**The Challenges and Solutions of Replacing Tie Rod Ends**

Replacing tie rod ends is a crucial maintenance task that can significantly improve the handling and safety of your vehicle. In this article, we will delve into the challenges faced by replacing tie rod ends and explore some practical solutions to overcome these difficulties.

One of the common issues encountered when replacing tie rod ends is the difficulty in removing the old clamp without damaging it. The clamp's design often makes it challenging to remove without applying excessive force or risking damage to the surrounding components. As one mechanic noted, "never took the old clamp out" and had to use a special tool to break it free.

To address this challenge, we can consider using temporary solutions such as zip ties or stainless steel hose clamps. These alternatives may not provide the same level of durability as the original design but can help in emergency situations where access to replacement parts is limited. In one instance, a mechanic used zip ties to hold the boot in place until they could find a suitable replacement clip.

When installing the new tie rod end, it's essential to ensure that the new clamp fits snugly and securely onto the existing tie rod. The mechanic observed that "the old one moves really easily" compared to the new one, which is designed to provide improved performance and handling. By using the correct size of nut and applying the right amount of torque, we can achieve a secure and stable fit.

The replacement process also involves dealing with small parts that can be tricky to manage. For instance, the mechanic had trouble finding a suitable replacement clip for the new tie rod end, but eventually found a solution using stainless steel hose clamps.

Once the new tie rod end is installed, it's crucial to ensure that all components are properly secured and aligned. The mechanic used a grease gun to lubricate the new tie rod end, noting that "the rubber expanding like that" indicated that there was enough grease in place.

To complete the job, we need to apply torque to the nut that secures the tie rod end. The correct amount of torque is essential to ensure that the nut is tightened securely without compromising the integrity of the surrounding components. In this case, the mechanic used a 5/16 inch wrench and applied 46ft-lbs of torque to secure the nut.

Finally, it's essential to verify that all components are properly secured and functioning correctly. The mechanic completed the job by installing a new cotter pin through the hole in the castle nut and bending it around the nut to secure it in place.

