Inner tie rod ends 2000 windstar

[troyken]

This weekend I installed new inner tie rods on my windstar. Here are some observations: When the instructions tell you to hold the gear rack with a wrench to prevent strain on the rack, the geared end to hold is on the DRIVERS SIDE. No mention of that anywhere. If you buy an inner tie rod wrench set,(required) buy a good one. The correct size wrench to fit the replacement tie rod nuts(Motorcraft) would not fit over the OEM nut body. I had to braze the wrench flats, on the largest wrench in the set, smaller and file to fit the oem nut flats while still clearing the nut body. Be prepared to carefully apply heat if required to get those nuts loose. Ford uses some type of thread locker on these that is very tough. CAUTION!, this heat will melt the nylon insert in the original tie rod nut rendering it unuseable. When installing the new tie rods, the torque spec is 60 ft/lbs. At 50 ft/lbs the tie rod wrench broke. The casting actually cracked, not the one I brazed by the way. This was a $25.00 ASTRO or something set, but come on. Finally got everything back together and brought to Good Year for a Hunter wheel alignment . Winstar goes down the road very well now. Best advice: bring this to a shop as it needs alignment professionally anyway, and special tools are required. The tie rod boots and clamps are tricky also, especially the breather pipes. I have much experiece and I would not recommend this job for the driveway do it yourselfer.

[LeSabre97mint]

Troyken

Welcome to AFs! Yes inner tierod ends can be tricky! Wow...your first post and you're giving advice!

Regards

Dan

[rodeo02]

Whew.... good write-up troyken! Makes me glad the dealer just replaced my steering rack for me. No real good reason for the replacement, other than I had it in for a slight front-end clunk and loud power steering pump my van has had since I've owned it (3yrs/40K). They replaced the PS pump for me once due to a very slight shaft seal leak and noise. My (waste of cash) extended warranty is about to run out so I took'er in. They replaced my steering rack, both front struts, both front stabilizer bar end links and did an alignment. Boy does she ride nice! Guess what? Still clunks and whines just like before, but she gonna stay that way.

Joel

[MrCreosote]

I've got about 123k on my 2000 and the RHS inner tie rod was loose but still good enough to pass state inspection. It will probalby need replaced in the not too distant future which leads to the following question:

How long do the racks live?

Would I be wasting money replacing the inner tie rod end or get a new rack or a low mileage one from a junk yard? (does a new rack come with inner tierod ends?)

Then a Ford rack or an aftermarket rack? Aftermarket parts are becomming so inferior it is frightening.

Any approximate prices for all variations of this repair?

Thanks
Tom

[rodeo02]

Good question Tom. Honestly, I don't think there was a thing wrong with the OEM steering rack on my 2001. No leaks, no binding, etc. The dealer was grasping at straws in regards to the steering noise 'history' she's had, and appearantly the warranty company was willing to pay for it. It looks all new from rack to steering knuckle, but I'm not sure about the tie rods. My loaded struts and rack are all aftermarket, since that's what the warranty company will pay for. Not sure if the end links are OEM or not. The weather has been too aweful to get under it. I still get that slight pop on rebound from the pass side and the year old aftermarket p-steering pump is noisy as all get out, but I can live with it. It's been a great van for me.

Joel

[jkeaton224]

Anyone else have experience with inner tie rods?? Took my 2001 (65K miles) to get inspected, tech showed me the play on the driver side wheel. Said it was the tie rod, about $300.00 to repair. Well, I "assumed" he meant outer, which was a breeze (and cheap) to replace, so I did it myself, but it turns out to be the inner because the play is still there. I have read a couple of posts about this, special tools, etc. Is it really that difficult? I, of course, would be doing this in my garage, laying on my back under the van (properly secured off the ground, of course). I really don't want to take it somewhere and pay $300.00 to replace a $30.00 part. Is tie rod failure indicative of soon-to-be steering rack failure? Thanks!!!

[jkeaton224]

OK, figured I would give it the old college try. Replacing the outer tie rod ends is no real big deal......problem is, it's the INNER tie rod end.......now I'm back to square one.....guess I'll be going to the dealer for the inner ones....

[RickMN]

Inner tie rod replacement isn't hard if you have the right tools. The key is buying a good inner tie rod wrench tool. Lisle and OTC make good ones. Plus, you will need to hold the rack with another wrench to prevent it from rotating against the pinion. That kinda turns it into a two person job. But if you want to invest in the right tools, you can do the job and still save money. Or, sell the tool to another forum member when you're done with it.

[MrCreosote]

Back 11/2007, I did the right inner without any kind of special tool - there was just enough room to get a big open ended wrench on the hex shape.

My reason for posting is that, now, this very rod end needs replacement after only about 20k miles.

It was a lifetime DuraLast part from AutoZone.

Now, I don't know what to replace it with because I have also heard from garage friends that all aftermarket parts are inferior these days.

RockAuto.com has many grades and the outers range in price from $5 to $35 which is amazing.

What I noticed about the inners was that Motorcraft specified the OE design and the alternate design. Motorcraft were $30 and Moog was $35. Ford parts department was $55 with discount.

I've been told the only change for a quality part (and there is no gaurantee) is from the Dealer. (And this would not be Motorcraft either which is an aftermarket line.)

Anyone have any experience with Autozone's Duralast premium life time warranty line?

Thanks
Tom