Bad_dude

Hello guys,
I had my alignment done a little less than a year ago. I am pretty sure the technician saw that my tie rod end boot were both broken. I have some questions on this:

1) Can I change it easily? Other than taken the tire off, must I have to use some kind of tool to support the tie rod up to change the boot? It looks like a cotter pin and the nut, possibly 10mm remove to change the boot.

2) Must I redo the alignment after the boot change? Is there prevention I must take to avoid realignment?

3) It's looks like the grease is almost out, could I just relube it and go without changing it?

4) Should I just change the whole tie rod end? Doing this would require realignment right?

5) The inner tie rod boots seem intact, what are the chances of the inner rods being bad?

Thanks,

PS: This has nothing to do with the tie rod but my passenger's side CV Boot is cracked but not broken as no griese is shooting out. What can I do to help preserve it as long as possible.

Bad_dude

No one has experience with tie rods?
Thanks.

TouringAccord

1. It isn't much to remove and replace. no special tool required beside a tie rod end puller to pop the tie rod end free from the knuckle.

2. if you are only replacing the boot, no alignment is needed.

3. as long as it didn't get dirty inside you can try cleaning it and re-lubing it.

4. it's your call... if you feel it's possible that dirt may have gotten into the boot from it being torn then it's probably best to replace the tie rod end.

5. dont see why a torn outer boot would give cause to think the inner boot may have been damaged in any way.

Bad_dude

Thanks for the response TouringAccord. I was told to test the rod by its free play. However, I don't know what exactly to test for the free play. I know I need to jack the front end up and turn or jerk the front tire to see if it's loosely on, is that right? Now if the rod is bad or going out soon, would I notice any signs in the steering?
Thanks,

Bad_dude

ok. After worrying about it a bit. I jacked my driver's side up and the boot was indeed broke from the lining around it. I can still see the little grease inside it but it's just the remnants of the old grease. I sprayed some lithium grease from the can into the surround lining crack and used electrical tape to seal it for the time being until I can get it repair.
Next I called my regular local mechanic who does some work on my Corolla 1999 and he seems honest as he would only fix things if needed. He said the boot broke is not a problem. I should only worry if the inner rod is broken, leaking, clunking, or trouble turning should I be worry. Though he seems honest but should I trust him on this opinion?
I also called the place who did my alignment a year ago and I was told to bring the car in as they don't even know what I am talking about.

What do you guys think? If I keep the joint lube with the lithium grease spray, I should be safe until I can get some cash to fix it? Right now the joint move freely without friction. No signs of inner rod failing.
I am tempted to just change the boots out and this should give me lesser worries?

One more question, the boot changing seems that I just take the cotter pin off, remove the nut and threaded big screw off the steering column, then put on the new boot. My question here is do I grease the boot FIRST, before I put the boot on OR do I put the boot on then grease it? If I put the boot on then grease it, then how do I do that with the boot tight on both sides?

I called Autozone and they have the Duralast brand with lifetime warranty, $24.97 for the left and $30.97 for the right. I got links below. I wonder if those boots come pre lubed or do I need to lube them?
Left: http://www.autozone.com/R,1680549/ve...ductDetail.htm
Right: http://www.autozone.com/R,833484/veh...ductDetail.htm
It looks from the pics that they will include the nut and the cotter pin. Only wonder if they come prelubed?

Thanks,

91EX4dr

Those parts from AZ are the entire tie rod end. You are not just replacing the boot in that case. If you do replace the rod end, you can get the alignment pretty close but would suggest having the alignment checked by a shop.
You may be able to find just the boot if you call around to some of the smaller independent auto parts suppliers, NAPA, Parts Plus, etc.

noobk1ng

Does anyone have a good guide on tie rod replacement? I hate having to use haynes.

nguyener

First, you put grease in the boot and on the joint then you put it on. Then you put a circular clip on around the boot.

You'll need a pickle fork or a tie rod puller to remove the knuckle off the bolt to get to the boot.

sublime423

you can get the tie rod boots at any honda dealer as well and they are cheap too. boot replacement is as easy as it is typed out on here.

and the best thing you can to to save the cv joint it replace that cracked boot that job is not as simple as the tie rod boot but is not hard if you know what you are doing.

