The mechanic who did my state inspection (required in MO) told me the left front outer tie rod end on my car (1990 323, manual tranny) needs to be replaced. Is this a job I can easily do myself? My skill level is not great but not terrible; I've replaced struts, alternator, radiator, coolant temp. sensor, stuff like that over the years, but never a tie rod end. I've got a Haynes manual and the 323 shop manual that I haven't had time to check yet. Whaddya y'all think? Can/should I do this repair myself?

 

Yes, it's an easy repair, just make sure to get it professionally aligned after you install the tie-rod end.

FYI...If you're replacing one, the other won't be far behind. Do yourself a favor and replace both sides at the same time and get 1 alignment done.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I got the parts tonight and hope to git 'er done over the weekend.

 

dude you are well suited to do this on your own.just make sure you have the tools is all. this is really not a hard job at all.
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Well, it turns out I couldn't do the job myself after all. Dawidy123, you're right that it's simple, but it's not easy, at least not when the tie-rod end is 17 years old and REALLY stuck on there. The jam nut came loose fine, the crown nut came off fine, the tie-rod stud came out fine, but the actual tie-rod end just...would...not...budge. I grunted, I groaned, I sprayed enough penetrating oil on that thing to create my own Superfund toxic-waste site. I tried every sort of angle with my wrenches to get maximum leverage. But in the end, I just couldn't move it. After three hours or so, I gave up. This morning I took it to the shop that did the inspection, and they fixed it. They had what I didn't: a lift, so they could get under the car easily (I just have jack stands), and a torch to heat that sucker up good (all I had was a butane lighter! ). Oh, well, at least I tried. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

 

OK, just out of curiosity: How the blankety-blank do you remove the tie-rod end? I know it's supposed to screw on and off, but what tools do you use to get enough leverage to do so? I've got a decent set of wrenches of the proper sizes, but I CANNOT BUDGE the tie-rod end. After failing on the driver's-side repair, I decided to try the other side myself. The guy at the shop told me to use a torch to heat the part, and I did, but it didn't help. Even with two people working on it, and with a pipe over the wrench to increase leverage, the tie-rod end wouldn't come off. I found it really hard to know where and how to place the wrenches to actually get a good "run" at it. Anyone got any tricks or tips? Would love to hear how someone did it who actually succeeded.[sm=dontgetit.gif]