Due to an unfortunate incident involving my car the other day, I'm now forced to change my tie rods now instead of waiting until next summer like I had planned.

I've never changed tie rods before so I need some help, advice, etc. First question I have is how hard/time consuming is the job? I'm changing both the inner and outter ones. It appears to me that I just have to pull the cotter pin, unbolt the end, loosen the sleeve on the other end and then twist the tie rod out of the sleeve. I bought new sleeves so I'll be replacing those too. Is there any tricks involved in doing this change and putting the new ones on?? Do I need to have the car on jack stands so the wheels are free or can I put the car up on the ramps to do this?? Most importantly, what's the best way to put the new ones on so that the alignment isn't totally out of whack and I'll be able to drive it until I can get an alignment done ... which could be a couple days or more.

Thanks In Advance!

 

You should either rent a pickle-fork set from the auto parts store or buy one. This will help in removing the tie rod ends. I would jack the car and put jack stands under it. It is important to count the number of turns it took to remove the old one and install the new one with the same turns. This tip will work only if you are replacing the clamps with the same type (and length). In my case I replaced the stock sheet metal ones with aftermarket billet steel ones, which were a different length. So I had to measure the length of the old inner & outer tie rod assembly and duplicate it with the new pieces. Get a front end alignment when you are done.

Lon

 

Ok thanks, doesn't sound that bad. I knew about the pickle fork and since I work for O'reilly Auto I figured I'd just go ahead and rent one from them. I'll have to check on the length of the new sleeves I got compared to the stock ones but they're just stock replacements so hopefully they're the same length.

So would you say that I could probably do this all in one day?? I plan on attempting this Sunday since it's my only day off for who knows how long.

 

Yes. Just start early in the day in case you run into a snag and need something else from the Auto Parts store. Not like I did. Start to replace my wifes fan belts at 4:15 Sunday. By the time I had the old ones off and discovered all 3 of the new ones were the wrong size it was too late to remedy it that day.

Lon

 

since you're not reusing the old tie rod ends you can smack them with a hammer and drive them out. measure the replacement sleeves (use a caliper or divider) and the old sleeves if they're the same length use a divider and measure from the greese fitting center to the edge of the sleeve and replicate that on the new parts and your alignment will be where it was with the old parts within 1/32" or so. you should get an alignment done when you're done.