removing inner and outer tie rods together

[Peter]

Hey all,

Quick question. I’m going to be replacing most of the suspension parts on my Dodge Stratus soon, and have a question about tie rod removal. The jam nuts won’t move, and I don’t have a torch to get them moving. I have a socket meant for removing stubborn outer tie rods. Also, the car still has it’s OEM inner tie rods and the outside of them are completely smooth (no place to get a wrench on it). Since the two are seized together, is there anything wrong with just removing the inner and outer tie rods together as an assembly? I could measure the complete length of the assembly afterward and get the new parts as close to the original length as possible (so I can get it to the alignment shop.

Is this a bad idea?

Topic

[Mike]

You should be fine. I’d normally remove the outer (using torch) so I can get my tool on the inner flats. With Chrysler though, the inner tie rod ball socket housing is usually smooth and I’ve always used a small pipe wrench for them. They have a newer inner tie rod tool with cam grabbing for smooth inners like Chrysler, but the pipe wrench works fine as long as you turn the steering rack so the ball socket housing is in a position you can get a ungainly pipe wrench can turn it. Obviously with a pipe wrench to take off the inner, you don’t have to worry about getting the outer end out of the way of a tool.

The other side of it is that on Chrysler, the inner rod that the outer end is threaded onto is not meant to be held/turned by a normal hex wrench. It’s got some half-assed splines on is that your supposed to grab with a special adjuster wrench like I was using today on a PT cruiser. This is the part that you would have to hold steady if trying to break a seized jam nut loose.

[Brian]

I have a fun simple tool , I think it’s made by Lisle. It looks similar to an exhaust clamp, but its smaller, has teeth on the inside and a.square fitting for a 3/8 extension. Pull the boot off the inner, then clamp this onto the inner tie rod, then insert a long 3/8 extension with a ratchet then turn it off. The outer tie rod will have to be loose to do this too first. After its off, you can cut the assembly in half to get the boot back, or just get new boots. Don’t forget that alignment asap afterwards! Not on next week or month, but seriously, get it alligned fast or your ties will greatly suffer.

[Peter]

Thanks all!

I’ll keep you guys posted once I get around to replacing them. I need to also replace my lower control arms, sway bar end links/bushings, and a few other things on the front end. Would it be wise to change the tie rods once I remove the lower control arms (to give myself more room to work?

Thanks again!

[Author]

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