quattrolife

Is this a difficult procedure? I need to replace the left front tie rod on my mom's '93 100CSq Avant. I'm assuming you just unbolt from the strut, pry it out from the strut, then unscrew it from the steering rack. Is this the correct procedure? Any tricks?


Thank much,
Evan

The_Hamster

Why the whole rod, or is it the inner ball joint that is causing issues?

You have the basic procedure. Short of the cursing and swearing because it is difficult to get to, and the boots etc. Do you have a wrench/tool to get the inner joint off?

quattrolife

I just need to replace the tie rod end-- sorry I wasn'r clear. I was planning on using a friend's 5-foot pry-bar to get the tie rod end off of the strut.

quattrolife

We actually bought the whole tie rod because that was the only way we found the part sold... is it that much more difficult to change the whole thing than just the end?

The_Hamster

Ok, couple of things.

1. A long pry bar to remove a tie rod end will make a mess of things. Use either a proper puller, or a pickle fork if you don't plan to re-use the joint/rod end. Pickle forks 9/10 times will wreck the tie rod boot, so I only use one if I know I am replacing it. Otherwise I use a puller. Turns out that most Pitman arm pullers actually fit the tie-rod ends on these cars. They cost around $20 and are very easy to use.

This is the tool you want:


2. If it is the outer joint/end you are replacing then it is far easier to replace just the outer joint/tie rod end than the entire tie-rod. Just back off the lock nut a full turn (measure how much) with the tie rod still in the steering knuckle. Remove it from the steering knuckle with the pitman arm puller and turn the tie rod end off the tie rod. Turn the new one on to the same position (mark it relative to the tie rod). Now put the end back in the knuckle and torque the nut on the tod-rod end. Now turn the lock nut back a full turn again. Reason I say "full turn" and such is so that you do not ruin the alignment.

quattrolife

Thanks for the tips.

Mr. Malcontent

When I did mine I "rented" the pitman puller from Autozone. I needed the larger one IIRC. The tie rod end was also dowsed in penetrating oil a couple of days. The tie rod end popped right out and I used a pipe wrench to twist the end off.

Plan on getting an alignment after you are done. Replacing the whole rod is a little more complicated since the steering rack is packed behind a lot of things.

The_Hamster

Any update? How did it go?

quattrolife

The part just came in, and I haven't had time to try it yet. It looks like replacing the whole tie rod will be above my skill level, so I think I'm just going to try the tie rod end. I'll let you know how everything goes. Thanks for everyone's help!

quattrolife

All done! Everything went well thanks to everyone's advice. I didn't know everything would be reverse-threaded, but I inspected the new part before remving the old one so evreything went smoothly. The pitman arm puller really helped.