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Outer Tie Rod - How To Remove A Stubborn One

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7.3K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  hatzie  
#1 ·
Hello Folks,

I'm embarking on changing my inner and outer tie rods. Is the outer-tie rod supposed to spin freely and turn to the left? If it doesn't, what setup do you recommend in getting it off?

EDIT: I know it's supposed to come out of the knuckle, I just put it back in because I have to buy a torch since the jamb nut is stubborn too ='(.

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Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
#2 ·
Remove the castle nut from the outer tie rod end then take your air hammer and give the side of the knuckle next to the tie rod end a short burp with the flat air hammer tool.
The taper will pop right out of the knuckle without damaging the boot.
 
#7 ·
Solution: I miswrote the question, and got answers on how to get the outer-tie rod out of the knuckle. The real question was how to get the outer-tie rod off of the spindle(?). The answer to that was to use a Propane torch on it in the same spot for a little bit over a minute. Then, using two pipe wrenches, I was able to turn it to the left without spinning the spindle.
 
#9 ·
Never had the inner tie rods off a Gen VIII Impala but the other rack and pinion inner tie rods I've pulled off had jam nuts with five or six threads inside and two or four flats. The Jam nut pushes the tie rod seizing it against the threads and locking it in place to keep it from turning off the end of the rack.
Theoretically you could turn the inner tie rod without loosening the jam nut but it'll turn with difficulty all the way to the end of the rack threads and probably booger the threads up on the rack and jam nut.
I hold the inner tie rod on its' flats with a Crescent wrench and crack the jam nut away from the inner tie rod end with another Crescent wrench placed so I can squeeze the handles toward eachother in one hand. Once the jam nuts cracked loose on the Subaru, Datsun, Nissan, Toyota, VW, Audi, Chrysler, and Ford racks the inner tie rods spun right off the end of the rack with no drama at all.