and I don't think you can use a box wrench, only an open end, because you can't slip the box over the rod and get to the nut, the body is in the way.

would this tool work??
http://cgi.ebay.ca/COMBINATION-INNER-TIE-ROD-RACK-TOOL-Ford-Chrysler-PLEWS_W0QQitemZ170144271688QQihZ007QQcategoryZ4399 6QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQtrksidZp1638.m118.l1247Q QcmdZViewItem

I took a look at it. It has possibilities. Plews I believe is a good name. Assuming the tube is long enough, it should work, though they don't have their facts right as you need the 1-5/16" for some fwd fords not just Chrysler. The smaller size probably fits the smaller fwd. I recall my escort being smaller. If you change a lot of inner tie rods than the money might be well spent. If you get it, let me know how well it works. I saw in the picture some sort of opening on the side of the socket end by the part number that I don't know what it does.

That is the tool that I mentioned when I started this thread. It is the one I used to complete the repair and it worked well, I rented it from autozone. It won't fit the autozone tie rod but fit a tie rod I got at another store. Re-read the first post for more details.

Jacked up the van, pulled the wheel, removed tie rod end, removed inner tie rod boot. NOW, on the inner tie rod there was a pin (more like a rivet) through the threaded area that needs to be removed. I simply tapped a chisel carefully under the lip of the rivet then pried the pin up and out.

Was this pin through the head of the inner rod? Please elaborate.

Yes, it is a pin through the head that screws onto the rack... to keep it from unscrewing I guess.

10-4 I look for it when it goes back up--I am having an issue with my ford..
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=891827

Simular to yours --diff model--any thoughts

I'm wondering about applying enough torque to disassemble as well as assemble the inner tie rod to the rack. Is there a flat or some sort of space to grip the portion of the rack that the inner tie rod attaches to? I'd hate to torque the inner to the 65 ft-lbs (or whatever it needs) and cause some sort or rotary damage on the rack.

Any info?? Oh, btw, I got a 1-5/16" tie rod socket of ebay that looks like it'll work on the moog I've bought. Don't know, but hope, it'll work on the oem part I have to remove.

TIA

Piper