Hermes

The good news is I now have my Revos on and all fluids switched to synthetic (Mobil1). The bad news is that I could not get alignment done due to my driver’s side front tie rod being seized. The tire shop tried everything to loosen that sucker, including heating it up, and it would not budge. I have it in the dealer for them to have a look at it and hopefully replace the darn thing as the truck only has 27k.

Has anyone else had issues with tie rods on 3rd gens? I think I am going to insist that the dealer replace it under warranty as there are signs this tie rod has been a bitch in the past for anyone trying to align the truck.

Hermes

Edited for prophanity after I calmed down a little.

The Dealer won't cover it because firestone heated it up. Springfield Toyota was the last one to do my alignment. I had a goodyear shop do it before that. So it will be hard to prove who is at fault. Somebody f'd it up and it is hard to prove who did what. The passenger side is also stripped, but only slightly and isn't going to be an issue.

Dealer quote is $55.53 for tie rod & $3.5 for nut. Labor is $140 for 1.5 hours and then $79.95 for alignment.

Man, just really sucks when you drop a ton of cash on a vehicle that was basically fine. This started out as a routine 30k service. I am now looking at $1500.

OneTrickToy

Whoa!! Calm down. Is it just one end or both? I just replaced my ends. $108 for both inners and outers from CSK. You can get heavy duty sleeves from NWOR for $14 each. Buy yourself a tie rod seperator for $10 and you are now at less than $150. Do it yourself and you will be very happy with the results. Much cheaper than going through the dealer too. Took me close to an hour to get mine off. And maybe 15 minutes to get them put together and back on the truck. And I am a novice mechanic at best.

Hermes

Last message was edited as it was a pissy rant before and had no value.

Back on topic, I am getting conflicting info about if it is acceptable to apply heat to loosen a tie rod?

Is heat ok or not?

thanks

Hermes

hmm, thanks for the info. I really only change fluids, but I am starting to think I need to do more as it will be the only way to ensure thinks are done right. I'm going to look up tie rod seperators now.

runnerboy97

hermes where in VA are you? i had NTB in chantilly do an alignment a while back and the busted both tie rods. I had to leave the truck on the rack for 3 days before they fixed it. i told them i could have the parts in an hour but the said NO. they had to get the parts from their place. i asked if i could get a tow truck and take it home and do it myself, they said NO. Then they charged me over $500 for new parts, the biggest rip off ever. they said they wern't liable for what happened because i had after market suspension parts on that changed the truck. they were only responsible if it was stock. basically they said it was my fault their mechanic broke them. wow, it feels good to vent.

Bundubasher

OneTrickToy - you want to go into a little more detail on replacing the tie rod ends? Thanks.

carbon

well, not to revive a long-dead thread, but i have a similar issue.

the puller will not pull it. heating and hammering does not even make the rod flinch.

I have tried reversing the castle nut and wailing on it with and without heat- days and days of PB blaster, WD-40- you name it.

at this point, the only alternative I have is to hacksaw or grind with a cutting wheel the TRE and then drill the remaining portion out.

Does this sound reasonable to anyone?

I mean I literally have tried it all- and yes that includes a puller- but nada!

I just was wondering if anyone had any further insight or warnings before I cut the TRE off and drill the remaining portion out of the sleeve in order to simply install a new one...

Thank you all so much for the help. I love this place!

pattycakes77

iTrader: (2)

I just went through this last October. I let PB sit on there for days and also tried heading and hammering with no luck. The lock nut on the tie rod appeared to be rusted solid to the threads so I ended up cutting the lock nut off. I had to get a HUGE crescent wrench to then loosen the remaining tie rod from the steering rack. This was one of those projects where I had to replace my ball joint, but to do that I had to destroy the outer tie rod, then to replace that I had to destroy the inner tie rod so I ended up replacing a bunch of stuff all because it rusted and fused together. I did coat the exposed threads with some anti seize to make life easier down the road. Good luck, and sorry about your situation

jeremy9allen

You need to smack the knuckle where the tie rod is. It will come apart. You will never get it out beating on the rod itself.

Either smack the knuckle, or use a pickle fork.

aa1911

iTrader: (1)

the angle makes a huge difference; manipulate the control arm and steering rack a little and attack that sucker. are you lifting the front end up at all? it helps quite a bit with the outer TRE's especially.

I agree with jeremy9allen, smacking and pulling at the joint worked for me; just did all the tie rods in my taco. I used a pickle fork to get one side, and the other required a little bit of whacking with a hammer along with the fork.

DRCOFFEE

These ball joints are tough to break free. I used a pickle fork and hammered it a few times and it quickly dawned on me I wasting my time. Grabbed my 8 lbs maul (sledge-axe combo) and in 3 hits it dropped free. Just don't miss.

aowRS

Yep, wail on the cast iron knuckle.

Been there. Done that. A few times....


Andreas