Re: Right tie rod

[lmcstst@noah.ericsson.se (Stamos Stamos)]

>  My right tie rod is more or less shot since the rubber
> boot around it has cracked and the wheel has lateral play when the
> wheels are off the ground. I will be buying the Bently manual soon,
> but I would like to ask how difficult is it to replace it myself.

Depending on the rust it could be quite difficult.

When I replayed my left tie rod joint on my 85 Coupe, I came across 
three problems:

1.First is the end that points up, it is tappered, this slids up into
  an opposite tapper on the strut and a nut on top holds it in place.
  The problem was once the nut was off there was no way it was
  coming out easy. The tappered part was stuck firm. I ended up
  using a hammer, but there just isn't any room in the wheel arch
  to get any force in the swing, it helps to jack the car up.
  Finally it came off.

2.Next is the connection to the tie rod. This is done with a nut
  that screws onto the joint (which has slits in it) and compresses
  it around the tie rod. The nut came off ok. (remember to loosen it
  before you do step 1 above) But the slit structure was well and
  truly rusted to the tie rod. No way was it going to come of. The
  problem is that it's very difficult to grip the tie rod joint to
  unscrew it. I ended up removing the two nuts and bolts on the other
  end of the tie rod. I then placed it in a vice and with lots of heat
  and effort was able to unscrew it. (ps. remember to mark the position 
  of the joint, or get a wheel alignment done after)

3.Finally after replacing the tie rod joint and tie rod into the car (which
  was easy) comes the hard part: The tappered bit that fits into the
  strut bar. You see the problem is the nut is a 'locking' type (always
  use a new one) and the tappered part is the 'ball' in the ball joint.
  ie. it will spin about quite merrily. So the plan is to get the 
  tappered bits to grip firmly so the joint doesn't spin when the
  threads meet the 'locking' part of the nut. (plastic ring of smaller
  diameter on top of the nut). DON'T hit the tie rod joint to force
  it into the tapper as there is plastic in the ball joint, at least
  there was in the old one when I heated it.
  I ended up needing two people to finish the job, one to use a leaver
  against the tyre to push the joint up, while the other turned the
  nut. Of course with hindsight I could have used two nuts, the first
  a non-locking one providing the tension while the locking one was 
  fitted on top, - but this would have looked silly.


Your kilometerage my vary depending on the rust, phase of moon,
time of day, weight of hammer, etc...



Stamos <lmcstst@noah.ericsson.se>            ZZR11            Ellas
Ericsson, Cellular Design
Montreal, Canada.