bob78cvcc

Hello, I have an 08 CRV-LX AWD with approx 155K.
Firestone couldn't bring my front right tire alignment into spec.
They said the inner tie rod was bad.

I do not have a shop manual for the V and would like to know the steps involved in replacing the inner tie rod.

Can some one provide a how to and degree of difficulty and if any special tools are required? Thanks

LDForget

changing an inner tie rod is pretty universal. jack up vehicle, remove tire, remove outter tie rod from knuckle and from inner tie rod. remove boot from inner tie rod, move the steering wheel so that you can get to the bent washer on the inside of the inner tie rod, bend the washer out so its off the inner tie rod, use a inner tie rod tool or (my preferance) a pipe wrench on the inner tie rod to get it loose, screw it off the rest of the way, screw on new tie rod, tighten it a bit with the pipe wrench, stick the washer on and bend it over, put the boot back on, stick the outer on, put the outer back on the knuckle, stick the wheel back on. have a beer.

Book1483

You should check with them if the inner is loose or is it just seized to the outer. If it's loose, you should replace it but most cases you can still get it to specs. If it's seized to the outer than you can't make adjustments, in this case you could just pull the outer and cleaned the threads and apply anti seize to the threads.

bob78cvcc

Turns out it was a lazy (I'll be kind) mechanic who claimed it needed replacement w/o trying to actually do the alignment.
Took it back to Firestone and they aligned it into spec.
Makes it very hard to trust anyone these days.

LDForget

I doubt he was lazy. he probably genuinely thought it needed a inner tie rod and didnt have the skills to do it properly. Why would he send you away with no bill when he could have charged you the 80$ or whatever to do the alignment?

bob78cvcc

Here's the story in a nutshell.
I have a Firestone lifetime alignment service on my vehicle.
I took the V in for a balance, rotation & alignment on a Saturday.
Normal procedure is for the mechanic check the alignment to determine if it needs to be done.
This was not done unknown to me at the time.

The reason the inner tie rod was not changed on Saturday is they did not have the part and could not get the part before Monday.
I ordered the part through Honda on Saturday taking the mechanics word that it was "bad".
I picked up the part from Honda on Thursday, took it over to my mechanic friend to do the work.
He told me the jamb nuts were never moved, the inner and outer tie rods were fine.
He was able to freely turn the jamb nuts. Long story short, this confirmed the Firestone mechanic did not touch the jamb nuts and never bothered to check the alignment.
Therefore, he was either "lazy" or "dishonest".
I took the car back to Firestone, reported what my mechanic friend told me and asked them to perform the alignment. Needless to say, the alignment was performed and properly set.

Now, if they had the part on Saturday, I would've been out the cost of the part and the labor to install the part. Your call, lazy or dishonest?

LDForget

thats pretty fucked up, i guess he was just being lazy. most of the time that isnt the story though. honda wont let you return the part?

bob78cvcc

I pretty much told Firestone that I bought this part because you said the part was bad.
They reimbursed me for the part and hopefully, they'll actually have a V that needs an inner tie rod show up.

LDForget

lucky you. good job.