Help! More Tie-Rod Woes

[Wily Dahl]

I am a new member of this Forum (my first post!), and I apologize for not joining sooner. I bought a 1995 Mark VIII for my wife (my first Ford product), and though the car sorely tries me sometimes, I fell in love with it immediately. Different threads have helped me fix various issues with the car (for example, never having worked on a front suspension, I successfully changed out the upper control arms from instructions found here). Now I have run into obvious tie-rod issues (an enormous amount of play on the inners). My problem is that I can't get the inner tie-rod loose from the steering gear. I found a thread that gave step-by step instructions, but no detail on that part of it, and the pictures of the inner tie-rod-to-steering gear nut did not look like the ones on my car, which resemble a large, rounded off 10-sided nut. I removed the rivet (that was a booger) per the instructions that came with the new Moog parts I bought, but it just won't turn. There are four small holes in this piece (one of which had the rivet in it), almost as if it takes a special tool or somthing to turn it. I don't want to hammer on it for fear of tearing up the steering gear. I am no mechanic (although I do my own work, and can usually figure these things out). Am I missing something? Help! (please, please, please!)

p.s. - I want to thank everybody right from the start for all of the assistance that I have received since I bought this car from the various threads that have helped with other problems.

 

[XLRVIII]

there are only two or four sides on the inner tie rod end.
Yes they make a special super long socket to remove it...BUT.
I used a very large good quality crecent wrench to do it.
Dont use a large crappy crecent wrench it wont work.
ALSO.
You do NOT want to put alot of rotational force on the rack gear, dont hammer on it.

Autozone probably rents the special tool.. but again, with some car you can get it off with a large wrench using the two or 4 flat side on the large end of the inner tie rod end.

 

[XLRVIII]

There are four small holes in this piece (one of which had the rivet in it), .

the 4 holes are there in case two dont line up when it's tight.
you should drive out that rivet with a punch before you try to take the inner tie rod end off.

Some people "redneck it off" and shear the pin but IMHO that is putting un-needed and dangerous, damaging rotational force on the rack gear.

dont do that

 

[Wily Dahl]

So, it's just a matter of force (but not too much). Me thnks I will borrow a better wrench from the neighbor and try again. Thanks!

 

[XLRVIII]

uhm.. no..the inner tie rod end only screws down til it stops, then you drive the keeper pin in.

SO as I mentioned before, you dont want to use brute force and try to shear that pin off when you are removing them.

Drive the pin out with a punch before you try to twist them off.

Your risking putting a twisting damage to the flat rack gear.

Find an exploded veiw of the rack and pinion and you'll see clearly you dont want to twist on the flat rack gear.

 

[JMiles_T]

If you have access to an electric multi-tool (Dremel/etc.), and you have steady hands you can cut around the hole where that rivet is. If you do this, just be mindful not to cut so far down that you start digging into the steering rack threads.

As for the actual removal, I agree that a large crescent wrench is all you should need.

Edit: ...and keep the wheel as centered as possible; the less that gear protrudes out from the rack while you're twisting, the better.

 

[XLRVIII]

If you have access to an electric multi-tool (Dremel/etc.), and you have steady hands you can cut around the hole where that rivet is. If you do this, just be mindful not to cut so far down that you start digging into the steering rack threads.

As for the actual removal, I agree that a large crescent wrench is all you should need.

that's a good trick.. but scary when you think of now someone might go "horribly wrong".

I can see Abe posting now.
OK... I cut the whole inner end off the rack, now how do I attach the new one?
JB weld?

 

[Wily Dahl]

Well, here is where I run into problems. I am now assuming I didn't get all of the rivet out (I had to dig it out in pieces). The hole where the rivet was (is) faces the top of the vehicle. I have not found a way to rotate the tie-rod end in order to make the rivet hole accessable. I only have a few inches to work with between the tie rod end and what is above it (otherwise, I would drill out the remains of the rivet with a dremel). Please continue your suggestions, as I am only learning-as-I-go with this stuff.

 

[Wily Dahl]

I was thinking this over, and I am not sure how I could have "punched" the rivet out. I followed the directions on the new part to give the rivet head a whack to cruch the head up a little, and grab it with a pair of side cutters to pull it out, but I only succeeded in clipping off the head of the rivet (I know, dumb!!). How would I go about "punching it out", normally? This would make the other tie-rod easier........

 

[XLRVIII]

cutting the head off.. MIGHT be enough.
I used a punch called a drift punch it's narrow and long.

 

[Wily Dahl]

So, I can push the remains of the rivet into the shaft of the gear? I am not following....I see no way of getting behind the rivet, and I wasn't sure if there was any place for the rivet to go if I pushed it through...bear with me, I am new at this....

 

[XLRVIII]

I dont think it goes into the shaft of the gear... if I remmeber correctly it just fits into a notch in the gear.
when you drive it out... it should drive out the other side of the inner tie rod end or atleast partially out.

again if I remember all this correctly..it's been awhile.
you may need to "ad lib" the parts I forgot..

you should be ok.. once you dive back under there.

 

[Wily Dahl]

Finally, got the buggers off. The only thing holding me up was my fear of tearing up the stearing gear. I designed a little anti-rotion device out of a wrench, a long screwdriver and some tape, which locked the stearing gear in place while I put a pipe-wrech on the darn inner tie-rod and finally broke it loose. They were just on there reeeeaaallll good. 20 minutes later saw the care back together and on the road again (counting the rotations when removing the tie-rod ends and putting the new Moog's on the same amount of turns worked great).

 

[XLRVIII]

Good job!
thanks for the follow up!

you did good, got thru your first problem with less than 15 posts!
*congrats*

 

[kustomizingkid]

It's all about the brute force!