Tie rod ends.

rdgt4r

rdgt4r

New member
Just replaced my inner and outer tie rod ends and im at 160k with moderate off roading. It was an easy job for sure. I had a bad shimmy and loose steering and this was the fix for me. Just so you all know.
 
Register to hide this ad
I have my lower ball joints, with plan to get the tie rod ends to fix in the next week or two to tighten everything up. i have already done the steering rack bushings.
 
Pikeman said:
I have my lower ball joints, with plan to get the tie rod ends to fix in the next week or two to tighten everything up. i have already done the steering rack bushings.
Click to expand...


Nice! i need to do the lower B-joints too sometime. Man that steering rack bushings were a real pain in the arse for me, its always those $20 and under projects that really get me saying some nice words. ha
 
For anybody wanting to test the aforementioned things jack up the front wheels and check for play its that easy I promise.
 
I knew my rack bushings were bad when I had a buddy turn the steering wheel back and forth while I got under and watched the rack itself move about an inch in both directions. Then I saw torn boots on my outer TREs and the lower BJs. I just went ahead and did everything, rack bushings, upper and lower BJs, inner and outer TREs, and sway bar bushings. Took me a full day but well worth it, my steering is tight as a duck's ass now!
 
Brian I dont even want to guess how you know how tight a ducks.... but yeah it does make a huge difference.
 
What? No complete write-up with photos? :)

Did you have an alignment done after, or is it not necessary?
 
Okay, I have had my 3rd Gen 4R for about tow years, lately I have had a bad shimmy at highway speeds, and it sounds like the rack bushing might be the problem. How do I go about checking them and then replacing them?

Thanks,

Jim
 
Jimi900 said:
Okay, I have had my 3rd Gen 4R for about tow years, lately I have had a bad shimmy at highway speeds, and it sounds like the rack bushing might be the problem. How do I go about checking them and then replacing them?

Thanks,

Jim
Click to expand...

See if there is play in the rack, it shouldn't really move at all when you're turning the steering wheel back and forth.

An alignment isn't necessary for the rack bushings AFAIK, but it is for the ball joints and tie rods.
 
brian2sun said:
See if there is play in the rack, it shouldn't really move at all when you're turning the steering wheel back and forth.

An alignment isn't necessary for the rack bushings AFAIK, but it is for the ball joints and tie rods.
Click to expand...

Yes brian is right I get an alignment today I took measurements so my tires weren't too far from where i started.

Heres something for the rack bushings, and you can also see movement on the rack from it moving you will see in the link.
Toyota Maintenance: Steering Rack - Bushing Replacement

I didn't do a write up, sorry I just wanted to get it done but I swear its the easy thing ive done yet it just involves a tie rod puller pipe wrench and a couple sockets thats it. took about 30 min or so to do both sides inner and outer TRE's
 
Good job. Ive read before that if youre searching for a highspeed shimmy or balance issue it could be the inner tie rod.
 
Outer is self explanatory I believe. Inner: Once you get the boot off you just bend the tabs off of the inner portion and spin off with a wrench(pipe wrench works). When reinstalling you should torque it enough that you see the rack starting to twist then bend the tabs back over on the new washer. Blue locktite on the threads doesnt hurt.
 
noneckrex said:
back in the day before I had good tools. (which was just last summer) i replaced my lower ball joints. not too bad of a job. however i over tightened the passenger side and stripped the threads. now i have to make sure it is snug every other week. just thought i would throw that in there. im too in experienced i think to try the upper ball joints.
Click to expand...

Uppers are easy as well, given that you can get them off the knuckle. Sometimes they get pretty stuck. Inner and outer tre's are an easy job. They are worth doing if you notice some play in the wheels. Use locktight on that bolt that keeps loosening. Your supposed to lock tight those bolts anyways
 
noneckrex said:
back in the day before I had good tools. (which was just last summer) i replaced my lower ball joints. not too bad of a job. however i over tightened the passenger side and stripped the threads. now i have to make sure it is snug every other week. just thought i would throw that in there. im too in experienced i think to try the upper ball joints.
Click to expand...

You could just get some new bolts. They're about a buck.
 
noneckrex said:
i actually picked up some locktight last night for some other projects in the garage. I plan on doing an oil change this weekend so i will just do that while its in the garage.
its crazy that i never find time to do the simplest fixes.
Click to expand...

Replace any stripped bolts, then use blue Loctite on all of them. It's important that you torque all those bolts to spec also. The integrity of the whole steering and suspension rides on those 8 LBJ bolts. Not something you want to chince out on and re-use stripped/overtightened bolts.
 
Last edited:
rdgt4r said:
For anybody wanting to test the aforementioned things jack up the front wheels and check for play its that easy I promise.
Click to expand...

Bingo- Jack up the front of the rig so the tires are off the ground, and chalk the tires.

Grab the tire at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions: Push and pull and if there is play, then the ball joints need replacing.


Grab the tire at 9 at the o'clock and 3 o'clock positions: Push and pull and if there is play, then the tie rod ends replacing.
 
I hate to resurrect this thread but my truck starts to shake pretty good around 65mph and im tthinking it might be the tie rod ends.

My question is, where did you guys buy your parts? Im looking at the ones that O'Reilly sells and they have some that are $30 each and another brand that is $75 each. Thats a pretty large spread.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 372 (members: 4, guests: 368)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,307
Messages
3,554,051
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top