2000 127kmiles should I do tie rod ends Before alignment

[pjw73nh]

Hello,

Well, ever since I replaced MOST of my front end components this spring, my front tires (which weren't in the best condition to begin with), are squealing during most turns, and are wearing HEAVILY on the insides.

The tires don't have too much mileage on them, but they won't pass our state inspection in the fall when the time comes. So for the meantime, I have reversed the tires on the rims (front only) and put the worn side on the OUTSIDE thus allowing the meaty side (inside) to wear/even-out over the next 6 months.

In the fall, I will get two new front tires, and get the van aligned. i think Town Fair tire will include a two wheel alignment with the purchase of two tires. I figure I have done jut about everything in the front end. Struts, mounts, sway bar, sway bar bushings, sway bar links, control arms (with ball joints and F&R bushings). The only thing left to wear (alignment wise) are the tie rod ends.

My thinking is why waste an alignment on the car, only to have the tie rod ends wear out in a few thousand miles. The van has 127k miles on it now. They're probably due.

What kind of a job is this? Seems pretty straight-forward. Any tips/tricks/shortcuts I should know about? I saw on the RockAuto web site that there was a part called "Tie rod end sleeves" What are these, and do I need them? How many? Am I correct in assuming that as long as I get close enough to the original "geometry" of the old tie rod ends, I should be OK to at least drive it 15 miles over to the alignment place?

Thoughts, comments, suggestions?

Thanks...

[dewaynep]

This is a very simple replacement. You don't need the tie-rod sleeves as these tie-rod ends don't use them. Make sure you take a measurement from a reference point on the rack (I usually use the end of the boot) to the center of the tie-rod end. Duplicate that measurement when the new one is installed and you won't have any issues.

[ricebike]

http://www.procarcare.com/includes/c...dtirewear.html

[kornjulio]

Might as well replace the outers. Not too expensive and as others have mentioned fairly easy to do. When I replaced mine, I counted the numbers of turns it took to remove them. Got it pretty darn close.

[pjw73nh]

Thanks for the replies.

Ok I've been forced into doing the tie rod ends now instead of waiting. I have to buy tires soon. Belts have come through and I need to get an alignment too.

As mentioned earlier, I am only doing the (outer) tie rod ends as a precaution. Only one has a very (almost imperceptible) amount of play in it. I want to do both of them before I pay to have the front end aligned. Should I do the inners too?

DewayneP mentions that the outer ones are easy. Good.

I have looked at the shop manual and have some questions.


A few questions:

1. Do the inner ones wear like the outers? How can I tell if they should be done.
2. Should I Just do the inner ones at the same time?
3. If I have to do the inners, I have to remove the boot from the rack and pinion.
4. The book only details boot removal with the rack & assemble OFF of the car. Is this necessary? Can I do it with the rack ON the car?

5. The rest of the inner tie rod replacement looks pretty straightforward.

Did I miss anything? Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?

Thanks.

p.../NH

[kornjulio]

Pretty sure the book is right for replacing the inners. If it were me, I wouldn't go that far yet. Replace the outers, two new tires, and alignment. See where that gets you.

[dewaynep]

Yes, the inners can be done on the car. You have to remove the outer and the boot to get the tool over the inner to loosen it. I think you can "rent" the tool from AZ, but I'm not sure, as mine didn't have one when I needed it and I just went ahead and bought it from NAPA $65, or Harbor Freight has one also, not sure on the quality of that one though.

[pjw73nh]

UPDATE:

I did the outer tie rod ends last week and ran into a little difficulty and a little confusion. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pix.

1. When I went to remove the stem from the steering knuckle, it was bolted on with a 14 mm nut with a nylon insert. There was no castellated nut or cotter pin. Nor was there a hole for one.

2. Thinking I was going to have to wail on the stem with a tie rod end removal fork, I was prepared for the worst. That never happened. The stem popped out of the knuckle on its own, and began to turn as I turned the nut. I had no way to hold the stem and turn the nut. I found an 8 mm hex on the end of the stem. This gave me enough grip with a small socket until of course, the nut reached the end (socket). At this point I was stuck.

3. I used 2 pair of vise-grips to "pinch" the stem back in to the knuckle taper, this provided enough force to hold the stem from turning, so that I was able to get the nut off. An air impact wrench will help immensely here.

Next:

I had not done tie rod ends before so this was new to me.

The *inner* tie rod had a hex cast in to the center of it so that it could be held with a wrench. The NEW *outer* tie rod end had a hex cast into the end that threads on to the inner rod. Naturally, I assumed that the old tie rod end (with a hex cast on the end of it) was cast. It turns out it was not. It was a lock nut. I found this out the hard way. Once I heated up the assembly with a torch, the locknut loosened (by itself) and I figured out what I was dealing with. From that point on the procedure was straightforward.

Hope this helps someone.

[lesterl]

The first 3 were my experience on my passenger side the nut loosened just enough for the thing to spin, twisted the little hex end off the bolt, had to tear the boot and vice grip the SOB to finish getting it out.