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Inner/Outer Tie Rods

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by pontoon, Mar 8, 2018.

  1. Mar 8, 2018 at 5:41 PM
    #1
    pontoon

    pontoon [OP] Well-Known Member

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    My alignment guy told me I need new inner and outer tie rods. I’m wondering if anyone has replaced these and if you have any advise as I’ll be doing the job myself. I’m thinking Moog inner and outer tie rod assemblies. Are there any other parts I should get? I was thinking maybe Moog rack and pinion bellows, but the picture shows no metal clamp. The beck arnley ones show a clamp, but I’m not sure if they will fit the Moog parts. Any tips on the bellows would be greatly appreciated, as well as any tips on any other parts I may need.

    So far I’m looking at Moog ES3545 (right outer tie rod), Moog ES3546 (left outer tie rod), 2x Moog EV800832 (inner tie rod), Moog K100183 (rack and pinion bellows).

    Anything else I should get or inspect when doing the job?
     
  2. Mar 8, 2018 at 5:59 PM
    #2
    Kleenax

    Kleenax Well-Known Member

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    I'm doing the same thing, and going with all Beck-Arnley parts.
     
  3. Mar 8, 2018 at 6:03 PM
    #3
    El Taco Diablo

    El Taco Diablo Professional Pinstriper

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  4. Mar 8, 2018 at 6:05 PM
    #4
    Captain Magma

    Captain Magma Well-Known Member

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    I did mine with OEM through Camelback Toyota. I can't remember the price difference between 3rd party and OEM, but I don't think it was that different. My outers were like $87 for the pair. The job itself is pretty easy, took me like 1.5-2 hours from jacking the truck up to putting the wheels back on. Low Range has some videos of how to replace them as well as 555 parts on their site.

    If you have been thinking about doing your LBJ's, now would be a good time since you need to disconnect the OTE to get them off anyway

    Make sure you have an alignment appointment set up afterwards, even after marking mine and eyeballing it, my alignment was jacked up.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2018
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  5. Mar 8, 2018 at 6:12 PM
    #5
    vettehigh

    vettehigh Tacoma Tank

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    I went with OEM outers for $120 for the pair
     
  6. Mar 9, 2018 at 5:42 AM
    #6
    mac84

    mac84 Well-Known Member

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    Did the Moog inner and outer 2 weeks ago. 1 hour tops. I counted # of turns to get the outer but turned out that didn't matter as it was a bit different and I had to just eyeball it. It's an easy job but make sure you have a big wrench for the inner.
     
  7. Mar 9, 2018 at 6:20 AM
    #7
    perchalot

    perchalot Well-Known Member

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    I did mine 2 weeks ago and second what mac84 says about a large wrench for the inner. The flat section of the inner tie rod is pretty narrow so a large adjustable wrench may or may not fit. Pipe wrench works great if you don't have the right size wrench. I had picked up the inner tie rod removal tool (loaner) from Pep Boys but sizes weren't big enough in the kit.

    I counted threads and alignment print out said the toe was already near perfect. I probably got lucky but seems like a good enough method for getting you to the alignment shop at least.
     
  8. Mar 9, 2018 at 6:25 AM
    #8
    mac84

    mac84 Well-Known Member

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    Mine was terrible when I finished the job and I planned to get an alignment anyway. But I couldn't stomach the toe out so immediately dove back into it and adjusted it by 'eye ball' - looked good to me. Firestone guy gave me respect for doing the job but the tech said it was 1/2" off! I also did stabilizer bar bushings and the links. That's an easy job that makes a ton of difference to me in the way that it drives. That's less than $40 bucks and about an hour......
     
  9. Mar 9, 2018 at 6:43 AM
    #9
    tony2018

    tony2018 Well-Known Member

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    Yup, eyeball it best you can before driving it anywhere.
     
  10. Mar 9, 2018 at 9:14 AM
    #10
    pontoon

    pontoon [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Do I need a special tool for the inner tie rod removal? I’ve read some people saying they needed a Cal Van inner tie rod tool, and some people say they didn’t.

    Also I’m thinking of doing OEM ball joints upper and lower. I don’t have records of them being done and the truck has 150k miles. It may have been done since I don’t have all the records... should I check them and leave them alone if they don’t have play? Or should I replace them?
     
