I hate tie rod

[JustChill]

I need to drop the tie rod and control arm from the front strut assembly and i can not get the damn tie rod out to save my life. I have tried a few things including a tie rod separater or "pickle fork"

[gazellebeigem3]

Hit the strut with a hammer where the tie rod bolt goes through, has worked for me in the past.

[mattdk318i]

screw the nut back on the tie rod, But not all the way that the stud shows. Then smack the top of the nut. Works everytime. Those forks just piss me off.

[Adrian_Visser]

there's a way better way to do this and i would like everybody to know it
. Its called ringing the bell.

You need two hammers to do this preferably 16oz or greater ball peens.

place the flat face of one hammer on one side of the ball joint of the tie rod and hold it against it then you take the other hammer and whack the opposite side of the ball joint as hard as you can with the flat face not the peen end . itll take at least 5 good hits but when it pops out youll know.

the key is to whack it HARD while holding the other hammer against it.
this works seriously i never beleived it till i did it and the tie rod boot wont be ripped like when u use a fork
. when it lets go youll know the ball joint just pops apart and voila. now im talkin about the outer big end of the jont not the inner end with the threads. this works WAAAAYY better than putting the nut on and hitting the nut which could possibly screw up the threads.


I know it sounds crazy i mean how could it work? but it does

[02stu]

Use PB blaster (can be bought at Lowes) this is amazing stuff and will loosen it up. Then go to autozone and rent, for free, a tierod puller. It works just like a bearing puller. It won't rip your boot and is easy to use.

[Garageaholic]

PB blaster is fawesome.. but yeah, DON'T use a pickle fork, it just ruins the rubber boot on the tie rod...

[Van Westervelt]

The puller from autozone is too big to fit in on either ball joints. I got it and tried it. Pissed me off.

[RobertK]

I use the block of wood and hammer method. Works everytime.

Sometimes I use a small jack to raise the strut up so the balljoint on the tie rod has less angle working against it to keep it in place.

[Adrian_Visser]

seriously ive tried the block method and the nut method. ringin the bell is the best way.


try it.

[///M42 sport]

Hit the strut with a hammer where the tie rod bolt goes through, has worked for me in the past.

+1

just put your back into it.