Onward

[WardJ]

ok, so i cut off the control arm. now its on to the tie rod. should i loosen the outer and twist it out before attempting to take off the inner? and it says i should turn my steering so that it (the tie rod end) locks or whatever, so that a wrench can be used. is that right? arggg a simple strut change job...

[WardJ]

heres a more specific problem

i found that there is no steering rack lock plate on the tie rod. how the hell can i wrench it now?

[Scotsman]

wait wait.....I thought you were just replacing the control arm? I don't remember you saying anything about the inner and outter tie rod's.

[WardJ]

i finished the control arm, but i wrecked the boot on the outer tie rod while trying to pry it loose from the strut housing. i just bought two new tie rod ends and i'm going to separate them, and just use the outer tie rod ends

[Scotsman]

OK, well......Control arms I can converse about in a mostly intelligent fashion. Tie rod's, on the other hand, are something that effects the allignment of your car. My advice about them is this : if you don't know anything about them, have someone who does replace them. That way, they can do an allignment at the time of install.

If you're going to do them yourself, when you're done.... please take it to a mechanic you trust with the machine to do the allignment, you'll be much happier, and your tires will last longer.

~Scotsman

[WardJ]

well i'm going to put them in, then get an alignment and inspection

[WardJ]

anyone have any tips for seperating tie rod ends? i bought two new ones, but only need the outer half.