Replacing Tie Rods - what to buy?

[Jon Vander Ark]

Good Day, I'm in NW Montana (Kalispell) and am considering buying an FJ-60. I brought it in for an inspection and my mechanic was pretty impressed with it's upkeep. He said the only thing he would suggest is a possible body work due to early stages of rust under the chrome lining and the Tie Rods are really worn and in need of replacement. Truth is, I'm sold on this Cruiser. I love it. But tie rods are somewhat important to have working, no? I have a small Fiat and have rebuilt several Fiats and Ferraris (which don't handle well, if at all up here in the Montana snow!!), so I'm familiar with repairs and am confident in my ability to do the repair myself. I just want to make sure I'm getting the necessary/correct parts. I have a tendency to not buy the correct things and wait another week for the parts to come in! So, the mechanic said all the tie rods need to be replaced. Will this kit take care of that, or is there something more I should be buying? Again, I'm familiar with Fiats/Ferraris, Toyotas are foreign ground for me! Tie Rod Kit Any input and advice will be appreciated. I can say that it will almost certainly be adhered to as well. Your future Land Cruiser owner, Jon

[Jon Vander Ark]

Good Day, I'm in NW Montana (Kalispell) and am considering buying an FJ-60. I brought it in for an inspection and my mechanic was pretty impressed with it's upkeep. He said the only thing he would suggest is a possible body work due to early stages of rust under the chrome lining and the Tie Rods are really worn and in need of replacement.

Truth is, I'm sold on this Cruiser. I love it. But tie rods are somewhat important to have working, no?

I have a small Fiat and have rebuilt several Fiats and Ferraris (which don't handle well, if at all up here in the Montana snow!!), so I'm familiar with repairs and am confident in my ability to do the repair myself. I just want to make sure I'm getting the necessary/correct parts. I have a tendency to not buy the correct things and wait another week for the parts to come in!

So, the mechanic said all the tie rods need to be replaced. Will this kit take care of that, or is there something more I should be buying? Again, I'm familiar with Fiats/Ferraris, Toyotas are foreign ground for me!

Tie Rod Kit

Any input and advice will be appreciated. I can say that it will almost certainly be adhered to as well.

Your future Land Cruiser owner,

Jon

(edited to insert breaks/paragraphs)

[GLTHFJ60]

That looks like it's the kit. I haven't done it myself, but that is the kit. It's on sale too!!

[hicruise55]

Really easy job to do, when you take the old TRE off just count how many full rotations (treads) till off, then re-thread that many turns, and have it re-aligned. You will want a pickle fork (for removing TRE's) a big hammer, and maybe a couple of pipe wrenches. Good luck

[Tvaldriz]

Don't be afraid to really smack it with the pickle fork and the
hammer till it comes apart. A heavy hammer and a good solid
bunch of whacks until it comes apart.

[Dynosoar]

I highly recommend buying OEM Toyota tie rod ends. The Original ones last much longer and are of the highest quality. But the quality always comes at a price. As an alternative I would recommend the Japanese made "555" brand tie rod ends. Be careful as there are Chinese made "555" kits out there as well. Overall this is not a difficult job but it is made easier with a tie rod end puller, a pickle fork will work too since you are replacing them and don't care about their condition upon removal.

Dynosoar

[RredFJ40]

Call up Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters (see the vendor page here). He'll take care of you for a great price on the 555 kit.

[Wile E Coyote]

I'll 2nd cruiser outfitters (Kurt) and add a little nitpick of the other advice above. Personally, I'd count the # of exposed threads on the rod ends, instead of how many it takes to thread off.

[cabron]

I'll third call Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters he will take care of you. Just ordered a set from him myself.

[klinetime574]

We just did ours a month or two ago.

Just be sure to have a tie rod end fork, and a very heavy hammer. And smash away til them suckers pop.

Just re-thread to the same area and go get it re-aligned.

[Nolan B.]

I replaced mine several monthis ago just by myself. It was real easy. Oh and definatly use a hammer like they said.

[Heartworm]

I too have had good luck with Cruiser Outfitter's tie rod kits. Get the NAPA pickle fork and a big hammer. Get a Toyota Field Serice Manual if you can. After you install the TREs, you probably will want to have someone do a wheel alignment check. THere are only two adjustments that they can do for you (toe-in and setting the steering wheel straight) so if the alignment shop starts talking big money, walk away. I pay $42 for alignment check and the aforementioned adjustments. You can actually do both yourself. The toe in probably will not be as precise but who am I to say. There are several threads about it that you can find with the search function. Welcome.

[kenleyf]

I purchased this same kit from CCOT for my 62 about a year ago. The kit worked pefectly for me.

My experience was not only did the fork and big hammer work but knowing just how to position the fork was helpful. I also had a tough time with the end attached to the steering damper so I would reccomend you remove it first, I ended up replacing my steering damper because I damaged the old one. It needed it anyway but was not quiet ready to spend the money.

Position the fork and hit it hard, they will eventually pop right off.

If I did it, it is not that hard of a job.

Good luck.

Kenley

[tonkota]

I bought the kit from SOR for our wagon. Only one end gave us a bad time. I used an air hammer and a fork to take them off. Super easy that way, but loud.

