#21760, "RE: Tie rod replacement question." In response to In response to 0
most likely your tie rod (control arm) is fine, but the tie rod end is worn out. when i was doing my clutch installation i had no idea how to take the axles out and i basically started to unbolt EVERYTHING. i tried to hammer the tie rod end out by using a BFH. DON'T DO THIS. it will mushroom the threads preventing the nut from going back on and you will get nowhere. never hammer directly on a thread.
tie rod ends are very cheap, i think the part is about $25-30. it's very easy to replace...
to do the job you will need a pickle fork (it's a wedge tool that looks kind of like a tuning fork, avaiable from any hardware/auto parts store for about $10) a bunch of sockets (i think the nut on the tie rod end is a 14 or a 15mm...?), and a few open end wrenches.
to remove the old tie rod end you remove the cotter pin that keeps the the nut on the bottom. unbolt the nut. once there is nothing holding the old tie rod end to the hub thingy, hammer the pickle fork into the old tie rod (jam it into where the rubber thing is). hit the end of the pickle fork HARD. ball joints are always a PITA to work with and they seize together all the time. this seperates it, and also destroys the old tie rod end. once it's seperated from the hub assembly thingamabob, there will be a nut further in on the control arm that you have to loosen. after it is loose you can simply turn the old tie rod end off of the control arm (the control arm is threaded)
it's a good idea to remember how many turns it took to take the old one off so you know how many times to turn the new one on. this way you won't have to get an alingment. if you forget how many times it goes on or whatever it's not that much of a problem, the worst thing that can happen is that your toe will be messed up by a few tenths of a degree (if that)
once the new tie rod end is on tighten up the locking nut, then insert it into the hub thingy, screw on the bottom nut, torque it to around 20 or 30 pound feet, stick in the cotter pin, and you're done.
this whole process took me about 5 minutes. very easy IMO.
if your whole control arm is FUBAR, it's a little more involved to replace, and it's also a lot more expensive. i think the part is about $250 ish for the whole control arm.