By following these practical solutions and taking the time to ensure that all components are properly installed and aligned, you can successfully replace your tie rod ends and improve the overall performance and safety of your vehicle.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys Chris fix here and today I am going to show you how to replace the tie-rod endsboth the outside and the inside tie rodendsvery important for your steering and foryour toealignment so I am going to show you how to do that now, so there is your tie rodyou can see I can move this with my hand, it is very old300,000 miles will do that to it. It is amazing they made it that farso here are all of the tools you are going to use for this job. You needa couple wrenches, screwdrivers, flatheadscrewdriverssome lock tight thread gluea torque wrench, a breaker bar, hammer,rubber mallet, needle nose plyersand a grease gun and the new tie rodinside and outside. You will also need an inner tie-rod toolwhich is this right here. You can rentthis for free Autozone or Pepboys orwhatever the main part stores you use.So what you are going to do is take your needle nose plyersand open up the cotter pin so that it is straight.And once the cotter pin is straight, grab the other sideand start pulling it out.there we goone cotter pin pulled out.Now you can put a 19mm or 3/4 ratchet or wrench on this.A nice long break a bar will help.Once you break it loose, use your ratchetand take the castle nut off.now there's a tool that you can use thatgoes in here and pry's this up, butwhat I am going to do is take this castle nut and I'm gonna flip it overso screw it in this way.Good! Now I am going to take a hammer, I'll use a rubber mallet just to be safeand I will pop it up maybe upThere we go.The tie rod end is out. Now this is theinteresting partthere's a nut here that they use foryour alignmentbecause this affects your alignment.What you want to do is put your tie rod in and now we can unscrew this nut.You just want to break that loose like that and now we can take this out andyou can see this spins freely... From the bottom herethat's that the bottom which is pointing down,you wanna take thisand you want to spin it.So that is one, two... and you want to count how many spins it takes to get this off.three, four, five, six...18, 19... So twenty spins total,it took me 20 spins you get this off andwhen you put the new one onyou want to count twenty spins and thereason why is it that your alignemntisn't completely out of alignment. You are still gonna have to get the car alignedafter you change thisbut at least your alignment wont be so badthat it's dangerous to driveso you could see this moves around veryeasily and has a little bit of play inside and outsideso the inner tie rod end also needs to be changed, but we were going to do that anywayNow you can see, so the tie rod end works by steering the car when you turn the steering wheelit turns this which allows the car'swheel to turnit goes all the way up into here, and now there is a boot hereand you want to use a pliers to getthis off and there's alsoa another one these except you have to break the clamp with a screwdriver,and I will show you that now.but that is all the way in the backso for this one, you just get thethe same needle nose as beforesqueeze it and pull it out.all this is, is a little clamp to keep the boot on.Now little trick here is to use ascrewdriver a flat headand just bend this up a little bit. Nottoo much because we are re-using the bootsyou just want to get it under here so we can spray some silicone or greaseto make it slide off easierNow we just go in here, with a flathead screwdriver,carefully, without breaking the boot it'slike thatjust like that... You see how the boot is up... get your WD40 or whateversome type of grease or silicone, which is what I am usingand just spray it in there.and that will make the boot come off a lot easier because surprisingly, the boot is on there tight.the next thing we are going to doyou see that clip right down therethere is a clip right there, and what you are going to do is push the screwdriver in and turn the screw driver to open the clipit's hard to see but I think you will get the idea when I do it.You just get the screwdriver in thereand turn... and you can seeit opened up, and now we can take the boot off.OK, unscrew this nut here so we can take the boot off.take the bolt off, slide off your clamp,now take your bellows boot offgood, so we're gonna wanna quicklyinspect this to make sure there are no crackslooks good, so when we're installingit there is this right herethat's gonna slide over the tubein thereits going to slide over that tube which connects to the other tie rod on the other side of the carit allows for venting... so you can see thetube on the top right and then you couldsee theinside tie rod right there with its balljoint that isvery loose, so now we're going to takethat out.so here is the actual tie rodthe inside tie rodand I just want to show you what is going to happen so that you completely understand this.so here is your adapteryour adapter is going to fit on here, just like that.So when you turn the tie rod too, it grabs the end and turns itotherwise it would be hard to get a wrenchon here. You can do it you just have to see if you haveaccess. The other thing to remember isthat there's sometimes a pin in thisso you have to take that pin out and that is what I am going to go check for now.You can see on this tie rod end there is a pin right here and this has to come offso you take a flat-head screwdriveryou get underneith it, and you pry it out.you could see I'm just prying this upIf you can't get your screwdriver under here that easy, you could use a hammer and the screwdriverand just get it to indent a little bit. So you could seeI'm almost ready to just knock this thing outKnocked it right out. So now we can unscrew this.Just like I showed you, your adapter piece goes right on top just like that.take your tie rod toolslide it inand then you put your ratchet on there.Once you break it loose like thatthis thing should come right out, and if it is not coming out easilyremember there's that pin in there that needs to come out firsthere are the two tie rods side by sidethe next thing you are going to do is make sure they are the same sizethe new one is a little bit longerso that is going to affect the toe butwe're getting an alignment anyway sodoesn't matter. Now you can seeI can move this really easily, that is the old onea single finger can move it aroundthe new one... I cant even move itit'll have to be on the car for me to move it. I'm going to get some blue thread lockthis is the removable typeand I am going to put a little inside hereJust like so... Now lets install the new tie rod.never took the old clamp outthe clamp you have to break, take that out.here is the pinit's not really reusabletake our new tie rodand just tighten it by handOnce you cannot tighten it by hand anymore,Once you cannot tighten it by hand anymore,get your tie rod toolput it over the tie rodslide it onthen get your torque wrench,for my vehicle it says torque to 66 to 74ft-lbs of torqueI am going to torque it to 70ft-lbsOnce you torque it, you are set.I am under the car and you can see the hole for the pin.That is where you push the pin in... I put a screwdriver head against the pinlike this... and then I used a hammer to lightly tap it in.and now it's all the way in.So remember before I was talking about the clipthat is a sacrificial clip that holds onthe boot that you put your screwdriver in hereand you twist and the clip opens up, well, it is only a one use clipso either you get a new one, whichthey're hard to find,but one temporary solution is to usezip-tiesI went to go get a bellows boot kitto see if it comes with new clips andand it came with zip tiesso although it sounds kinda cheap, the boot doesn't really movevery much so it's okay to use a zip-tie...It is not a permanent solution like this metal clipbecause a zip tie will eventually getbrittle but until you can find a metal clipzip ties are a good way to go, and that is what I will use.You can also use stainless steel hose clamps with the nut that tightens it downThe hose clamps are hard to find that are narrow enough to fit the boot.so zip ties work nicely in this situation.Now we are going to put the new boot on.You see that at the end of my screwdriver?There is that tube and you want to make sure you pushthis into that tube... So I actually tightened up the zip tiesfirst up on the the boot, now I am going to slide the boot in.so now you just tighten the zip ties after you push the boot all the way ongoodNow we take our clamp, and bring it upPut it on just like that and we are done with the boot.so here is the new tie rod endwe can see the new is nice and sturdythe old one moves really easily. It comeswith all the accessoriesthe screw in the top, a pin, and a nut. Sothey give you a new nutbut it's kinda small, so I will use the old one because it's thicker.has more thread on it so it will lockbetter.Just screw that old nut back on...It took me 20 spins to get thisoff so I will put it back on with 20 spins.It is threaded so we will start counting1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ,7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13...14, 15,16, 17, 18,19, 20... OK20 spins, face it down. Now will tightenour nut up here.We want the nut to push againstthe new tie rod end.This will keep it from moving.I am going to put the grease valve on. Just screw it in by hand first.Now I will use a 5/16 inch wrenchAnd just snug it down.You dont want to tighten this too much.Just enough, and that is good.Now we will put this into the knuckle.Line it up...push it through...Get your new castle nut and screw it on.That is how it should look.I set the torque to 46ft-lbsAnd tighten it until it clicks...when it clicks once, you do it again andin that statementAnd then that is tight enough.we will now take our cotter pin and send it though the hole.goodNow just bend the cotter pin around the castle nutLike soNow we're gonna lube this upPut the grease gun on there and pump it with grease.you can see the rubber expandingand once it expands like that, that means you have enough grease in thereand you just finish the job!You just changed the inner and outter tie rod ends!Now go get your car aligned.If the video was helpful, give it a \"thumbs up\"and if you like how to videos, and this was good, then subscribe.I upload how to videos weekly and it will help you save some moneyand fix your own car.If you want to see other \"how to\" videos, I will have links in the description.You can also click on any of the videos on the screen.\n"