Fix it again Tony

[Jon Vander Ark]

Gents, I posted this and then left for a few High School basketball games. I return and there are already 11 replies!! This community is awesome! I really appreciate the advice. I've replaced TREs on quite a few Fiats and fortunately, have a nice set of tools (to include the fork) which should make the job real easy. I have the sick way of coming to my conclusion on cost of parts.. I go to the nearest dealer ship get a quote on parts and labor, half that and set that as my budget for repairs. The dealership here in Kalispell wants 460 for parts, 185 for labor. I always feel like I save so much money! Thanks for all the replies and help on choosing vendors. It's good to see some confidence in specific vendors and brands. It makes buying the parts so much easier! I'm really impressed by the responsiveness, thanks again! Jon

[Lance Lucas]

Originally Posted by tonkota

Fix it again Tony

I will also be ordering the Cool Cruisers kit for my FJ62...hopefully I have a big enough pickle fork

[Cruiserdrew]

Just one more opinion. The 555 Kit from Cruiser outfitters or Mudrak is just fine. I'm running that now. It can be a massive biatch to unscrew the old ones from the threads of the tie rod or drag link. The Toyota ones are also great and the new ends often come with the rod!

Just my opinion, but CCoT brings the suckage. Mostly cheap knock off parts from China or Taiwan. I don't know about the tie rod kit, but I would step carefully with them. This is just my opinion so draw your own conclusions.

[mel lowe]

x3 Toyota.......


Although I did run the 555's on my 40 w/o any issues.

[Jon Vander Ark]

I've decided to go with Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters. They're having a sale for $90, so it's only about 20 more than the first one I found, and it appears he is a very reputable dealer. I'm all about giving my money to one of the 'local boys' with a good rep. So I'll be giving him some calls over the next few days!

Thanks again!

[cabron]

he won't steer you wrong, no pun intended

[joeythebee]

I JUST finished installing the CCOT kit, which was on sale.
Nice kit, good price, They are marked 555 "Three Five", Hwang Wu Co, Ltd.
Are they chinese ? Dunno. Guess we'll know after a year of use !

Order a UNIVERSAL TIE ROD END PULLER for $40.
I rented a small pitman arm puller from auto zone, but it was too big.

If you've never removed your steering stabilizer, expect that one to be hard to get off. (And now is a good time to install a new one.)

Procedure to remove tie rod end:
Loosen castle nut so there's 1/4" of play,
Soak with PB blaster
Tighten up puller
smack with a big hammer.

I ran into problems with the relay rod that connects to the steering arm.
If, like me, something fails and you mangle the castle nut, and round off the top of the bolt, do the following:

Hacksaw/dremel the top off the bolt until you get a clean/straight surface.
Drill/tap the top of the bolt with a metal/tap bit (mostly so the puller will have a place to grab). Then tighten up puller, smack and she should come free.

Be sure to clean out the threads and apply grease before threading in the new tie rod ends.

[zgcruiser]

O so I got everything removed and installed my TRE but I can't get the drag link end to get in enough to get any threads on the other side..I'm think maybe has to be pressed back on? Any suggestion on how to put this back on? Also, is there anything I need on the TRE (washers, etc) besides the castle nut? I broke my old TRE on the trail so don't know what was all on it! Though I just realized I can look at the other side! Oh well too lazy to delete that last line!

[takeitforgranite]

Originally Posted by zgcruiser

O so I got everything removed and installed my TRE but I can't get the drag link end to get in enough to get any threads on the other side..I'm think maybe has to be pressed back on? Any suggestion on how to put this back on? Also, is there anything I need on the TRE (washers, etc) besides the castle nut? I broke my old TRE on the trail so don't know what was all on it! Though I just realized I can look at the other side! Oh well too lazy to delete that last line!

Just thinking out loud here - what exactly are you replacing? All four ends? Just one? Is it the TRE that you're installing onto the relay rod? It could be possible that there is still some metal remaining from the old TRE; there should be no problem with engaging the threads on the opposite side. Maybe there was some play in the end, and it caused the relay rod end to become misshapen? I would probably opt to replace all of them at the same time, just my .02

[cruiserpants]

Originally Posted by zgcruiser
"O so I got everything removed and installed my TRE but I can't get the drag link end to get in enough to get any threads on the other side..I'm think maybe has to be pressed back on?"

If it looks like the one in the illustration below - It is a tight fit, but you should be able to push it on enough (with your hands) to get the nut started.
Torque them to specs, and don't forget to put on the cotter pin.

[Spike Strip]

Does "Toyota" offer a TRE kit? Or do I have to order all separately ?

Anything else that outta be replaced while I've got the front end apart?

[johnbill]

Having just completed this job, I fully advocate penetrating oil, a big hammer, and lots of brute force. Seriously. I dented a pickle fork and broke a gear puller. They all came out eventually.

Also, when putting the new ends in, grease em up with a little anti-seize compound first. You'll realize why 100 000 miles later.

[Spike Strip]

I've always had trouble removing TRE's and various steering joints until I bought one of these:

OTC 7315A Universal TRE puller. I had the whole front end apart in 10 min. on my rusty-ass truck. Best 40 buck tool I ever bought.