EDIT: Need more help Stupid question..

[LaRue Medlin]

can I change my tie rod ends without jacking up the van? or would it just make it easier to do jacked up? I have all kinds of room underneath.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

You do not need to jack it up to do the job...

 

[LaRue Medlin]

Thanks Kevin

 

[Kevin Palmer]

The key is room, and,, you said you have plenty so you are good to go.

 

[Richard L]

Often times the tie rod removal clearance problem is around the wheel/tire. So to get around that, you will often have to remove the wheel/tire and that requires you to jack up the vehicle. The only way to know is to crawl under the van and look.



...Rich

 

[LaRue Medlin]

Richard, I can drive it on ramps if I need the extra room. BUT now I have another problem. How do I change the tie rod on this?? see pic... It's not the same as all the videos I have seen... Help...............



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Loosen the bolt on the sleeve, remove the cotter key that passes through the nut of the tie-rod (if you can), if not, simply thread right over it, use either a fork or hit the cast iron on the spindle with a good size ball-peen hammer and get the tie-rod end out of the spindle. (By hitting the spindle where the stud passes through it will pop the tie-rod end out of the spindle).



Lube up the sleeve well and the tie rod MIGHT turn out, if not, you will need to heat the sleeve up. You will want to make an accurate measurement from something that isn't going to move, (like the end of the sleeve) to the center of the stud while it is still in the spindle. Re-install the new one to the same measurement as the original and you wont need a front end alignment.



Is that clear enough or are you still confused?

 

[LaRue Medlin]

so basicly this is just a BIG jam nut.... kinda



but yes, I see what you are saying... now let's see how good I can screw this up on Sat.:smack:

 

[Kevin Palmer]

You only need to loosen the one end of the sleeve. This will keep things lined up correctly.



If you MUST change the sleeve, then make sure you measure from the stud to something further down the line as the sleeve will be moving..



On a side note, if you don't have a torch if you need it, I have taken a chisel and put it into the gap of the sleeve to get it to relax (expand) off of the threads of the tie rod.

 

[LaRue Medlin]

:supercool::supercool: