seanski06 Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 i need to replace my tie rod ends....thinking bout replacing the whole thing as well since my boots are torn up and theres def no greese left in there how hard is it to do...will the tools be a pain or should it work fine??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanski06 Posted February 17, 2006 Author Share Posted February 17, 2006 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Posted February 17, 2006 Share Posted February 17, 2006 Never done it myself, but replacing the rack is a bit of a pain. You'll need to remove the Y downpipe (well... probably) and the front cross member. Then detach the linkage at the upper u-joint. Not a complicated job, but definitely tedious considering. Several people have elected to do this rather than replace both the inner and outter tie rods, and the rack is liekly worn anyways and ordering a rebuilt rack may be cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanski06 Posted February 17, 2006 Author Share Posted February 17, 2006 how about if i just need something like a rubber bushing for the outer ball joint....the bushing is completely gone and when i hit the brakes it rumbles like a jack hammer coming down hills....is there a way to just pop off the tie rod end fit it with a bushing then snap it bak on...or am i just sounding uneducated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 17, 2006 Share Posted February 17, 2006 im not following, maybe its my pain meds. Are you thinking of replacing the rack because the boots are torn, or the ball joints? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Posted February 17, 2006 Share Posted February 17, 2006 how about if i just need something like a rubber bushing for the outer ball joint....the bushing is completely gone and when i hit the brakes it rumbles like a jack hammer coming down hills....is there a way to just pop off the tie rod end fit it with a bushing then snap it bak on...or am i just sounding uneducated Are you talking about the ball joint or the tie-rod end? You "could" replace just the boot (if you find someone selling them), but chances are if the rubber boot it torn, the joint itself is screwed. Just replace the whole tie-rod end then (or ball joint as it may be). Also if the rumbling occurs during braking, it's liekly a rotor/pad problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanski06 Posted February 17, 2006 Author Share Posted February 17, 2006 its not the rotors or the pads i checked them and there smooth as silk with plenty of meat left...however i can shake the wheel back and forth and thats whats makingthe noise.....the boot is torn so it could be the inner tie rod end and where the tie rod connects to the wheel the bushing is completely gone u can see the ball joint and theres alot of free play in it..so i was thinking about just replacing the end (outer) towards the wheel but after thinking about this more its prolly the whole thing that is shot...i didnt look at the inner end real good but thats prolly just as beat as the one towards the wheel haha still confusing? anyways if u know where i could get a cheap set up lemme kno... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 17, 2006 Share Posted February 17, 2006 i would just replace the tie rod ends, the steering racks have such a low failure rate it's not worth replacing without reason. that being said you can usually buy steering rack boots if those are broken and just replace them. i believe they are dust shields only and not critical. sounds to me like you only need to replace the tie rod end that will have a new ball joint on it. if there's something i'm missing, let me know. bad tie rod ends can fail and are one of the most dangerous types of failure. not trying to scare you, but i would replace them immediately if they look bad. try advanced auto parts or http://www.thepartsbin.com and check prices. if they are high, find a used unit. there are hunreds of thousands of 20+ year old subaru's with 200,000+ with the original tie rods still on them, used ones that are in good condition are a decent solution to known bad ones. post on here for used ones in the parts wanted forum. i and others have subaru's for parts. and if you can post pictures of the problem areas that's really helpful for the confused folk like me, i get suspension terminology mixed up sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanski06 Posted February 18, 2006 Author Share Posted February 18, 2006 nah bro thats great help...i def didnt wanna replaced the whole thing if i didnt need to...i just wasnt sure if it was easier to just do the whole thing...and u sayd that the boot is only a dust shield so then it shouldnt be that much of a problem to that side...i just know on the side where the wheel is the ball joint looks like sh*t... however today i went ahead and changed the brakes and rotors although the old ones were fine with plenty of meat left i kept thinking it was the rotors and since they were a little rusty i figured it will just be a preventative rapair so i slap it all together in 50 mph winds today....prolly picked the worse day this month to do it....however once my hands thawd i took the car for a run and when i braked it stopped smooth no thumps only a little squeel but that should fade once there broken in....im so glad i went ahead and did that rather then spending the time and money to fix the tie rod ends and that not be the prob....but in the future i think i will replace the ends.... my girlfriends cars' tie rod broke when she was turning out of a parking lot onto the road...she waqs scared ************less the car just didnt move and cars were coming...i'd like to prevent that from happening again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorbill Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 I am a survivor of a tie rod end separation at 50 MPH in downtown Detroit freeway. Not funny, but the car and I survived. Please, if you see ANY movement/freeplay in the tie rod end, replace the unit with new. Removing a used unit often damages the screw threads where it attaches to the steering knuckle. I agree, most Subarus I see in the wrecking yards have their entire factory steering system intact. But, if you question the quality of your tie rod ends, please replace them. Before you are typing to us from a hospital bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
destey Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 i would just replace the tie rod ends, the steering racks have such a low failure rate it's not worth replacing without reason. Just replaced a steering rack on a '95 Legacy w/170k because of poor handling. Looking at the old removed rack, the tie rods, both inner and outer, were fine while the pinion and rack gears were worn. Tightening the lash bolt removed half the slop. I figure the rack takes much of the abuse because of the suspension design and high turning ratio. The replacement rack had 36k at installation. I've noticed much tighter steering since the new rack. The car still has slop at interstate speeds, which i think will solved once I put in new ball joints. The old ones failed the pry-bar test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 replace the tie rod ends and also the steering rack bushings. both are safety items for sure and i plan on getting new tie rod ends as well for a same reason. guy at work had a tie rod break on him, very unsafe predicament for sure. never seen it happen in a subaru though. if the steering is "sloppy" at all, new bushings will fix that. i just did it last night on a subaru. required removing four 14mm bolts to replace the steering rack bushings, very easy to do. bad bushing will make the steering feel "sloppy" by drifting and "taking too long" to adjust to the input at the steering wheel. like you turn left and it takes a second or two before it goes that way. or while driving straight it could pull left or right a little. that is a sign of bad bushings, not the steering rack. though an unscrupulous mechanic could surely make a lot of money by mis-diagnosing that as a bad rack. the bushings just wrap around the steering rack, very simple. when they are old and warn, their is too much play between the rack and the two mounting brackets which causes the drift and issues mentioned earlier. i picked up high performance impreza bushings made out of some super stellar moon cheese material...i don't know, they are supposed to be stiffer and feel better so i got 'em! they fit perfectly on an older generation XT Turbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlelegacy Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 Just replaced a steering rack on a '95 Legacy w/170k because of poor handling. Looking at the old removed rack, the tie rods, both inner and outer, were fine while the pinion and rack gears were worn. Tightening the lash bolt removed half the slop. I figure the rack takes much of the abuse because of the suspension design and high turning ratio. The replacement rack had 36k at installation. I've noticed much tighter steering since the new rack. The car still has slop at interstate speeds, which i think will solved once I put in new ball joints. The old ones failed the pry-bar test. How difficult was the rack swap? Mine's puking fluid everywhere, and I was told by Smart Service that it needed to be replaced. They're expensive little buggers, but there is a legacy in the JY not far from me. Any tips, hints, suggestions, etc.? I have a 93 leg BTW. Jordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlelegacy Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 Also, I just replaced some rack bushings on the 84 wagon. Big difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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