Tie Rod Ends

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NCNole

NCNole

10 Year
Joined
Feb 20, 2013
Threads
58
Messages
647
Location
Florida Keys
So, I dove in to the TREs this morning, finally got them to pop off, but cannot unscrew them from the rods...only one was loose enough to come off. I have sprayed the heck out of them with PB blaster but like the TREs, they are cruddy and stuck. Any tricks to getting them out? Thanks guys!
 
are you turning it the opposite direction of the one that came off? one has a left hand thread the other is right hand.
 
You're doing it right. Good work popping them out. The next trick simply involves lots of twisting muscle, ie torque. Are you using a pipe wrench with the tie rod in a vice? If so, slide some pipe over the wrench for a long handle and pull like heck. If no vice put the TRE back on the 40 to hold it for you. If still no go it may need some heat
 
fourtrax said:
are you turning it the opposite direction of the one that came off? one has a left hand thread the other is right hand.
Click to expand...

Yep-knew that
 
Rice said:
You're doing it right. Good work popping them out. The next trick simply involves lots of twisting muscle, ie torque. Are you using a pipe wrench with the tie rod in a vice? If so, slide some pipe over the wrench for a long handle and pull like heck. If no vice put the TRE back on the 40 to hold it for you. If still no go it may need some heat
Click to expand...

Don't have a ton of muscle which is making it difficult haha. Do I heat up the area where the threads are?
 
NCNole said:
Don't have a ton of muscle which is making it difficult haha. Do I heat up the area where the threads are?
Click to expand...

You can certainly heat up the rod where the end threads in. Some heat and PB Blaster usually works for me.

Also, Rice is spot on with using a pipe wrench. I use a small-ish pipe wrench and slide a 2' long pipe on the handle to give me more leverage. Give that a shot, and if that doesn't work, I can swing over and give you a hand.
 
You might try reattaching the ends to the knuckles, then adjusting them in order to break the ends free from the tie rod / drag link. This has worked for me in the past when working on lesser vehicles. I always found it easier to let the knuckle / steering arm hold the TRE rather than trying to use one wrench on the TRE and one on the tie rod ... YMMV
 
elkaholic said:
You might try reattaching the ends to the knuckles, then adjusting them in order to break the ends free from the tie rod / drag link. This has worked for me in the past when working on lesser vehicles. I always found it easier to let the knuckle / steering arm hold the TRE rather than trying to use one wrench on the TRE and one on the tie rod ... YMMV
Click to expand...

Awesome advice! Had them off in under an hour between that, tons more PB, and some leg strength. Should have thought of that myself! :doh:
 
Next steps....

So, once I pulled them off, I saw all the muck inside and have sprayed them several times with PB again but I still have so much grease, mud, and rust on them and want to spiff them up and get them nice and clean before putting those pretty new ones back in. Any ideas on how to get them really clean? Bottle brush and what else? Also, the rods themselves are a bit dingy looking....re-paint perhaps?

Also, the crag link won't budge and I bought a kit to re-build it. Looks like I can do that without unscrewing the end...thoughts?

Excited to get this back together and get him back on the road!!!
 
krzyabncanuck said:
Please tell me you did what i said and counted thread teeth on each one so you can get it back together close enough to drive to the front end shop.
Click to expand...

Ah, knew I forgot something :whoops:
JUST KIDDING :D
Of course I did Obi Wan....Got it all laid out on a huge piece of cardboard with the ends labeled passenger and driver's side and the count of threads written down and the old TREs next to them so I can match them to the old ones.
How do I clean all this though and make it purty?
 
Post up some pics... I'm kinda curious to see how it is coming.

I had to scrap all my rods and ends so no advice for cleaning from me.

I would recommend the ATF and acetone mix John taught me that did wonders for me.

Sounds like you got them all off though
 
Yep, that 50/50 acetone and ATF mix is amazing - Lacquer thinner and ATF works well too. A friend who is a professional mechanic and used to work for Fulller hot rods in Atlanta taught me that.

If you want to clean up stuff like that fast use a Crud-Thug, Remove-All Tool, MBX blaster or Spitznagel tool. They are amazing for stuff like cleaning up frames and suspension and are much safer than an angle grinder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y16F4sGkJ8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F_9wom4IYs

more here:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=mbx+blaster+you+tube&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

I like the corded version sold by MBX

http://www.mbxit.com/products/mbx-bristle-blaster/mbx-electric-bristle-blaster-p-174.html

but this one sold by TP tools is much cheaper, you just need to have compressed air.

http://www.tptools.com/The-Stripper...t-Remover-Kit,1385.html?b=s*remove+all!d*8109

These are expensive but amazing tools. You have to try one see how useful they are. You could prep a tie rod in just a few minutes.
 
That thing looks amazing but I don't really want a to drop all that $$$ just to clean a few rods. I have a friend who has a garage full of tools and was able to get an angle grinder. It looks like I can just buy a wire wheel for that and it will work about the same?? Do I need to clean all the gunk off first (old dirt + grease) or will the wire wheel do that for me? :) Also the rods have little brackets on the ends with bolts-those twist a little bit but won't come off....should they slide off the end? I'll try to get some pics tonight before I clean them.
 
Wire wheel will do everything for you, no need to pre clean. Then solvent to get off remaining oil before painting.

The clamps should hammer right off, but you will want to open them up some before putting them back on OR put them back on after you clean but before you paint (i.e. wait until you hit a rock before scratching the new paint).

With regards to counting threads .... I used to believe in this until I ran into a set of TRE that were not the same length as the old ones even though they were both 555's. Since then I began using a caliper to measure length between the center of the ball joint (I measure to the hole where the zerk goes in) and the rod. Perhaps my 555's were knockoffs but regardless it told me the go to a different method.
 
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