rward Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 '91 Loyale 4x4 wagon OK, I screwed up. To make a long story short, I lost my markings when I took off the old tie rod ends and now I'm not sure how far to screw on the new ones. Any advice? I plan on having the alignment done when I'm finished, but I'm assuming that pulling tie rods apart and scewing them in or out isn't part of that process. Thanks in advance. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beauregaardhooligan Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 It *is* part of the alignment process. On older Subarus, it is in fact the *only* alignment adjustment possible. The tie-rods adjust the toe-in. Toe-in is the measurement difference between the inside edges of the front of the front tires compared to the back of the front tires. They should be screwed on an equal number of turns on either side to reach the proper setting for your vehicle. Center the steering rack and use your best guesstimate. It'll do to get you to the alignment shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravelRX Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Alignment shop that is. quick and dirty method. Center the steering wheel and count threads on each side as you turn them on. ( go ahead and attach them, you can rotate the shaft.)Get both the wheels as straight as you can with the ole eyeball method. Find a spot on each front tire that is constant and you consider center for both front tires. Get a tape measure and on the front of the tire about four( give or take) from the ground measure the front of the tire. Now measure the back of the tire. Even? No? Turn the tie rods in or out equally on both sides (count again for accuracy). Check the steering wheel. Straight? Good. If you mess with this long enough you can get a fairly even toe. Take to an alignment shop soon. When I did it the tech was surprised that I had gotten it on the money for even toe. I had him toe it out a bit for the gravel. Screw the tire wear! Positive toe can get you sharper turn in, but high speed stability suffers. Tire wear, blah, blah, blah. If you have to ever do it again, borrow some bright finger nail polish and mark the tie rod before disassembly. I move my tie rods ends so much it looks like I ran over a hooker. Good luck. Fri. Night Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rward Posted January 17, 2004 Author Share Posted January 17, 2004 Thanks guys - you've been a tremendous help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 you can adjust the tie rod bt backing off the big 19mm nut a few threads, there is a flat spot on the inner tie rod, get on that with a 17mm wrench, and that way tou dont have to pop the tierod out of the knuckle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Hill Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 I move my tie rods ends so much it looks like I ran over a hooker. Good luck. ROFL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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