Inner Tie Rod Removal and Installation

Thought I'd add my experience here:

I replaced my steering rack 16 months (19,000 miles) ago with a used rack. One of the OTR's was seized to the ITR's so I replaced it with a non-OEM Beck Arnley ITR.

Fast forward to today, I've noticed some steering slop lately so I inspected the tie rods and rack. The OEM rack and ITR of unknown age and mileage are going strong, whereas the newly replaced Beck Arnley ITR is completely shot with a ton of in and out play. It really goes to show the quality difference between OEM and some of the parts store garbage. I called the parts store stating that 19,000 miles is not an acceptable lifespan for an ITR and he tried to tell me that that is perfectly acceptable...

Does anyone have any recommendations for ITR's besides OEM? Up here in Canada, the dealer prices for OEM parts are astronomically f*cked. By that, I mean the price for a single ITR off a Canadian Toyota "discount" site is $228. At the dealer, Im willing to bet its $300 or more.
 
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Thought I'd add my experience here:



I replaced my steering rack 16 months (19,000 miles) ago with a used rack. One of the OTR's was seized to the ITR's so I replaced it with a non-OEM Beck Arnley ITR.



Fast forward to today, I've noticed some steering slop lately so I inspected the tie rods and rack. The OEM rack and ITR of unknown age and mileage are going strong, whereas the newly replaced Beck Arnley ITR is completely shot with a ton of in and out play. It really goes to show the quality difference between OEM and some of the parts store garbage. I called the parts store stating that 19,000 miles is not an acceptable lifespan for an ITR and he tried to tell me that that is perfectly acceptable...



Does anyone have any recommendations for ITR's besides OEM? Up here in Canada, the dealer prices for OEM parts are through the roof.



Check out rock auto
I got the economy tie rods $7 each
Can't remember the name but mood makes them.
Going strong
A lot of different options on there though.
 
Check out rock auto
I got the economy tie rods $7 each
Can't remember the name but mood makes them.
Going strong
A lot of different options on there though.

I'll check that out. Are you talking the inner or outer tie rods though? The outers are often much cheaper
 
$7 ????? Even if that is an OTRE, that is dirt cheap. Moog quality is dubious at best.



I am a very firm believer in you get what you pay for. I always tell all my customers to buy OE or moog.
But one of my co workers does rally cross and he beats the hell out of his car and he is the one who turned me on to rock auto. He runs the economy version of the tie rods they sell on there and loves them.
The site breaks things up economy-premium.
Just check it out
Worst case you make a $20 mistake
Worth a shot if you ask me.
I did it and am more than happy.
I paid $32 total for both inner tie rods. Just looked at my receipt.
 
If the rod end is drenched in grease, could that indicate the need to change inner tie rod?

If you're talking about he OTRE being wet with grease, then no. The ITRE is covered with a protective boot. It's clamped on both ends. Check your boot and make sure it's not wet.
 
If you're talking about he OTRE being wet with grease, then no. The ITRE is covered with a protective boot. It's clamped on both ends. Check your boot and make sure it's not wet.

Thank you for the advice, I'll do that and see what I can make of it. It is the OTRE that is wet.
 
FYI - if you plan on replacing OTREs on a Saturday afternoon, make sure you have new jam nuts from Toyota (90170-20003) before you take everything apart. I spent 6 fruitless hours this afternoon trying to find these, and ended up calling a dealership in California (I'm in Kentucky and everything was closed) just to confirm that these are indeed a separate part number from the TREs.

I found out that Moog ITREs come with the jam nuts, so I'm going to have to do ITREs tomorrow just so I can obtain these ****ing unobtanium jam nuts and get my vehicle back together before Monday.

All I wanted to do was LBJs but NOOOOOOOOO....

:frusty:




:beer:
 
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FYI - if you plan on replacing OTREs on a Saturday afternoon, make sure you have new jam nuts from Toyota (90170-20003) before you take everything apart. I spent 6 fruitless hours this afternoon trying to find these, and ended up calling a dealership in California (I'm in Kentucky and everything was closed) just to confirm that these are indeed a separate part number from the TREs.

I found out that Moog ITREs come with the jam nuts, so I'm going to have to do ITREs tomorrow just so I can obtain these ****ing unobtanium jam nuts and get my vehicle back together before Monday.

All I wanted to do was LBJs but NOOOOOOOOO....

:frusty:




:beer:
uh, why not just reuse the old ones? they aren't a wear item. there is no issue reusing them.
 
uh, why not just reuse the old ones? they aren't a wear item. there is no issue reusing them.

Because they'd fused themselves to the old TREs. I tried everything I could to get them apart but man, neither one would budge. I actually couldn't get the right side OTRE out of the ITRE so I just took the ITRE off. I had to cut the OTRE in half to get the steering rack boot off the old parts haha.

It's got 185k miles on it and I think those were the factory parts.
 
Moog Outer Tie Rod Torque Issue?

How much torque should I put on Moog outer tie rod? FSM says 67 but when I reach 67 on these, the Castle nut is way down on screw threads and cotter pin is way up. Making cotter pin kind of useless. Also at 67 tie rod looks over pressed.!!!

OP mentioned 53 ft lbs!!!

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
 
I recently did this job for [MENTION=175921]TonyB66[/MENTION] and found that special tools or altered tools were needed to do this job properly. The OP did a good job explaining how to perform this repair but missed one important thing. He did not show supporting the steering shaft when removing the old inner tie rod and installing the new one. The FSM instructs to hold the shaft with a wrench while you use a SST to remove the old inner tie rod and install the new inner tie rod. Because Toyota offers a wrench connection on the end of the shaft, it's obvious you're suppose to support the shaft so you're not transferring all that force to the shaft for the removal and reinstallation.

Here's the video [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION], [MENTION=175921]TonyB66[/MENTION] and I made for this job. Enjoy the Show!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/--HcOQlv03U" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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I just purchased my first 4Runner (2001 Limited 4x4) and there is some play in the inner tie rods so I think I'm going to replace those while I'm doing the LBJs and I'm thinking I might as well do the outer tie rods as well. I will be buying OEM for the LBJs, but I'm looking for opinions on whether or not I will need to buy OEM for the inner and outer tie rods. There are a lot of no-name manufacturers for these parts, but one name I have seen good feedback on is Moog. Any help/suggestions for these parts would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Easy as pie.
Lift and support 4runner on jack stands.
IMG_0136.jpg~original


Remove wheel and turn hub so it's facing away from you.
IMG_0137.jpg~original


You may need to spray some PB Blaster on the outer tie rod nut - here
IMG_0138.jpg~original


and on the jam nut on the outside of the boot, here... just to loosen them up.
IMG_0139.jpg~original


After removing the cotter pin and nut (19mm), install tie rod puller and release the bolt from the knuckle like so
IMG_0141.jpg~original


IMG_0142.jpg~original


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).
IMG_0143.jpg~original


Use two wrenches to break the tie rod free.
IMG_0144.jpg~original


Unwind.
IMG_0145.jpg~original

IMG_0146.jpg~original


Remove the clamp on the end of the boot
IMG_0147.jpg~original

IMG_0148.jpg~original


Remove the clamp on the inside end of the boot. You'll need a pair of pliers.
IMG_0149.jpg~original

IMG_0150.jpg~original


Remove the boot by pulling it towards you.

Check out the old inner tie rob end. Nasty.
IMG_0151.jpg~original

IMG_0135.jpg~original

IMG_0132.jpg~original

Why are all these photos blurry? Can't really see the tutorial as a result.
 

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