BornChaos

Just a quick question about removing outer tie rods. 2 wrenches are required to separate the outer tie rod from the inner rack end. One wrench grips the inner rack end, the other wrench turns the nut that frees the outer tie rod from the inner rack end.

The nut that is part of the outer tie rod (in other words, the outer nut) is turned COUNTER CLOCKWISE (LEFT) right?

I've been wrenching and wrenching and I can't get it to budge. I've also soaked it in PB blaster. Just want to make sure I'm not turning it the wrong way..


Thanks!

BornChaos

hmm anyone?

Nuthuts96

iTrader: (1)

i think they're still lefty-loosey, righty tighty.... however, i don't remember exactly

scuba

They are threaded normally. Try hitting it with a hammer to free it. If not, hit it with your purse
And you don't really need the second wrench on the inner, it won't rotate farther then 35 ish degrees.

BornChaos

Thanks guys, I kept trying it normally (lefty loosie) but I removed the handle to my floor jack and got it to fit over the end of a vice grip. I needed THAT much leverage to un-do it. It was completely rusted under there! The weight of my purse definitely helped


I know someone in the future will search and have this same exact question and will have difficulty removing the outer tie rod, because unlike a normal bolt, it may not be painfully obvious which direction to turn the outer nut to loosen and separate the outer tie rod from the inner rack end (inner tie rod). While I searched and read several write ups, no one mentioned how difficult it could be to break lose these nuts. I spent several hours trying to soak with PB blaster and undo the nuts with a crescent wrench, there was no way these nuts were breaking lose with a crescent wrench alone. So after trying different strategies (and being a little more confident that I was actually wrenching the nut in the correct direction) I just took a large pair of vice-grips, locked it down on the outer nut and slid the handle of my floor jack over one of handles of the vice grips. Finally it broke lose and it was completely rusted inside. In one write up I found, the author was able to break the nuts lose using just two crescent wrenches to hold each of the nuts. I was kind of under the impression that removing the nuts shouldn't be nearly as difficult as it was, and I began to worry that I was turning them in the wrong direction, hence my asking here, especially since I wanted to reuse my outer tie rods. So knowing that the nuts are threaded normally and the rust can be so extreme as to require some outside leverage, don't be alarmed at how difficult it can be to break the nuts lose. Hope this helps or gives some ideas.

gpcollen1

Heat is also used often enough on tie rod nuts. I am more inclined to use heat these days on tie rods than any penetrant....and the extra leverage helps too.

fish0281

I am bringing this post back from the dead because I'm having this exact issue; that thing is on there good!

My ultimate purpose is to replace the inner tie rod, but that is also on way tight - can I heat that end up too, even though it'll heat the steering rack end too?