Inner Tie Rod Removal and Installation

[spongerx]

Easy as pie.
Lift and support 4runner on jack stands.

Remove wheel and turn hub so it's facing away from you.

You may need to spray some PB Blaster on the outer tie rod nut - here

and on the jam nut on the outside of the boot, here... just to loosen them up.

After removing the cotter pin and nut (19mm), install tie rod puller and release the bolt from the knuckle like so

Next, paint some white out on the threads outside of the boot. This will help you adjust the new outer tie rod end to proper length (or close enough for now).

Use two wrenches to break the tie rod free.

Unwind.

Remove the clamp on the end of the boot

Remove the clamp on the inside end of the boot. You'll need a pair of pliers.

Remove the boot by pulling it towards you.

Check out the old inner tie rob end. Nasty.

 

[spongerx]

Notice how there is a washer on the inner side of the tie rob end? The sides are bent

Remove the old inner tie rod. I used a pipe wrench.

The new one from Napa.

Install washer

Install tie rod end. I turned it until the steering gear shaft began to move.

I used the round end of a hummer to bend two sides of the washer down.

Reinstall boot. Use a new clamp. Also reinstall the old smaller clamp.

Reinstall old tie rod end or get some new ones (I'm waiting on the parts).

Torque the nut down to 53 foot pounds and reinstall the cotter pin.

You might as well do the ball joints at the same time. Now, head down to the alignment shop. :biggrin2:

 

[Kung]

EXCELLENT write up - I'm just about to do the whole LBJ/OTRE replacement thing, and this provided some pictures that cleared some things up for me. Thanks a ton.

 

[Stick Figure]

FWIW if you want to buy the wrenches needed for this the inner to outer connection is 27mm and 28mm, the inside joint to rack is 30mm and 42mm.

Good write up though. Shows that the inner tie rods aren't near as difficult on this as other vehicles can be.

 

[Sherwood4Runner]

Fantastic write up!! I need to undertake my Inner Tie Rods soon!

 

[LittleCaesar]

Why don't ya go ahead and do the OTREs at the same time? Or do ya have lifetime alignment on the tires. My inner TREs didn't look too much better than yours.

Kudos for taking the time to post.

Is that a dead roach in the background of one of those shots? When I went to college in SC, roaches were called Palmetto Bugs and students used to have races for them.

 

[spongerx]

Why don't ya go ahead and do the OTREs at the same time?

I'm waiting on the parts.

 

[ryankmasuda]

Very useful, I have this on my to-do list in the next couple weeks.

 

[madbomber08]

How do you know for sure your ITREs have gone bad? I recently changed out by balljoints and OTREs with Tacoma ones, but both ITREs had virtually no play and just barely held themselves up. Is there another way to tell if they're bad other then excessive play?

 

[maxspeed96ct]

great write up, I think thats whats making the noise on my truck . I did the outers just 6 months ago , should of done the inner .

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Excellent write-up spongerx! You posted this at the perfect time, considering I've got my '97 in the garage waiting to have this work done.

As others have said, the pictures were very helpful and are much more detailed than any of the other threads/write-ups out there right now... believe me, I spent hours searching for info the other night.

:nicethread:

 

[spongerx]

How do you know for sure your ITREs have gone bad? I recently changed out by balljoints and OTREs with Tacoma ones, but both ITREs had virtually no play and just barely held themselves up. Is there another way to tell if they're bad other then excessive play?

I don't know what to look for to see if they've gone bad. Someone else will have to chime in here. I went to the alignment shop after I did my ball joints and they told me the left inner was wasted. So I did them both. After 177k miles I would chalk it up to regular maintenance.

Thanks very much for all the positive feedback guys. Glad I can help others out. I've gotten heaps of help from you all over the years. :hatsoff:

 

[Qyota]

Awesome! I should be changing out everything soon - new rack, OTREs, and LBJs. This will be quite helpful!

 

[Rock Slide]

Nice write up. Def will help out in the coming months when I do my install. Thx.

 

[Brutus]

Awesome write-up!!
I'm gettin ready for this exact thing and needed some info...KEWL!

 

[hugo2go]

Great write up bro.

This needs to be sticky'd in the Tutorial Reference area.

 

[jsmithjr732]

Great write up bro.

This needs to be sticky'd in the Tutorial Reference area.

Agreed. Nice job. Just got done doing my ITRs and UBJs/LBJs. Skipped the ITRs thinking they were hard to do. After seeing the write-up, they look easy.

 

[Duhockey]

great write-up! I probably should do that while my Front diff is out.. its just sitting there on jackstands.

so much to do, so little $$$

 

[rjaudi]

Great write-up. There is actually a giant socket made for removing the inner tie rods. I think I paid 45 dollars for it. Mine went bad because the boot got loose at the small clamp and let water in. There was massive amounts of play in the joint. Dealer wanted 500 just to replace the inner tie rod and 700 to do both the inner and outer so it pays to DIY.

 

[spongerx]

:bigok: