Track Rod End - DIY replacement?

[Royalratch]

I've asked 3 questions in my first week but this place is the business and I don't want to pay anyone if it's quick and dirty.

TRACK ROD END! Is it easy to replace yourself? My drivers side is siezed. Should I replace both?

Many thanks!

[fuzzy]

do them both yes and they are easy to change and cheap,Ԛ£22 for the full arm at ECP,just remember to measure the lengths then get them properly set up at a garage as soon as possible or you risk killing your tyres very quickly

[oze30]

How do you seperate seized ones? are you better ogff getting the whole arm from ecp and swapping it out from inside the boot?

[fuzzy]

a big set of stilson(sp?) grips will shift them,with a blast of heat for especially stubborn ones.its just as easy to replace the whole arm,just a reverse thread under the rubber boot if i remember rightly as i changed mine 2 months ago.

[Royalratch]

Cool. I'll do the whole arms instead and then head straight over for tracking. No particular torque settings?

[Brianmoooore]

Track rod ends, Fuzzy, not track rods.
First of all remove the nut and bolt and slide the clamp out the way.
Give everything a good wire brushing and plenty of WD40.
In the end of the track rod, under where the clamp was, there is a slot along the length of the rod.
If you are very careful not to damage the thread, and get the angle just right you can open this slot just a little with a blunt screwdriver and a hammer by pushing at the edge of the slot.
Have plenty of WD40 in the slot when you do it, as the idea is to just loosen the rust and suck the WD40 into the threads by capillary action. Done properly, you shouldn't really leave any marks on the metal.
Now you need a decent pair of grips on the arm. There are a couple of flats for a spanner, but they won't be any good for unseizing things.
Get a bit of movement first of all, and keep feeding the slot with WD40, keep turning one way then the other, and eventually it will all come loose.
Ball joint splitter, or cheap fork type will be needed for the joint to the steering arm, and give the thread on the new rod ends a good coating of copper grease before you put it back together.
Tracking willl have to be set up of course.

[Royalratch]

Great stuff - Torque settings?

[Brianmoooore]

37 Nm for the ball joint nut on the steering arm.
You need to invest in a Haynes manual, 1948. It's not the best manual in the world, and has more than one bit of wrong information in it, but it's usefull as a guide, and it's cheap.