Inner Tie rod replacement

[OFC4630]

I was just advised by my mechanic that I have a loose outer tie rod. My 4.0 Explorer has 150K miles so I'm thinking if one needs to be replaced it would be good to replace both outer tie rods. With this thinking, I'm not sure if anything is wrong with the inner tie rods. Would you replace the inners as well as the outers?

 

[Explorer_PL]

No, I would not. I believe for the inner, you need a special tool/socket.

 

[StevenGene]

It depends. If it's anything like my '01 I had. You didn't need that special tool. You could actually go under with a wrench and break it loose. But I have an '06 now. Don't know how much has changed in the front end. If you can get under there and there's room for a wrench, I say go for it.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

I'm doing some research on replacing inner/outer tie rods on my 08 Explorer and found this walk through video on 1A Auto. It seems straight forward and it doesn't seem you need any type of special tool for the inner tie rods. Here's the link:

I'm thinking about replacing the passenger side since my Explorer sounds like a very old creaky wooden door. I had the wife lightly pull the steering wheel back and forth and located it directly to inner tie rod.

 

[Explorer_PL]

I just replaced one side on our 07. Used plumbing channellock to break it loose. The other side was ok. It was a simple repair.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Nice, did you need an alignment afterwards? I'm leaning towards replacing both inner and outer with MOOG, did you have any preferences?

 

[Explorer_PL]

Moog would be my choice, but mine was late at night and needed to fix it quickly, so I found an Auto Zone opened till 10 and just got it there for about $ 35.
I removed the old tie rod assembly (inner and outer) as a 1 piece, placed it on a shop table and marked the length with the sharpie.
Then I replaced the inner one with the new one, and turned it and locked it to be the same length.

Not perfect, but I am getting new tires soon so I did not want to spend 100 bucks twice for alignment.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Cool, thanks. Yeah, I might try to get by with doing it the same way as you described...I can't stand this creaking. My tires are probably a tick more than half way dead and also I was told a year ago that my driver side lower ball joint may need replaced soon-ish. I'd hate to pay for an alignment only to have to pay for it again a year or two later.

Did your kit come with a clamp to seal off the back of the boot (side closest to the inner tie rod)? I'm reading that most people just used a zip tie to tighten it up...

 

[Explorer_PL]

No, no clamps in the kit. I reused the original ones, bend them a little so they stay tight. You probably could use a hose clamps on both ends.