How hard is it to replace the left front outer tie-rod end?

Youtube makes it look easy. Anything different between a 2003 6.0L 4x4 versus the saturns and toyotas that are in all the youtube videos

Thanks!

 

I have done it on alot of or rides But not the 6.0

It cant be that bad though
I just looked at this the other day and Be Greatful its not the passenger side

Driverside peice of cake

What I usually do is count the threads that show B4 I Losen anything also take a white marker and mark the Tie rod & Tie rod end location and also compare the new part vs old part length mainly and also count the turns coming off

Your best bet if your trying to avoid an alignment is get an OEM Part so there Identical in size(length)

But No worries if you get something Diffrent I have aligned a few cars without a machine it can be done theres only a couple things that canbe adjusted anyways no worries

Your going to need a tie rod separater to or I guess you could undo the castle nut and give it a Hammer smack

 

The thing thats diffrent than those passenger cars vs the 6.0 is the passenger cars have separate adjustment for each side the 6.0 does not

I mean it does its just alittle more complicated to align this 6.0 the way its set up

Passenger car either tire can be adjusted separately depending what tire is knocked out
On a 6.0 if the passenger tire is out of alignment you have to mess with both

I use a tapemeasure and measure off the frame then 1-2 more adjustments after a ride depending what way she pulls

 

Thanks Blade,

 

You may need to use a torch to heat it up to get broke free. I tried to do mine on my 05 but could not get it to break free. I had to take it to tire discounters and let them do it.

 

bigger hammer.

 

Yes you need a tie rod separater this one usually trashes the Boot oreilys has them 15.00 IIRC make shure you get the longer one you will have more leverage you may need a BFH to drive the separater in there but it wwill come


or a Pitman arm separater this one will save the Boot as long as you dont tighten it with the boot pinched in there I got it at Oreilys worked Perfict for tie rods on a 6.0 Iv taken them apart just not had to replace one on a 6.0

By design there cone shape the tigher you tourque the castle nut the tighter it wedges in there so make SHURE you have rthe cotter pin pointed how you want before you even start tightening thigs up

I did one last week and couldnt get the castle nut off it broke inside and just spin at that point you just take a sawzall and cut it apart if your replacing it dont worrey about it just drive the tie rod separater between the steering knuckle and tie rod

If you want to reuse it the pitman arm separater works great so you dont jack the Boot up


The whole thing about working on steering stuff you must have some Specilty tools to get it apart but there not bad in price for a tie rod tools its just the bigger Jaw pullers that can get up there you wont need anything like that for a tie rod end


If you get stuck PM me I have done alot of front end steering stuff for a Shade Tree/hobbiest

 

Heres the tie rod separater










heres the pitman arm separater



They probably have a fewsizes

I beleive this one is the same one I used to get the tie rod out of the steering knucle it works great

 

Thanks for your help Benny. Reps sent.

I may tackle this on Sunday.

 

Whats the matter with it Boot Torn or does it have Play in it??

BTW that little pitman arm separater is the Easyiest one Popped tie rods right out on my truck when I did the BJoints

 

I had my state inspection this week and the truck failed for parking brake pivots frozen, right front lower ball joint, right front upper ball joint and outer tie rod end.

The parking brake gets used so very rarely that it always seemed ok. I'm going to see what I can spray in there this weekend to loosen stuff up so maybe it'll pass and then I can work on it this spring/summer when its a little warmer out.

I hadn't really noticed anything wrong with the front end or steering, and I keep the ball joints greased so that was news to me. I'm first to admit I don't know much about the steering and front end components so that'll be where I spend my time next. Luckily the MOOG bj's I bought come with lifetime warranty and the shop I go to doesn't charge part or labor to replace them.

I'm guessing that tie rod end must have play in it for it to have failed. I'm going to look at it this evening. I've watched a few videos of it done on youtube, but they've all been on small cars and they literally take minutes to do. 'If it can go wrong it will go wrong' seems to haunt me sometimes and my biggest fear is I'll start this and there'll be a different set up, or a stuck part, or a broken part and I'll be left with a truck I can't drive and then I'm screwed.

I know my signature says if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, the thing with me is I don't always get there on the first try The other thing I should add to my signature is "Murphy's Law is Real".

 

The thing with the Little cars is they usually have a Jamb Nut on the tie Rod so you just unscrew tie rod end and screw the new one on and its good to go or right on. The one I did a week ago wasnt OEM so it was alittle diffrent in length so I got it close and after a couple test rides And adjustments I had it aligned. Usually on the little cars once you get it adjusted to where the steering wheel is pointeed straight (Not Cocked) again its back in alignment.

Another thing I do is take a tape measure and pick a couple points and measure the distance. anything you can do to get it close to where it was will help 1/4 inch is ALOT out when it comes to alignment.

And as many times at its been apart for BJ I dont think it will be stuck to the steering knuckle to Bad this will be the easy part with that screw type puller
I was looking today and thought maybe a Pipe wrench to unscrew the tie rod end from the Tie Rod Hopefulley it wont spin the whole thing at that adjustment peice Might have to Hold the adjustment peice and unscrew the tie rod.

But honestly it shouldnt be bad at all

Might be a Good Idea to start soaking the threads in BP Blaster on the tie rod where they screw together

some of this front end stuff can be Seized together GOOD but I dont think you will have a problem all the times its been apart.