Tie Rods, Trailing Arms, etc.?

[Ahheck01]

I'm going to go ahead and confess that I don't know what Tie Rods look like, or how they're installed, or to what components they attach... heck I don't even know what their function is for sure. I'm under the understanding that they connect the steering rack to... the wheels? Somehow?

Anywho, I would really appreciate it if someone could kinda spell it out. What's the whole inner/outer thing? What's this I hear about eurethane boots? What is the function of a boot?

Finally, what is the best to get in terms of Tie Rods and related components?


On a separate note, is there an aftermarket trailing arm that people like to go with?

-Evan

[KenC]

I'm going to go ahead and confess that I don't know what Tie Rods look like, or how they're installed, or to what components they attach... heck I don't even know what their function is for sure. I'm under the understanding that they connect the steering rack to... the wheels? Somehow?

Anywho, I would really appreciate it if someone could kinda spell it out. What's the whole inner/outer thing? What's this I hear about eurethane boots? What is the function of a boot?

Finally, what is the best to get in terms of Tie Rods and related components?


On a separate note, is there an aftermarket trailing arm that people like to go with?

-Evan

the tie rod goes from your steering rack to the strut housing. urethane boots cover the ball joints at the end. jack the front end up and take a look around. just get OEM tie rods if youre going to replace them.

i havent ever heard of an aftermarket trailing arm.

[silversleeper]

how does the install go? or rather, on a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult is it to swap em out?

[KenC]

maybe a 2 or 3 on replacing them. the hardest part is mangling the lock ring so you can unscrew them... youll need new ones too.

[JGood]

I wouldn't recommend replacing them without the help of someone with experience. That's not something you want to mess up, or can do without specialty tools (ball joint separator or BFH).

Why are you replacing your trailing arms? Do you mean control arms? If you need to replace your trailing arms I have a feeling your car is totaled.

[Ahheck01]

I wouldn't recommend replacing them without the help of someone with experience. That's not something you want to mess up, or can do without specialty tools (ball joint separator or BFH).

Why are you replacing your trailing arms? Do you mean control arms? If you need to replace your trailing arms I have a feeling your car is totaled.

No, I'm just making a list of components that will eventually make up my suspension/steering. Here is what I've got (still working on it):

Shocks/Springs: H&R Sports and Konis $735
Sways: Ireland Engineering Kit $440
Strut bar: Ireland Engineering $120
Camber Plates, etc.: Vorshlag $235
Tie Rods: Ireland Engineering $46
Steering Rack: 95-97 E36 Z3 1.9L (2.7) Maval Rebuilt $320
Steering Wheel: ???Control Arms: Lemfoerder $150
Control Arm Bushings: Treehouse Racing Eyeball Bushings $190
Subframe Bushings: Ireland Engineering $45
Trailing Arms: OEM $??
Trailing Arm Bushings: Ireland Engineering $52
Rear Shock Mounts: Ground Control $100
Rear Toe/Camber: Ireland Engineering Kits ($85 each) $170

[KenC]

you can easily replace the tie rods by yourself. just use a spare steel nut on the ball joint and give it a good whack with a hammer.. itll separate from the strut. then just eyeball allign it to get it to a shop to do it

[ScottL]

On an older car, separating the outer tie rod end from the track arm isn't the hard part -- like the other guy said, undo the nut, strike with a big hammer.

The hard part is getting the outer tie rod separated from the inner tie rod. After removing the collar clamp, we had to use a torch, a long wrench, and a lot of back muscle to get the job done. And that was with the rack on the floor!