I searched the site and have not seen a write up on a tie rod replacement. I just ordered the outer tie rod for the passenger side on my TB. It will be here tomorrow so I will take pictures, write up the steps and then post it. Looks like a pretty simple job. I was able to break the bolt on the knuckle loose as well as the jamb nut on the adjustment sleeve.
I have been having an issue with play in the steering wheel. I had my son turning the wheel while I was looking down below. It was painfully obvious what was wrong. As soon as I jacked up the passenger side you could feel and see the slop in the tie rod end. I am kind of surprised it hasn't broke.
This should be the last of the repairs for a while.
In case you havent found out already the size. Here is some help. I was wondering the same thing and ppl told me that you would just have to take it apart and look from there. I ordered Moog inner tie rod 14mm and when I went to install it, the inner didnt match the outer. So, in short I had 16mm threads. I was out 90 bucks for that part but after research on here I ordered from rockauto.com. I ended up getting new inner tierods and outer tierods 16mm threads. I am pressed for money with the new Charger I got so I had to get mevotech brand. Anybody know if thats a good brand? Anyways, I had a question for Roadie: the boots from parts4chevys.com, is it just a boot for one side or do both come together for 60 bucks?
You replace any part if it's worn and you can see looseness when you wiggle the tire when the vehicle's supported. Here's a video of one of mine - That's sand and dirt in there instead of grease. Totally shot.
working on the tie rods now... I CANT GET THE OUTTER SEPARATED FROM THE INNER TIE ROD!!! I have unloaded pb blaster on the thing and it wont give. any suggestions?
Great thread. Thought I'd add a few pics of my own. The old tie rods survived ~97k miles in Ohio. The new ones are Raybestos professional grade. They come with a grease fitting and replacement nuts.
Not bad. Took me about an hour and half but, I fix computers...not cars. Easy to do though. All I used for tools was big wrench and a piece of my kids sidewalk chalk. I'll get an alignment tomorrow.
Do I need a puller to seperate or can I use a hammer on the bolt once I take the top nut off? Is there any reason I shouldnt' hammer out the part I am replacing to avoid getting a puller?
Are the Moog replacements one of the better replacement brands for tie rod ends?
The garage I use told me this would cost me $500. I got Moog replacement parts for a total of $140 and will do the whole process myself. Heck of a savings!
But you're saving so much money you can AFFORD to start collecting cool tools like the puller, in case you need it later for an upper ball joint shaft removal to drop the steering knuckle for other repairs.
Avoiding a justifiable increase to one's tool collection is a foreign concept. :dielaugh: :excited: He who dies with the most tools wins. :woot:
I don't think I've ever heard of pulling a tie rod end at the junkyard.
Usually the alignment you need will far outweigh the cost of the part, and aftermarket ones often come with the desirable zerk grease fitting.
There are no other platforms/trucks to pull from except the trailvoy GMT360/370/305 series.
If you have the 2002 14mm version, all you can choose from is the Trailblazer, Envoy, and Olds Bravada.
For the 16mm ones, you can add the Isuzu Ascender, Buick Rainier, and Saab 9-7X, and I think the same evil GM design team designed the suspension for the Chevrolet SSR, but I never checked part numbers for those tie rod ends.
OK... You guys hit me with a new term and acronym I'm not 100% hip on.
I'm guessing General Motors Truck Series.... how do you ID 360 series or does someone have a list?
And for Roadie.... In the past, my eldest high schooler side swiped a car, hooked the tires and bent his tie rod. It was a junker 93 olds achieva and a new tie rod was more expensive than the damn car. For $5, I pulled a junker tie rod, had Schwabs do an alignment for $40... done.
My logic was to do the same for the TB tie rod... Is my logic flawed??
Your logic is fine on the tie rod end, as long as you get it from a low mileage truck. Seems silly to get a $5 part and align it for $75 (today's price near me) when you don't know how much life is left in the part.
verry good wright up on this. i need to do mine soon but $ is a problem with me right now. i have the part but cant do it do to needing an alighnment after words. so i have to wait.
Thanks for the great write up, and additional tips! This was my first time ever replacing anything suspension related. Was quoted $245/side ($490 for both sides) for the parts and labor on our 2003 TB LT. My wife was quoted this tonight when she was denied an alignment because of the tie rod having so much play. I decided at 6pm on a Sunday night to do it myself. It cost me $85 total with the great Advanced Auto coupons. Took my dad and I about an hour labor to complete both sides, taking our time. I'll get it aligned tomorrow.
:thx This thread was very helpful. I just replaced mine with the MOOG parts and thanks to this it went perfect. I didn't have to use my puller, a slight tap (with a nice sledge) on the head of the tie rod and it popped right out. Only issue I had was that even though I measured the threads and made sure they matched, the MOOG ends are longer, and my alignment was WAY off after install... :hissy: so I did an old school eyeball alignment to hold me over until I can get it set right after the weekend. Thanks again for the great post!!!
I had my TB in for a free tire rotation @ Sears today, and they called me out to the shop to see that when the guy grabbed the tire @ 3 and 9 o'clock the tire had some play. He said the tie rod was bad, and quoted me a price of $250 to replace the tie rod and do an allignment. I figure I can do the tie rod myself thanks to this thread, but I don't feel anything in the steering and the truck drives straight and there is hardly any slop in the wheel. When should I consider replacing?
When you have sufficient tire wear from the wandering alignment that a worn tie rod ends gives you. If you don't feel it in the steering, it may not be a severe problem yet, but you didn't share your mileage or tire age or time since last alignment so it's hard to give high-quality advice.
The truck has 62,000 miles on it, I haven't had it alligned, but I've only owned it since 33,000. Tires were brand new in January and have >10,000 on them. Thanks for the tips.
This would have been an excellent post in one of our many threads discussing CV shaft issues, but I have to say in a thread about tie rods, it's a bit of a miss. Did you mean to post here?
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