Inner Tie Rod Change 2008 Honda Civic

[twiggy]

I need to change the inner tie rod in my 2008 Honda Civic, my factory manual says to remove the steering rack and the repair pal estimate seems to back this up with with estimate in the $500 range for 1 inner tie rod change.

Can I still remove this tie rod through the wheel well the way Eric has shown us ? Any known issues doing this job on the 8th gen civic with hydraulic power steering?

I will be doing this job next weekend, thanks.

Topic

[Brian]

I’ve changed a lot of tie rods, but I’m not sure if I’ve done them in a civic like yours. I use this simple tool to remove inner tie rods.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0066PI154/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1461482509&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=inner+tie+rod+tool&dpPl=1&dpID=41YDYALswPL&ref=plSrch

[zero]

What’s funny in a sad way about that, is that Honda doesn’t officially support using an inner tie rod tool. Using the Honda labour guide any inner tie rod is about 5 hours, or how ever long it takes to drop the subframe, pull the rack, change the inner tie rod and put it all back together. Meanwhile any other labour guide lists it around 1.5-2.0 hours. The latter is more accurate.

You might be able to get your hands on an inner tie rod tool kit through a loan-a-tool program.

The hardest part is usually getting the inner clamp off the boot. I usually just use a pry bar and give it a couple of whacks at the crimp. When you put it back together, you can just use an automotive grade UV resistant ziptie to secure the inside of the boot.

[twiggy]

[quote=”DaFirnz” post=164362]What’s funny in a sad way about that, is that Honda doesn’t officially support using an inner tie rod tool. Using the Honda labour guide any inner tie rod is about 5 hours, or how ever long it takes to drop the subframe, pull the rack, change the inner tie rod and put it all back together. Meanwhile any other labour guide lists it around 1.5-2.0 hours. The latter is more accurate.

You might be able to get your hands on an inner tie rod tool kit through a loan-a-tool program.

The hardest part is usually getting the inner clamp off the boot. I usually just use a pry bar and give it a couple of whacks at the crimp. When you put it back together, you can just use an automotive grade UV resistant ziptie to secure the inside of the boot.[/quote]

I suspected that was the case. Thanks for the tip, I was wondering how I was going to get the inner boot band off. Will report back next weekend to update.

[ALLWRLD]

ive done inner tie rods on 99 honda accords and 2005..i used a tool from harbour freight tools bought for around 25.00 ..it comes with about 7 adapter pieces to fit around the strange nut on the inner tod rod and so far those fit the cars i worked on… im with the other response just pop off that clamp get some good sturdy zip ties to secure the boot cover and also for the new inner rod use some thread locker.. a mechanic friend of mine suggested the blue thread locker ..took about 1hr to get done… dont forget to mark where the outer tie rod is before u remove it and count each when u remove to get as close as u can to the alignment when u re-install

[twiggy]

Thanks, I bought tool and just used it today on my 2008 Civic, it worked great. For the price it was great.

[quote=”peshewa” post=164350]I’ve changed a lot of tie rods, but I’m not sure if I’ve done them in a civic like yours. I use this simple tool to remove inner tie rods.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0066PI154/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1461482509&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=inner+tie+rod+tool&dpPl=1&dpID=41YDYALswPL&ref=plSrch%5B/quote%5D

[twiggy]

I just completed the job today. It took me 3 hours only because I haven’t done a lot of DIY work. But your tip about hitting the inner clamp of the tie rod boot worked like a charm- 2 sharp wacks with a long screwdriver and hammer and it just fell right off.

The old inner tie rod was rusty and then I noted a tear in the old boot. Luckily I had another boot. The hardest part of the job was bending the washer over the flats of the new inner tie rod. There was no room. Finally I just used a large channel lock pliers and just crimped it down using the actual joint as leverage. I didn’t like doing this but I just couldn’t get a hammer and punch in there.

Also difficult was getting the new boot over the inner part of the steering rack. Finally I used a heat gun low setting to warm the boot up to make it more pliable- also lubed it with silicone spray.

Now it’s off to get an alignment, which is not too far off thanks to Eric’s latest inner tie rod video where he measured the length of the inner=outer tie rod assembly because the new tie rod was quite different than the old one negating the counting of threads trick.

[quote=”DaFirnz” post=164362]What’s funny in a sad way about that, is that Honda doesn’t officially support using an inner tie rod tool. Using the Honda labour guide any inner tie rod is about 5 hours, or how ever long it takes to drop the subframe, pull the rack, change the inner tie rod and put it all back together. Meanwhile any other labour guide lists it around 1.5-2.0 hours. The latter is more accurate.

You might be able to get your hands on an inner tie rod tool kit through a loan-a-tool program.

The hardest part is usually getting the inner clamp off the boot. I usually just use a pry bar and give it a couple of whacks at the crimp. When you put it back together, you can just use an automotive grade UV resistant ziptie to secure the inside of the boot.[/quote]

[Author]

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