Loosen the jam nut between the inner and outer tie rod ends. Once loosened, it you can't spin it by hand, add a little light oil to the threads, (definitely not penetrating oil), and work it in until that nut is fairly easy to turn. That is just to make the rest of the job a little easier.
Use a large pair of pliers to rotate the inner tie rod to unscrew it from the outer tie rod. It's typical to take around 28 turns to fully separate the two. The actual number of turns is not important, but if you mark them with a colored crayon, you'll get it closer when you put them back together. Most steering gears are behind the front wheels, so as you unscrew the parts, that wheel is going to turn toward the center of the car. It may be necessary to turn the steering wheel if you need to get more travel on that wheel.
Once separated, unscrew the jam nut. This also should have the number of turns counted so it can be put back to the same spot. If the old boot wasn't already pulled off, it can be now. The clamp on the small end is usually a small spring clamp. Squeeze the tabs on the ends with a fat pair of pliers to expand it, then slide it off. Original inner bands are often wrapped around, snapped together, then a crimp is squeezed with a special pair of pliers made for that purpose. It's used on CV joint boot clamps too. I use that tool to bend the crimp back and forth which forces it to stretch out, then the end can be unhooked. You can do the same thing with a large wire cutter, aka "side cutter". If you squeeze that pliers really hard, you'll tighten that crimp even more. The trick is to grab it gently and twist it back and forth which will open it up.
Every once in a while you'll run into a band that was pressed on the rack and pinion assembly or a CV joint, that has no snapped-together joint and nothing that can be expanded. Those have to be cut off with an air-powered cutoff tool. Regardless, now the old boot can be slid off. Slide the new one on. Expect to see a very small-diameter metal tube that plugs into a matching molded part of the boot. That's for air to transfer from side to side as you turn and one boot collapses and the other one expands. No hose clamp there, but be sure that tube gets plugged in.
A lot of replacement boots come with a nylon tie strap for the large end. Those are more for competent do-it-yourselfer car owners. It will do the job, but given the choice, I prefer to reuse the old metal band. Two people, each with a pair of pliers, can tug on the band to stretch out the crimp. Don't overdo it. The ideal goal is to open it to give nice 90 degree corners so the side cutter has something to grab onto. If you open that crimp too far, the pliers will just slip off. If you're prone to swear words, this will be the time they show up.
That band has to thread under the small metal tube, then you snap the ends together. I find it takes less time to take a few minutes to bend it nice and round with no kinks or twists, and snap it together and slide it onto the boot first, then slide the boot onto the rack. Use the side cutter to squeeze that crimp to tighten the band. No need to get carried away. There's very little chance you'll cut the band, as it's too thick, but over tightening it can bend those two little tabs that snap the ends together, then it will pop open, and there come those swear words again. I'm a relatively little pipsqueak, but I can squeeze the pliers tight enough with one hand to get the job done.
The small end of the boot has a lip inside that sits in a groove machined into the inner tie rod end. Make sure that's where it gets positioned. Slide the small ring clamp on, squeeze it to expand it, and slide it onto the small end of the boot. Thread the jam nut back on the number of turns you counted when you took it off. Now, one of the harder parts of the job is to reconnect the two tie rod ends. You'll need to turn the inner one with a pair of pliers, but watch that they're lined up. It's very easy to get them cross-threaded. The next problem is by the time you know they're going together properly, you've already gone two or three turns. This is why the jam nut makes a better gauge. This threaded connection actually is the last of the adjustments made during an alignment. A quarter turn on the inner tie rod end makes a significant change to the number on the alignment computer's screen, so it's easy to see two or three too few or too many turns will by unacceptable.
Snug the jam nut, then head to the alignment shop. If there's no pulling to one side and good tire wear patterns, all that's needed is to set "toe" on each front wheel. Some shops offer a less-expensive alignment when they don't have to struggle with the more difficult adjustments.
Here's a trick you might also find useful. The assumptions are there are no loose or worn steering or suspension parts, and right now when you drive on a straight road, the steering wheel is perfectly straight. If either of those are not true, this trick has no value. Start with a straight steering wheel, do the boot service, then go out and drive the car. If the steering wheel is still straight, you have the tie rod ends adjusted very close to correct. If you got them off by a turn or two or three, that wheel will be steering to one side. You have to counteract that by turning the steering wheel the other way to make the car go straight. Another way to look at it is if the steering wheel is turned to the left now, the car is supposed to be going to the left. You need to go back to the tie rod ends, loosen the jam nut, then rotate the inner tie rod to shorten or lengthen it to turn that wheel that way. When you get close, the steering wheel will come back to centered.
This trick works when replacing a tie rod end too except that is usually done because it is worn and sloppy. If nothing else happened or changed in the last 10,000 miles or so, it's safe to assume a correct adjustment with the new part will bring the steering wheel back to centered.
Be aware too, often we need to replace both outer tie rod ends at the same time. If you use my trick, it only works when just one is replaced at a time. Change the one, test-drive the car and make adjustments until the steering wheel is straight, then replace the other one and do the same thing. If both are replaced at the same time, there is absolutely no way to know where to set them. Both adjustments could be off a little or by a real lot, but if the error is equal on both sides, the steering wheel will still be straight. You will have bad tire wear but that takes a lot of miles to show up. You can also end up with miserable handling, especially if you have excessive "toe out", meaning both wheels are steering away from the center of the car. It will be much too sensitive to cross winds. It will be very tiring to drive due to the need for constant steering correction.
For my final two comments of value, do not use penetrating oil on the threads. That's not a lubricant. It will open the way up for moisture to follow it in, then the parts will rust together so tightly, an acetylene torch will be needed to free them up.
Second, do not drive the car with the jam nut loose, even for a short distance. There's enough normal slop in the threads to allow them to bang back and forth. That hammering action will wear or deform the threads and can lead to them separating. You don't have to grunt on the wrench. Hand tight is sufficient. There always is a torque spec for those nuts, but the alignment specialist will go by feel. He has the experience to know what is tight enough.
Let me know how this turns out.
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Friday, August 18th, 2023 AT 8:56 PM
