BrianC72gt

Paul w. you jinxed me! I did pads last week on my 2000 A8. Tie rod ends were really really really shot - lots of slop and play. I used the improved Meyle tie rods with a bigger enclosed ball. So I start out this morning and the passenger's side is childs play. The bolts all felt loose, the joint comes apart easy and then the threaded adjuster goes pretty easy. Under an hour and I'm goofing off.

Driver's side- tire loose, jack up, stands, tire off, joint split easy and then...... that no good rat-bastard of a siezed rusted threaded adjuster.

Penetrating oil. cheater bars. blow torch (garden hose at my feet) - Nothing. FInally feels like the outside of the link will turn, nah, just the melted rubber isolator giving way. Mr Knuckle, meet mister concrete. Screw it. 4 inch angle grinder with cut off wheel and off comes the end of the tie-rod. Now all that is left of the outer tie rod is the threaded adjuster bolt. Vise grips so tight you hands hurt when the lock finally closes. Cheater pipe and the damn thing still slides. Now, cut two flats on the stub of the bolt with the grinder, more blowtorch, more penetrating oil, lots of swear words and...3 hours later it is off. No Problem. Whew. Finish up, tape measure the toe-in and wash the car. Done. And there is no damn beer in the house. Its off to the nearest deli.

Regards,

Brian C.

PaulW

....you probably damaged the nylon joint on the inner tie rod when you pulled and torqued on it for three hours.....

And you never ripped the boot? Amazing....

I won't be surprised if you get the clicking, especially in the cold months.

----------here's my story from another post--------

I had a slight clicking in my steering, troubleshoot it down to the driver's side inner tie rod end, had it replaced, and it was cured!

Here it is, the inner is everything from the light color lock nut to the right....see the ball joint all the one on the end? It screws into the steering rack.

<img src="http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/susp_whls_brake_steer/tr9.JPG">

I buggered up my inner joint when I torque the *hit out of it....but never got it off....probably screwed up the nylon bushing then....

<img src="http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/susp_whls_brake_steer/tr2.JPG">

Replaced everything with the boot and all was well again.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

At what mileage all these things failed like that?

BrianC72gt

Hey Paul, thanks for the detailed response. I was very paranoid about not damaging the inner joint as I thought it was an intergral part of the rack. I had an 18 mm wrench perched on top of the control arms and was pretty careful about not getting into extreme angles. I pulled back the boot once the torch made its appearance.

When I spoke with Blaufegnugen (spelling?) they did not even show an inner tie rod and I thought that was unusual, but it is my first Audi so...maybe it is integrated into the rack? Weird but maybe its an Audi thing? Glanced at Bentley and they are explicit about the outer rod end, but make almost no mention of the inner one and there is no picture of it in the...Steering...Tie Rod Section.. I just went back now and, sure enough, you can see the little bugger in an exploded diagram of the Power Steering Gear..Servicing..section 48-50.

Thank you for alleviating my fear that the inner rod is, in fact, removable. Because as careful as I think I was, I'm sure I hacked the s%$t out of it. I'll be listenning for the clunk.

Meanwhile telepathic teutonic tightness has been restored to the steering..for a while anyway. When my lower back stops complaining, I'll start looking for the complete control arm kit and grab and inner rod end and boot to boot.

Really helpful photos BTW, maybe you should sell 'em to Bentley. Does the inner joint separate from the rack easily?

Regards,

Brian C.

PaulW

I think they call it the "tie rod" not the "inner tie rod".

You basically pull the boot off, then using a crow's foot, unscrew it from the rack.

If you ever get a rebuilt rack, I think they come with new ones.

pw