Hi,
For those of you who have been keeping tract, here is the shortly-awaited
saga of the Tie Rod Replacement...
8-10 Was told when I had my oil change that the passenger inner tie rod
was "close to failure" and recommended no more than 1000 miles to be driven,
MAX.
8-11 Left on a 800 mile round trip to see my son in Michigan. Back 8-14.
8-18 Ordered all 4 Tie Rods from Rockauto.com at $168.
* HAD DRINKS AND HOT WINGS AT BUFFALO WILD WINGS TO PREPARE FOR
THE WORK.
8-19 Was awakened and annoyed that someone was ringing my doorbell at 9
in the morning.
* At 11, I got up and looked to see what happened. FedEx ground
delivered my Tie Rods.
8-23 Started working on the truck. (Passenger Tie Rods)
* Getting the truck up on jack stands and getting the wheels
off were more difficult than separating the outer tie rod from the steering
knuckle.
* The outer tie rod came off smoothly from the inner. The jam
nut did not want to budge.
* Jam nut was 1 9/16" in from factory inner tie rod end.
* Outer tie rod took 25 1/10th rotations to come off the
inner tie rod.
* Realized I was screwed because I didn't think I could do this
with my deadline of 8-31-06.
8-24 Cursed myself because I failed to get the proper tools to take off
the Inner tie rod .
* Went to AutoZone and got their two-in-one Saginaw inner tie
rod set.
* Piece 1:
http://advanceauto.shoplocal.com/advanceautopartscatalog/default.aspx?action=browsepagedetail&listingid=-2095003817&pagenumber=124&pretailerid=-99791&rapid=289758&ref=%2fadvanceautopartscatalog%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepagesingle%26pagenumber%3d124%26promotioncode%3dAdvanceAuto-060521%26rapid%3d289758%26storeid%3d2370190&storeid=2370190
* Piece 2: A hollow bar that fit onto the hex end of the above
part. The other side had a spot for a 1/2" drive socket.
* The problem is that it would not work with the Jam nut in
place. Also, the tool is too large for the stock Dodge tie rods (My inners
were 1 5/16").
8-25 Got a hold of a friend at work who had a similar part from Snap-On
with three different sizes for "Piece 1". This one was able to slip over
the jam nut.
* This tool didn't work because Piece 2 was out of round and
would slip over Piece 1.
* WENT INSIDE AND HAD SEVERAL DRINKS WHILE PLAYING ZELDA ON N64
UNTIL 4 AM. WENT TO BED.
8-26 Woke up at 7 am to an hour-long thunderstorm.
* Went back to sleep and DREAMED THE SOLUTION.
* Woke up at Noon.
* Spent an hour looking for the right sized washer (Since I just
got my house in Dec, these are rare to find.
* Found one on the floor of the workshop behind the bench. It
ended up having 30% cutaway to make a flat surface.
* Put the washer between piece 1 and piece 2 and gave it a try.
NO PROBLEM. INNER TIE ROD CAME OFF EASILY!
* Put Inner and outer tie rod back on truck. Kept track of
turns and depth of jam nut. Used anti-seize for jam nut and outer tie rod
threads.
* Started drivers side.
* Damn outer tie rod would not push through the steering
knuckle. Took an hour for it to come off.
* Outer tie rod would not separate from inner tie rod.
STARTING TO GET VERY AGGRAVATED.
* Finally decided to say F**K IT and used a sawzall (sp"
to cut the inner tie rod shaft as close to the pivot ball as possible.
* Took my makeshift Piece1 and 2 tool and easily removed
the inner tie fod.
* Put new parts on. I had to guess, because I couldn't
count what I needed. I used the same measurements from the passenger side
above.
* Neighbor finally came over to figure out what I have been
doing. Showed him and he said I was insane.
* Also complimented me on my truck. He thougth it was
1/2 the age it really is.
* While talking, I noticed that the passenger side rotor
was turned way, way more than the drivers. I figured hell with it and put
the tires back on.
* While in the air, I centered the steering wheel (must
have moved) and checked the tires. Both looked straight.
I am now sore and rested, but it is finally done. Some lessions learned
from this task.
* If you are not planning to reuse any of the tie rods, sawzalls work
great to separate them.
* Use the following tool kit to remove the inners
http://www.brandsonsale.com/rid-20642a.html
* Count, count the threads and turns.
* If your steering wheel is crooked (like mine was), now is the time to
correct the placements.
* While putting the Moog inner tie rods on, I could not torque them
down, as the vendor supplied boot was in place.
* I tightened it as best I could and will have the alignment
shop double-check the torque settings.
* this can be done with the tool kit, but it would require
removing and reinstalling the Moog boot.
* The outer band comes off easy enough (squeeze it until
it separates the hook).
* The inner band sits in a grove and you could
damage/loosen it if you remove it.
* PLAYING ZELDA AT 4 AM IS A LIFESAVER!
Thanks again to eveyone that offered advice (Terrible Tom, Barry)!
Chris Reck
Bloomington, IL
'99 Dakota Sport + CC 4x4 V6 (Deep Amethyst)
Shaved and polished V8 TB, Autolite 3923, 195 Thermostat, 7.5mm Bosch plug
wires,
Custom K&N 6x9 air intake, Edelbrock Shocks, Pioneer full audio system,
Moog Suspension and Steering components, BF Goodrich 32x11.5r15 T/A KO tires
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