Inner tie rod replacement, how hard?

[legacy92ej22t]

How hard is it to replace inner tie rod ends?

I went to get my car aligned today since I put on my new wheels and tires and they said they couldn't do it until both inner tie rod ends were replaced. I knew they were in bad shape but damn, I'm broke.

Also does anyone know how much they usually go for and what the part # is?

TIA.

[legacy92ej22t]

Anyone? I need to decide what to do very soon.

I can get the part for around $25 locally but I need to know if I need a specialized tool or not.

[entirelyturbo]

PM me your VIN number and I can look it up for you.

[206er]

according to my chilton all you need is a BJ fork to get the outers off the knuckle so the inner can be unthreaded.

[legacy92ej22t]

PM me your VIN number and I can look it up for you.

My car is sitting at the shop so I don't have access to my VIN. I can check and see if I have a spare insurance card when I get home but I don't think I do.

206er- Hmmm, I don't have a Ball joint fork but I did my ball joints without one, maybe I could do this without?

[THAWA]

First of all, why do they both need to be replaced? Where did you go for this alignment? Do they normally work on subarus? You don't actually need a pickle fork to remove the outer tie rods from the knuckle, I don't think you even NEED to remove them from the knuckle, it's just easier. What you need is a wrench thin enough to fit on the inner tie rod dealie inside the boot. Apparently a bike wrench is thin enough, but you may have a regular wrench that could work.

So yeh, figure out why the place said you have to replace the inner tie rods before they'll do an alignment. Or just take it someplace else. Also, why do you need an alignment? How long has it been since your last one, and how many curbs have you hit?

[legacy92ej22t]

First of all, why do they both need to be replaced?

They need replaced because they have too much play in them to align it.

Where did you go for this alignment?

Bastians tire and auto center.

Do they normally work on subarus?

They do but they don't "specialize" in any particular make.

You don't actually need a pickle fork to remove the outer tie rods from the knuckle, I don't think you even NEED to remove them from the knuckle, it's just easier.

Oh, that's what 206 was saying I needed it for. I've unhooked the outer tie rod ends before without a BJ fork. No worries there.

What you need is a wrench thin enough to fit on the inner tie rod dealie inside the boot. Apparently a bike wrench is thin enough, but you may have a regular wrench that could work.

Hmm, I don't know if I still have my old skinny hub wrenches or not....

So yeh, figure out why the place said you have to replace the inner tie rods before they'll do an alignment.

Well, I know the passenger side is toast. With that side up on a jack and the driver side on the ground, I can turn the wheel almost completely, by hand. The inner tie rod is definitely in bad shape. The driverside has a little play but after researching the part, it's one piece. Both inner tie rod ends are on one. It's pretty much the steering rack.

Or just take it someplace else.

I think it's legit. I don't think another shop would do it either.

Also, why do you need an alignment?

Because....

How long has it been since your last one, and how many curbs have you hit?

About 3 years and none.

I did hit a huge boulder however that bent my control arm back so far that my wheel was touching the back part of the wheel well. Exploded my right front rim and did quite a number on the back right as well. Blew up the ball joint and completely wasted my ABS tone sensor!

I also didn't realign after my clutch/flywheel install or after the tranny swap. I have severe camber and toe. You should see my old re92's. They're wasted.

[THAWA]

What do you mean you can turn the wheel almost completely by hand? You mean rotate it forward and backward? Or do you mean in and out? Either way I don't really see the problem.

What does a clutch, flywheel, or tranny have to do with alignment?

[jamal]

maybe it would be easiest to replace the rack with a used one? Mine is clunky and I get a wierd loose feeling on high speed corners, and I'm just going to buy a used one pretty soon. I think blackbart was selling racks for $50 shipped.

[legacy92ej22t]

What do you mean you can turn the wheel almost completely by hand? You mean rotate it forward and backward? Or do you mean in and out? Either way I don't really see the problem.

I mean, I can physically turn the right front wheel (rim and tire) by hand, like how the wheel would turn if you were steering with the steering wheel taking a turn, almost all the way with very little resistance, while the opposing front wheel is on the ground and doesn't move at all. That definitely isn't right.

You can't get a good alignment if your wheels are sloppy. If you have a bunch of play in them then how would you ever ensure that they are both the same at all times. every bump the alignment could change as the wheels wiggle around independently of one another.

What does a clutch, flywheel, or tranny have to do with alignment?

Well, to do all those things you have to (or at least I did) undo the strut mounting bolts from the spindle to get the front axles out of the tranny. If not marked properly your camber gets all out of whack, which in turn screws up toe also. This happened to me after the clutch/flywheel install and then stayed the same after the tranny swap causing me to need an alignment.


Trust me Hardy, I know when I need an alignment and I usually know why. I needed it before I bounced my car off a boulder/embankment and now especially need one after that.

[206er]

that thin wrench makes sense.
all my cone wrenches for bike stuff are just a set of cheapo wrenches from the pawn shop that I ground thin.
its like 50c a wrench there so I just get a few of everything, some craftsmans even. lifetime warrantee if you fuck em up just take it to sears.
I bet they would even take some wrenches with grinding on em, they dont care. I havent done that to any craftsmans though as far as I can remember.

[THAWA]

I wasn't trying to call you an idiot or anything, some places think subaru steering racks have too much play in them and wont align them, just trying to get more info.

Also, next time just remove the balljoint from the knuckle, and you wont mess up your alignment.

[legacy92ej22t]

No, I know and it's cool. I just meant I already suspected that at least one inner tie rod was bad so I wasn't suprised when it came back that way.

I actually did the ball joint way when I replaced my axles a few years back and yes, it keeps you from having to mess with the camber bolt but I have also marked my camber prior to undoing it and kept from needing an alignment before too. When I did my clutch/flywheel it was a MAIC bbq and we had all sorts of problems getting everything together. It started pouring rain, we were outside on a gravel driveway and I had to leave my car and Phil drove me 2.5 hrs back home without the car. We then met back up around 4 days later and put it back together speedy style and we didn't bother realigning the camber. I meant to just have it realigned but it got put to the wayside and the rest is history.

[legacy92ej22t]

Oh! I also took my car to a different shop (local shop that deals mainly with Subarus) and they found only one side was bad and did the alignment. The bill was less then half what the first shop wanted and the bad side was the side I knew was going bad.

I would have just done the work myself ( I always feel lame when I let someone else work on my car) but with the wife being ready to pop any day now I'm just way too busy.