Lengthening/shortening tie rods

[BimmerToad]

I'm going to try a rough DIY alignment on my car to correct the massive toe out I have from swapping E30 M3 front suspension components, but I'm having trouble rotating the tie rods to lengthen them. I've removed the clamp and tried rotating the inner threaded sleave, but the threads are stuck. Is there any way to properly clamp the inner sleave, short of using vise grips? Is there anything else keeping me from adjusting the tie rods?

[kowalski]

no they're probably just rusted on there... unless they're new, use some WD40 or liquid wrench or somthing of that nature and let it sit for a while, or get an allinment.

[BimmerToad]

Sounds good, I'll let the rods soak in penetrating oil for a bit and maybe zap them with a heat gun.

Should I use vise grips/pliers to adjust them?

[Jordan]

vice grips will leave tool marks in the metal, but they should break them free.

[formula driver]

Is it possible to do a proper alignment myself? Ive added new tie rods and adjusted them but there still off a bit. Can I do this properly myself?

[DaN]

You can get it close, or to the point where it's decent to drive. But I would drop the money for someone to set the front toe with an alignment machine.

[Charlie]

Rusted outer rods suck, as does replacing the inner ones, it's probably the best way to go though*.

-Charlie

*doing so at the moment.

[BimmerToad]

Yeah, the passenger side rod was pretty badly rusted. I ended up taking some penetrating oil, a dremel wire brush, and a heat gun to the tie rods and finally got them loose with vise grips. There are some scratches on the metal, but I figure I'll replace the whole thing when I get a non-leaky rack.

The car is more driveable now, but it's still a bit too darty on the freeway :shock: It's a good rough alignment though that will do until I get it properly aligned.

[NickP]

On my car the inner and outer tie rods have indentations where you can fit a wrench.