Tie rod/Track rod/Drop Link Help

Post by **Gayno** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 7:20 pm

wurlycorner wrote:What did the new gaitor come with in the kit?

I don't have a new gaitor, just new track rod and tie rods. Was going to reuse the gaitor as they're in relatively good condition.

Post by **Gayno** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 7:20 pm

@94-si-vtec-jdm

Thanks bud!

Would the remaining part of the bolt not knock out with a hammer?

Post by **94-si-vtec-jdm** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 7:28 pm

There's a lip on the bolt shaft to hold the rubber on and, because I didn't fancy sticking my head over the grinder whilst cutting it, it was easier to cut the bolt through the rubber than close to the anti-roll bar whilst the drop-link is still attached. Once you've cut through it and removed the drop-link it's easier to see where your cutting and therefore remove the rest of the bolt without chopping into anti-roll bar too much.

Bludge · Post by **Bludge** » Thu Feb 06, 2014 7:33 am

a cable tie will be fine, most gaiter kits will come with cable ties rather then metal clips. i guess you cold use a jubilee clip if you wanted something a bit more robust?

as for the ball joint, i cant remember which way up they are on the lude, but the jack is good advice. you need to put pressure on the back of the joint to push the cone into the hole to stop the thread spinning. on my mondeo, the back of the joint is facing upwards, so it was a case of getting a breaker bar to lever the joint downwards.

as for the droplinks, lots of swearing tends to help!

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Thu Feb 06, 2014 8:15 am

Yes a jack on the ball joint should do the trick but do it up tight again to reseat it properly before trying to undo it again. The allen key type drop links are a pita what happens is when they are tight the wall of the bolt spreads outwards as the allen key trys to turn in the hole and then the bolt is wider on the end and therefore the nut wont run up it. You may be able to get a mole grips on it at the back where the gaitor is or just cut it off. If you have 1 end off you should be able to twist the tie rod off the ball joint to expose more to get a grip on. You could reuse the metal clip on the gaitor if you have the tool that pulls it tight around the gator ( a pliers or similar wont pull it tight enough ) but as said a cable tie is absolutely fine for this.

Post by **Gayno** » Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:49 pm

Thanks guys,

How will using a jack work though? The track rods enter from top down, so by using a jack I'm just going to push the rod slightly further out, which is the opposite of what we want (get the rod tight so it doesn't turn) or am I missing something?

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Fri Feb 07, 2014 11:46 pm

block of wood or something up under the inner wing and jack it downwards to put pressure onto the cone to reseat it and then like i said tighten it first before you try to undo it again.

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:53 pm

Been thinking about this and the idea about using cable ties might have some legs as well, if the other suggestions don't work?
Must be some way of cable tying the track rod down to the knuckle?

Post by **Gayno** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:39 pm

No bother, we've got it all done now!

Nothing a hacksaw and angle grinder couldn't fix

Stopped short of doing the inner tie rods though as drivers side gaitor was a bitch to get at being above the power steering piping. I'll have Rich at PAW do those when I take it down for geometry setup next month.

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:41 pm

Arr, drivers side is a right bitch. Pass side is piece of body lemonade...

Thought you said you wanted to reuse the arms?