sm

Is it possible to remove the inner tie rod ends while the entire rack/tie rod assembly is still on the car? Do the inner tie rod ends spin independently of the tie rods?

If the answer is yes, then is it possible to save the alignment settings if the outer tie rod ends are untouched?

I'm preparing for a p/s steering rack swap and hope to save some $ by not having to do an alignment afterwards.

Thanks.

bearone

yes.

see how it drives. the alignment will probably be well worth the $$.

Matt H

Maybe, it depends on how dextrous you are and how small a drill or other tool for removing the punched section you are using. The inner tie rods are punched into the rack (there is a notch punched into a groove, sort of a loose dove tail). I am sure there is some way you could drill them out with the rack in the car but it wont be real easy, regardless.

Yeah, once you have drilled them out.

Theoretically, yes.

You might save some $ but what is your time worth? I cant imagine you are going to save enough $ to make it worthwhile AND you are operating on the assumption that the car doesnt need an alignment already.
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ibkevin

For that little punched section, a thin cold chisel will make quick work out of it. Matching new to old rod legnths accurately should preserve the alignment.

Matt H

Really, I had a hell of a time removing that section.
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sm

Well, I might be doing this work in a garage 250 miles from home, so preserving the alignment will be key. I guess taking the tie rod ends off the spindles would be the "best" way of doing this job, but I need to do the entire job in the shortest amount of time possible.

Would taking the tie rod ends off and popping them back on hurt them at all?

What's a "cold" chisel?

ibkevin

sm,

Pop the outer end out of the spindle, chisel off the punched section, swap outer end, verify length, thread new assby in, and reinstall in spindle. Maybe a couple of whacks under the end to seat it.

Cold chisel is a fairly blunt edge chisel for cutting metal (a sharp edge will zip through that tang). I used a 16 pce set from Harbor Freight for about $10.

Jay W

I have found that removing the rack as a unit with the outer tie rod ends attached to it is the easiest way in the long run. Its easier to pull the outer tie rod ends from the spindles and remove the inners from the rack when it is on the ground. You get much better leverage.

Luis de Prat

I'm not following you guys -do you mean the tie rod assembly lugs that screw onto the steering rack?

These have slots for a 30mm open end wrench. Needs to be thin enough to fit in the slots, though. The rack itself has some locking nuts that take a 27mm IIRC to tighten up the assemblies on the rack.

Zero10

I just pried the punched down section back out using a flat head screwdriver, and the inner tie rod ends just screwed right off. Easy as pie. Then again, mine may not be typical.
Given how mine was, I would say it's just fine to do it on the car. However, if they are being difficult, it's very simple to drop the rack.
To get the punched down section back out, I first tried turning the tie rod end, before noticing that part of it was punched down, this freed up a small section of it, I got a screwdriver under it, pried it up a bit, then turned again, etc. It took about 4 repeats before it just unscrewed.

Dave951M

Good luck on keeping the alignment. I would recommend getting it done as soon as you can. You could possibly maintain the alignment with careful measurements but I doubt it will be dead on.

austin944

I didn't bother removing the punched section and just twisted off the inner tie-rods with a wrench while the rack was in the car. I was replacing the rack and the inner rods so I didn't care about either. It took some effort but it wasn't hard.

But when you go to re-punch the inner tie rods, will that area be accessible with the steering rack in the car? I repunched mine with the rack out of the car and held in a vise.

Also, are you going to damage the rack when you reinstall the inner tie rod ends if the rack is in the car? As I recall, they required a fair amount of torque, and the rack may not hold up to it if it's not in a vise.

sm

Food for thought:

From Markus on the e-mail lists:

[Folks, point for clarification,
ABSOLUTELY do NOT "counter hold" the rack shaft. There is NO provision
for doing that on the rack (no flat spots) and it is NOT needed. The rack
is designed to have the rods tightened into the rack with the rack mounted
to the crossmember only. Do not clamp the tube in a vise either, and do
not hold the lower pinion shaft with pliers, vise grips etc.

Counter holding the rack pinion shaft is the single largest reason for
losing your core charge! Once the pinion shaft is damaged you will
forfeit your core charge.

FYI, YMMV.

Markus Blaszak]

austin944

Clark's Garage says to hold the rack in a vise across the flats of the shaft with soft jaws to prevent damage to the shaft. I followed his approach and used thin aluminum strips for my soft jaws, and it worked fine for me with no marks on the shaft.

I guess I was concerned because the rack doesn't normally face those kinds of twisting forces on the shaft (61 ft lb).