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Tie rod ends

hookedup50

hookedup50

Active Member
Messages
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Location
MA
I am replacing ball joint and tie rod ends. This make seem like a dumb question but need to get the right parts the first time from Rockauto. Are the inner and out tie rods on the right and left side the same part. In my logic the threads would be reversed, and its been years since I did this to my jeep. Brands Moog or AC Delco professional? I had the Ball joints done maybe 10k ago and should have done tie rods , but was sick and $ was issue. I failed inspection and won't pass unless I show reciept for ball joints, and I know tie rods bushings and everything else is being replaced this week by me. Thanks in advance.
 
Sorry for all the ?s. Will bad tie rod ends cause inspector to fail ball ball joints. I know anything is possible, but this truck pretty much sat after new ball joints were installed. I was to sick to drive any vehicle, let alone my k truck.
 
I have my truck on the rack getting new tires, and only play I see is the tie rods moving. I'm gonna replace the ends and see if if it will take an alignment.
 
Tie rod end replacement helped, but idler arm/ housing are really bad and pitman arm has play. The control arm bushings seem to be ok for now(no play). There is no play on tire pulling 12 and 6 oclock, so ball joints are still good. There is a serious amount of safety in this design IFS as my old jeep with solid axle on leaf springs had death wobble with this kind of wear. The bad news is tires, parts, alignment is at 1200 bucks with my labor. I'm glad I'm healthy enough to wrench now, and was reason this matter was not repaired sooner.
 
Same here, thats why all the ?s. My 97 is modern compared to what I usually work on. My 07 Colorado isn't old enough to need anything, so I've never really looked at the suspension. I still need to ferret out the electrical/sensor issue on the 4wd system on the 07.
 
So for those that may not know. Jack up the lower a arm as close to the ball joint as you can get. Get the tire 2-3 " off the ground then check for play. If you don't get really close to the ball joint the suspension will still be under tension and feel tight.
 
I got a lot of how to info from that 400 site. I used logic/dumb luck for jacking at end of control arms. Thanks for confirming I was correctly checking for play. Will a quality pitman arm puller remove a pitman arm. I've never had one that removed one yet, and always ended up using a bearing separator.
 
The pitman arm is a bear. The puller helps pulling the arm but usually still have to hit them with a hammer or something to ping them.
 
I'm looking at having to turn the steering box on its side just to get a puller on there. The box has already been changed out by a PO. I am leaning toward cutting the arm off the shaft and saving time. Will, thanks for the tip. I have yet to have one not break and why I'm leaning toward cutting disc method.
 
I ended up leaving the pitman arm and steering box as is. I looked through PO records and they had 30k miles on them. When I replaced Idler housing and arm, the whole assembly was pretty tight. It was tight enough for an alignment to come within spec. I just need an inpection sticker, but all the bump steer and slop went away. Its amazing what seems normal when you are used to it. I think all I need to replace now is the oem tranny mount for prothane one and get an eaton torsen style lsd for the rear and repaint and truck project is done. Next is putting 6.5 in my Jeep for projects, or race engine in 240Z. A hard choice.
 
I'm back to square one. I returned my truck to inspecror and watched him take a pry bar and pry the tire until enough force was used to get the ball joint to creak. I went hone and replicated what I saw and needed 100 to 150 foot pounts to make that noise. I know they are not supposed to move, but seems like excesive force used. Any thoughts?
 
usually you just take a pry bar and put it under the wheel and wiggle it up and down while looking for movement. About 1/2" is all you need.
 
Are the shock absorber travel and sway bar end links the only thing that stop droop travel on IFS trucks?
 
IIRC there's a metal to metal stop. When I changed my front shocks I had to swap the new ones I had cause they were shorter than the OEM ones and would have made the shock the limiter
 
I'm trying to get the CV shaft out of the way on the passenger side to press the lower ball joint out. The center link/tie rod end connection is in the way. My last ditch is to turn the steering wheel and see if that makes enough room. The brake/wheel assembly is what I'm trying to avoid removing. I feel that the bolts are gonna break even with heat. The other side went easy. Maybe a nights sleep will let me notice something obvious I'm overlooking.
 
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