HELP ME PLZ. Need to replace inner tie-rod

[revlothar]

hello there, I hope someone can help me, I need to replace inner tie rod on a '97 Lumina. My book only tells me how to do the outer ones, do I need s special tool?, any info would be great. Thanks

[richtazz]

Unless you have access to a hoist and the special tools required, I'd take it to Midas/Muffler Man and let them fight with it.

[dwalmop]

http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Tie-Rod-.../dp/B000BHNTPA

I bought this. It's a cheapy, but how often will you ever use it? It's cheaper than bringing it to a garage, even if you only use it once. It's a pain to do on your garage floor, especially when it comes time to break the metal strap holding the boot to the rack, and you'll obviously need to bring it in for an alignment.

[richtazz]

I agree with the difficulty on the floor and alignment issues dwalmop, and that's why I wouln't mess with it myself (and I do almost all my won work). I love that quote, "loud fuel odor".

[revlothar]

thanks for the info, I cannot afford to bring it anywhere. So I have no choice but to do it myself. Do I just remove the boot to get the tool on the flats. I mean is that really all there is (besides an alignment) to replacing it?

[dwalmop]

Pretty much. There is an air transfer tube you have to worry about too, just make sure you hook it back up the same way it was. You can get the alignment "close" to original by taking some measurements with a tape measure first and writing them down (from the jamb nut on the outer to some point of reference). It won't be great, but it'll get you to the alignment shop. Yes, that's essentially all there is. I like to use a little threadlock on the new inner (sometimes included in the box), and make sure you torque it to specs. A zip tie suffices for replacement of the old metal strap. This truly can be a huge pain on the garage floor, so have fun.

BTW - thanks richtazz - I love the bike.

[revlothar]

Thanks guys, I'm going to try to do it tonite, I'll update tomorrow my success or my failure. I too luv that bike I had a '89 Springer, gotta get another one this summer