Inner Tie Rod Ends

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Replacing inner tie rod ends due to excessive play/drifting when throttled on/off on 1996 Corolla 1.6L 156,000mi
Any advice on doing this job would be appreciated. I just bought the Haynes manual and they only have instructions for the outer. Any tips, special tools, etc?? I do have the puller for getting the outer tie rods off. Just don't know what to expect once I get there. Picking up the parts tomorrow, maybe that will give some clues. Also, why do these go bad? Are the wearable rubber parts in there? Thanks in advance.
Brian

[Bitter]

its a ball and socket joint, wears like any other. you do need a special tool to remove them, get new rubber rack boots as well. need an alignment after, count the number of turns that the outers were on the inners so you get the alignment close enough to drive the car to the shop.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=...6c79a56c95bda8

[speedy25]

You dont necessarily have to have a special tool, BUT its much easier. Some cars have more room to get at the inner end than others.

Dont forget the foldover washer that locks the piece to the rack.

-SP

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Thanks Bitter and speedy25!! That was really helpful (tool, boots, counting turns, foldover washer) I'll take your advice and let you know how it goes...

[Hook]

You'll need this



This sure beats twisting ur arm to scar it with a monkey wrench. You may have the space to work a wrench or a crescent tool, but there's no room to add a pipe for leverage and a very limited range of movement. It's a piece of cake with this.

Like the guys said, don't forget to lock the flat washer on by pressing the ends, change the boot rubbers while you're down there and count the number of turns when taking out the outer ends so u can put up the new ones (assuming you're changing all in one shot so u don't hafta go back there anytime soon) about the same so you'll be close enough to straight to make it safely to the alignment shop when you're done.

There's a buddy of mine that changes all our rack components when we need to, and here's why. He uses a piece of nylon string that he pulls around the four wheels to eyeball it and check the alignment when he's done.
It doesn't check camber, only toe, because of where he has to pass the nylon (but he didn't touch the camber bolts anyway so u're safe), but damn if by the time u get to the alignment shop and they put their machines on it, the wheels are already on perfectly straight!

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OK, I finished the job. Not too hard of a job to do. Thanks to those posters who gave me advice, I couldn't have done it without you. I bought the Inner Tie Rod Tool from Ebay for $35 (Crowes Foot Size Needed: 1 1/4"). Since I am done with it, it's going right back on Ebay. I went ahead and changed the outers, the boots and brakes while I was down there. It drives brand new. I have an appointment for the alignment, but I have to say, I got it damn close. One thing I noticed was even though I counted the number of turn the outer goes in the inner (11 times), it actually needed about 16 turns to get it to drive right. I made about 5 adjustments driving around the block in between each. One tip I have is the washer that locks onto the inner tie rod flats can be crimped with a pair of channel lock pliers (see picture). Thanks again to my helpers and good luck with your Toyotas.
Brian

[spingley]

"One tip I have is the washer that locks onto the inner tie rod flats can be crimped with a pair of channel lock pliers "

How do you get the old washer off if it is crimped on?

[speedy25]

Its not crimped, its folded over on flats.

Another adjustment tip for any checking out this thread-

If you do one side at a time, you can get the alignment right with a quick test drive, and adjust as needed until your steering wheel comes back to the centered position. Be good to your rack boot and make sure it doesnt get all twisted up when you do your toe adjustment.

-SP

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Originally Posted by spingley

"One tip I have is the washer that locks onto the inner tie rod flats can be crimped with a pair of channel lock pliers "

How do you get the old washer off if it is crimped on?

Yeah, I guess the correct term is folded over. I used a long flathead tapping with the hammer to get the old ones off.