Changing Track Rod Ends

[sport1901966 8]

As the title says really.

 

As mentioned in my project thread the TRE's are seized in beyond belief - I really can't see me getting them out with anything in my garage.

 

I expect I'm not the first to have this problem so does anyone know - is it easy/cheap to just replace the Track-Rods as well?

 

Thanks guys

[DamirGTI 342]

Tried with a little bit of heat ? … if they're badly seized it'll be easier to undo them if you remove the steering rack out from the car , and then you can work on it on the table , tight securely in a vice apply some heat and with a bit of hammering twisting/turning with big plumbers pliers they'll have to give up ...

 

Damir

[davev 1]

dont take this personally but have you undone the nut on the back first(21/22mm)?

 

if you have and their still solid then you could try heat as damir says. but then again the track rods are quite easy to do, my hardest part was keeping the end stops in place while tightening them back up

[Cameron 16]

What Damir said. I had this problem once and I had to remove the steering rack, grip the steering arm in the vice and bludgeon the crap out of the TRE. Eventually it came free.

[sport1901966 8]

Tried with a little bit of heat ? … if they're badly seized it'll be easier to undo them if you remove the steering rack out from the car , and then you can work on it on the table , tight securely in a vice apply some heat and with a bit of hammering twisting/turning with big plumbers pliers they'll have to give up ...

 

Damir

 

Blowtorched the crap out of it using the technique you describe! The rack is off the car and I took me about an hour to unbolt it by 7 and a bit turns then I got fed up. Also bizarrely they are just getting harder and harder to turn all my 80kgs on the end of a bar or using a hefty hammer just won't seem to move em any more!

[Tom Fenton 1,540]

If you just want it off, cut the joint part off so you can get access to the inside of the threaded boss. You can then get some penetrating gear in there and hopefully make it easier to get off. Copper grease the threads up for Angleterre before you fit the new ones!

[sport1901966 8]

Thanks Tom I'll give that a go!

 

Copper grease the threads up for Angleterre before you fit the new ones!

 

That I most certainly will!

[lagonda 42]

Just done this job on mine.

 

FIRST! If only the so-called professionals put grease on the threads when assembling, we wouldn't all have this trouble! Grrrrr!

 

I tried 18" stilsons first....shifted one of them. The offside one wouldn't move, despite putting so much effort in much more might have broken the ball joint pin. Left it with freeing oil on for a day (having unscrewed lock nut well out of the way). Then it actually undid fairly easily.

 

BUT! When screwed ball joint back in, it started to seize..undid it & there was a coating of rust powder sticking to the grease....so....hoover out the inside of the track rod before you screw TRE back in.