Resolved 1G: Changing Tie rods & Tie rod ends. (rack & pinion)

[1G Newbie]

I searched & didnt find much of anything relating to this...

I have the entire front end taken off my 90 Talon AWD. I was in the process of replacing all my control arm bushings, ball joints, sway bar links, Front shocks/springs, front subframe mounts, rear motor mount, brake lines, calipers & rotors..

While this is all out, I have the rack & pinion taken out of the car. I noticed the tie rods & the tie rod ends are pitted & rotting. My Rack & Pinion appears to be in great shape, no leaks & also the boots look good as well.

My question is, has anyone changed just the tie rods & tie rod ends? I know I can change the ends by simply unscrewing them from the tie rods & counting the revolutions as I take them off. But I need to replace the entire tie rod on both sides as well. How would I go about removing the old tie rods to put in new ones? Or am I going to be looking at getting a new rack & pinion???

Any advice or photos will be GREATLY appreciated!!

 

[tsimike97]

i would definitely put new ones on. i would change the inners and outers while you have it appart. you don't have to worry too much about getting them the right amount of turns/tightness, because after all that you are doing your first trip after its all together should be to get a 4 wheel alignment.

 

[1G Newbie]

i would definitely put new ones on. i would change the inners and outers while you have it appart. you don't have to worry too much about getting them the right amount of turns/tightness, because after all that you are doing your first trip after its all together should be to get a 4 wheel alignment.

I know they all have to be changed, thats what I stated above. My question was, how do I remove the inner Tie Rods themselves from the rack & pinion. Do I remove the rubber boot & go from there? Do they pull out?

 

[babell2]

The only hard part of changing the inner tie rod ends will be holding the rack still while you unscrew everything. Remove the boots from both ends of the rack and slide them back (outward) on the rods. Unscrew the inner tie rod ends to remove. If you buy the new ones first you can see what the assembly looks like before you get in to it. They might even come with new boots. You might need to crank the rack from end to end to get at the cup on the end of the rack.