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Replacing outer tie rod without doing wheel alignment?

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91Bomb

15+ Year Contributor
909
7
Jul 15, 2003
US, New_Jersey
I'm going to be replacing the outer tie rod and definitely don't want to do a wheel alignment afterwards. Just read another thread here saying to count the number of turns on removing old tie rod and then do same amount of turns on install to get it exactly the same so alignment won't be needed. Is that how it's done?

Are you supposed to put grease on tie rod rubber where it connects to steering knuckle? Any other quick tips?

Autozone has valuecraft for $11.99 + $19.99 for duralast. Car gets driven fairly hard so is there a difference between those?
 
If you're set on not getting it aligned, you might as well do it yourself. Tie rods can differ in length so get it as close as you can and then measure from tire to tire on the leading edges of the tire then measure between the trailing edges.

The difference between the two is your toe. You want the measurements within 1/8" of eachother.

No need to grease the rubber boot.
 
I didn't quite get that explanation.


Actually I'd be changing one side only right away so need to know the best way to measure what's on there now and then getting new one exactly in same position.

Did see youtube video of guy changing one on a maxima with him measuring from boot to center of tie rod end but didn't mention whether he was doing that to save on doing an alignment or what.
 
Autozone has valuecraft for $11.99 + $19.99 for duralast. Car gets driven fairly hard so is there a difference between those?
Yes. Stay away from valuecraft - it's way inferior and won't last. You get what you pay for.

You can only count turns if the arms are exactly the same which they rarely are. Measure their length to the ball joint. You can do your own wheel alignment like this: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/338063-my-alignment-page-attached.html#post151879230 (just do front toe if that's all you want).
 
I tried to count the number of turns, and could never get it exactly right. I did it successfully on my wife's car, but I was just taking off the outer tie rod to replace a rack and pinion boot, and not putting on a new one. You can try to just loosen the jamb nut and then leave it in place, but I tried that also without much luck. Basically I would count something like 24 turns to remove it, but then turn the new one 24 times and it wouldn't be in the same place as the old one.

And it was already mentioned before, but Valucraft is basically the lowest quality auto part you can get.
 
Ok I'll probably just take some careful measurements and then try to get new one in exact same place.
 
Good Luck. I always remeasure & adjust even when counting turns & even when just removing & putting the same tie rod end back on (replacing rack boots). The thread pitch for the tie rods is course and just a quarter turn difference makes a really big difference in alignment. It's been a few months since the last time I did this but I think a quarter turn makes about 1/16in change in the toe in per side. Half turn off will make you be close to going out of alignment & a half turn is close to the difference with the jam nut being tight & just broke loose. I always verify & adjust my alignment when the tie rod gets fiddled with because no matter how careful I am it is always out after putting things back together. Either do the alignment yourself or take some where. Either way is cheaper than buying new tires and toe alignment makes a big difference on tire wear.
 
Why do you not want to do an alignment, because of cost?

If so what do you run for tires? If its any kind of performance tire, a replacement will likely run more then the cost of an alignment, if you kill it due to not being aligned properly. And thats not factoring in if your awd & should be replacing all four.
 
Tires only have about 5k left on them so figuring if I measure real careful and car seems to ride good then not do the alignment and wait until I get new tires. Plus I'm not sure how long I'm going to keep this car. Alignment does look good now because tires wore very evenly. Anyhow I still might consider looking for a good deal on alignment and do that if it seems off at all.
 
What I've done in the past is clean off the rod where the threads are right by the tie rod, and then wrap tape around it. Then, remove your tie rod. That way, you will know exactly where the old tie rod was and there is no chance of miscounting threads, measuring distance error, etc... That's what I would do if you are against getting an alignment. Good Luck! :thumb:
 
Could not loosen old tie rod and wound up cutting it completely off which was very risky being I made many cuts with angle grinder and could have easily damaged inner tie rod threads.

For doing the other side can you put a pipe wrench just on inner tie rod with it still connected to knuckle (use knuckle as the brace point) or will too much pressure bend the end of it so you couldn't pop it out of knuckle?
 
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