Texplorer
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- November 20, 2001
- Messages
- 3,495
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Morgantown, WV
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 96 XLT 4x4 4.0
Well I had a loose tie-rod that I had to replace so I figured I would do a little write-up on it with pictures to hopefully help someone else down the line. I try and remember all the little tricks I used to make it easier.
First off this is a little vid of how you can tell if your inner tie-rod is loose. Grab it and try to wiggle it, if it moves as much as mine does then you need to replace it. (click on picture to play video):
This is what the suspension looks like before starting:
Remove the cotter pin and unscrew the castle nut on the outer tie-rod:
Outer tie-rod unbolted:
Now comes a little trick to make removing the tie-rod easier, unbolt the sway bar from both sides and rotate it up. It gives more room to work with:
Remove outer clamp with some pliers:
Then remove inner clamp with a long skinny flathead screwdriver, sorry I didnt get a pic of it. I needed both hands at this point.
Pull boot back and this is what you should see:
Use a pipe wrench to remove the tie-rod from the steering rack:
This is what it looks like when removed:
Then unscrew the outer tie-rod from the inner:
Outer tie-rod and inner tie-rod separated:
After that just reverse the steps and your done!! Now get in your rig and drive straight to the alignment shop because you will need one, every time you mess with any suspension/steering components you need to get an alignment. Good luck and enjoy saving yourself over $300 doing it yourself.
First off this is a little vid of how you can tell if your inner tie-rod is loose. Grab it and try to wiggle it, if it moves as much as mine does then you need to replace it. (click on picture to play video):
This is what the suspension looks like before starting:
Remove the cotter pin and unscrew the castle nut on the outer tie-rod:
Outer tie-rod unbolted:
Now comes a little trick to make removing the tie-rod easier, unbolt the sway bar from both sides and rotate it up. It gives more room to work with:
Remove outer clamp with some pliers:
Then remove inner clamp with a long skinny flathead screwdriver, sorry I didnt get a pic of it. I needed both hands at this point.
Pull boot back and this is what you should see:
Use a pipe wrench to remove the tie-rod from the steering rack:
This is what it looks like when removed:
Then unscrew the outer tie-rod from the inner:
Outer tie-rod and inner tie-rod separated:
After that just reverse the steps and your done!! Now get in your rig and drive straight to the alignment shop because you will need one, every time you mess with any suspension/steering components you need to get an alignment. Good luck and enjoy saving yourself over $300 doing it yourself.