Bad_dude

Can I just use a hammer and without the nut remove completely and hit it on the side of the joint and that would break it loose? Or must a pickle fork or a tie rod puller used?

Thanks,

sublime423

you can do that just be careful and don't **** up the threads on the tie rod end.

nguyener

You can use a hammer. IMO I would use a fork or puller. I was too scared to do the hammer trick. It is up to you.

YeuEmMaiMai

if the part is damaged it should be replaced. Like others have mentioned, it's not that hard to do....

Bad_dude

OK. Just an update. After reading more about this problem, I have decided to jack up the car front again. The joints seems all intact and still doing well. I pulled on them to check for any free play, but they are all solid. I found another problem though. There are other boots, on both sides that seem to be broken also. The boots between the arm assembly and the steering knuckle. There are other rubber parts that seem to be cracked also but those don't seem to be grease boots. Here's a link to better explain it.
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto/j...atcgry5=KNUCKLE
It's the boot between 1 and 3.
How hard is it to repair those? Do I have to replace the whole knuckle or just a boot replacement is good? All of the ball joints are working good and no play at all when I pulled on them. So I guess that would be good.
I wonder how much it would cost to just replace all of the boots or parts in that area? Any ideas? I just want to do all of the repairs necessary before I get an alignment otherwise it would be a waste of an alignment cost to have to it again after other repairs.

Thanks.

nguyener

Are you talking about the upper boot or the lower boot? Or the tie rod boot?

Bad_dude

The upper boot. I think the lower boot is about to go too but not yet busted.
Thanks.

nguyener

It is not hard.

Remove cotter pin
Remove nut
Remove knuckle from upper arm.
Remove circular clip
Remove boot.
Clean, put in new grease in boot and joint.
Install boot, clip, knuckle, nut, and cotter pin.

Part numbers:
51464-S04-013 upper boot
90683-SF1-003 circular clip
94201-20350 cotter pin

Bad_dude

So basically I must remove the whole knuckle or just separate the joint the connects the upper arm to the knuckle right? What about remplacing the boot on the lower arm?
Thanks.

nguyener

I would imagine it be the same, but don't take my word for it. I've only done the upper and tie rod boots.

Bad_dude

Where did you buy your boots from? When you found out your boots breakage, at what stage were they?

Thanks,

AtoZ

I got the same problem on a 95 Accord. Some of the boots have a small crack; no free play in the joints.

Got a question. The FSM shows an SST being used to replace the boots [hollow cylinder looking tool]. Is the SST necessary ? Looking closely at the FSM pics, there seems to be two rings in that boot area and there not the same type, not just one ring ... wtf ? Not exactly sure what kind of ring each of these are, but are SST's needed ?

Please elaborate a bit further.

nguyener

I ordered mine at http://www.hondapartsnow.com/ You can also get it at the dealership.

The boots were in bad condition. They were torn all around. I didn't replace it for a month maybe more. Snow and salt didn't help either.

nguyener

SST?

The upper and tie rod boots only had one circular clip each. No special tools are required other than a pickle fork or a seperator.

Bad_dude

When you remove the knuckle from the upper arm, what did you use to support the whole arm? I heard that the pickle fork can damage the joint, is that true? Did you even need support? Did you use the pickle fork to remove the knuckle from the arm or something else? For the tie rod boots, there are two brand, does the more expensive one any better? Wow, why is the tie rod boot cost much more than the upper arm boot?
Did you have to redo the alignmnent?
Thanks,

AtoZ

Pickle forks can damage the joint. So can big, heavy, dumb, brute, 300 lb mechanics, who place a pry on your suspension testing for bad joints. Testing it that way can cause the very problem they are testing it for. So, it all depends on how violently you use these tools. Whacking it with a hammer in the wrong spot can cause damage, and using a puller incorrectly can cause damage to the boot or fastener or tip of the stud end.

Maybe the reason the tie rod boot costs more is because of a higher demand for that part, like gasoline costs rise the more that people use it ... But Economics 101 says that a company has to charge far more for a lesser produced amount of an item, than for a greater produced amount of an item. Go figure - so, when it comes to the subject of money, people reason things whatever way they want