  11. Mar 9, 2018 at 9:47 AM
    #11
    Dirty Pool

    Dirty Pool FLIES ON THE FRIES, KETCHUPS WATERED DOWN

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    You just need a wrench that is thin or a pipe wrench as mentioned. The rack shaft is 30mm IIRC.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  12. Mar 9, 2018 at 6:38 PM
    #12
    perchalot

    perchalot Well-Known Member

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    Pipe wrench is good for use on the actual inner tie rod but I'd make sure to use an appropriate open/adjustable wrench to hold the rack still while turning on the tie rod. Pipe wrench is liable to mar the surface, which is not ideal on the rack. Not a big deal on the tie rod. I think most of the "inner tie rod tools" are intended for use on the tie rod, not to counter-hold the rack still.

    I did all my ball joints and bushings along with the tie rods right around 150k miles and I was really impressed with how much tighter everything felt after replacement. I can't say any individual component had obvious play in it but the whole truck felt sloppy. Dramatically better now. Sorry that doesn't really answer your question directly. Changing the lower BJ is pretty easy. Upper is manageable but more of a hassle having to be pressed out of the spindle.
     
  13. Mar 11, 2018 at 12:05 AM
    #13
    pontoon

    pontoon [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Thanks, that’s very helpful. I think I may get the tie rod tool just in case I need it and return it if I don’t need it. I’ll probably do my upper and lowe ball joints. What bushings did you replace? How hard is it to replace all the bushings? Do I need to take the rack and pinion off the truck? Is it worth it if my steering doesn’t feel sloppy? I have 165k miles.
     
  14. Mar 11, 2018 at 8:42 AM
    #14
    Gyrkin

    Gyrkin Well-Known Member

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  15. Mar 11, 2018 at 8:58 AM
    #15
    perchalot

    perchalot Well-Known Member

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    Sorry I misspoke about replacing "ALL of my bushings". I replaced the upper and lower control arm bushings. Since mine's a daily driver (had to finish the job and get aligned within the weekend) I decided to go with Moog replacement upper and lower control arms, which have Moog bushings in them. I held on to the stock arms and plan to install new bushings at my leisure and replace the Moog arms when the time comes. If you can pull it off I would suggest NOT replacing the actual control arms.

    If removing the LCA you do have to unbolt the steering rack and move it slightly to get the LCA bolts out. It's no big deal but the torque specs are pretty high on the rack bolts so be ready and have a torque wrench that is capable of tightening to spec.

    Agree with Gyrkin. My steering rack bushings had already gone bad and to be replaced when I bought the truck at about 140k. Made a huge difference. I was getting a violent shake when braking hard and the rack bushings solved that.

    I probably went overboard replacing OEM parts that hadn't yet failed but I didn't want to worry about it for a while. You've said you don't have any noticeable play. Hard to recommend throwing new parts at a truck that doesn't seem to have problems but at 165k you might have more play than you are aware of.
     
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  16. Mar 11, 2018 at 2:37 PM
    #16
    pontoon

    pontoon [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Ok, so if I did UCA bushings, LCA bushings, and rack and pinion bushings, how long would that take? I'm not a fast mechanic by any means. I can do front and rear leafs/shocks in a day. If it's easy enough I'd certainly like to replace all the bushings to keep this thing reliable.
     
  17. Mar 11, 2018 at 5:31 PM
    #17
    Gyrkin

    Gyrkin Well-Known Member

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    When I replaced the bushings on the steering rack it took me about two hours. Most of that was getting the old ones out. I didn't take the rack off the truck because I didn't want to disconnect the hoses. Might have been quicker to drain the power steering fluid and take the lines off. Getting the old bushings out would be a lot easier on the bench.
     
  18. Mar 12, 2018 at 6:15 AM
    #18
    perchalot

    perchalot Well-Known Member

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    I would say pulling the control arms and re-installing them is about a half day. I'm sure a pro could do it in an hour or two. Can't speak to swapping the bushings once they're out.
     
  19. Mar 12, 2018 at 9:29 PM
    #19
    pontoon

    pontoon [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Jeeze I think for half a day I might just get Moog control arms when the time comes. Even two hours for the rack and pinion is a lot. And since I’m slow it could be an all day affair just to replace bushings. Maybe I’ll just go with ball joints and tie rods for now and wait on the control arms and rack and pinion until I have a noticeable problem. Seem reasonable?
     
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  20. Mar 13, 2018 at 7:08 AM
    #20
    Russianman92

    Russianman92 Well-Known Member

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    If you search the forum you will see multiple posts regarding MOOG balljoints taking a dump. I would recommend OEM.
     

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