[T3] Tie Rods

[Jim Adney]

On 24 May 2017 at 0:52, J. Jonik wrote:

> Replacing bad wheel-end ball joint on driver side tie-rod...Not easy.

FYI: While the 2 objects share clear mechanical principles, the term Ball 
Joint is used for the joints that support the weight of the front of the car. For 
the steering connections, these are called Tie Rod Ends.

Yes, they can be hard to get apart.

First, you should buy one of the little, cheap tie rod end extractor/presses 
that JC Whitney sells. They are probably less than $20 and they work 
beautifully. That gets the tie rod ends out of their tapered sockets, as Dave 
Hall said.

To get the tie rod end out of the tie rod, it may be easier to turn the tie rod 
with a pipe wrench while the tie rod ends are still anchored. Of course you 
have to releast the things that clamp them tight. There are 2 kinds of clamps: 
One looks like a rather normal clamp with a pinch bolt, so those are obvious. 
The second kind looks like 2 hex nuts: The outer nut must be loosened first, 
then you'll discover that the second, larger nut is hex on the outside but it 
just has a smooth taper inside. You have to free it from the tie rod by twisting 
it with respect to the tie rod. Once it moves, you can slip it away from the tie 
rod and then you should eventually be able to turn the tie rod and free it from 
both tie rod ends. Yes, I can imagine heat and Liquid Wrench being helpful 
here.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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