Anyone ever changed inner tie rod ends?

[Wackzirth88 4]

The car is a 1999 ford contour. I've changed almost the entire front end suspension(outer tie rod ends, sway bars, sway linkages, replaced the strut and springs) and now I think my inner tie rod ends are clunking a bit. I'm just wanting some opinions on if I should try to change them myself or pay a shop to do it. I have the chiltons for my car and all the tools I need, but my dad said he's never changed em so he can't give his honest opinion. Main reason I want to do it my self is the knowledge I'll gain and the money I'll save. The parts about 30 bucks each but to have a shop change them it's gonna run about 200+ each side. Wha do yu guys think

[altoncustomtech 773]

I think if you have the tools you should go ahead and do it. I just got done doing almost the exact same thing on my 1998 Chevy Ventrue van. Replaced the struts, rear shocks, drivers side wheel bearing and inner and outer tie rods. The inner tie rod on that van is a REAL bitch to get to, but wasn't bad to change once I managed to get the tools in there. Are you sure it's the inner tie rods? I only ask as it could be the ball joints making noise possibly. If you jack up the wheel and grab the tire at the 9 and 3 o'clock positions and twist side to side there shouldn't be hardly any play, and if there is then it's possible the inner tie rods need changed too. However, if the wheels feel tight when you do that then it's possible the ball joints, strut bearing plate, or something else along those lines could be worn as well. When you replaced the struts did you replace them and the spring seperately or do they make a quick-strut for those? I got quick-struts for the van as they come with the bearing plate, spring and strut fully assembled, just unbolt the old ones, bolt in the new ones and go get it aligned.

[imhungnurnot 9]

The car is a 1999 ford contour. I've changed almost the entire front end suspension(outer tie rod ends, sway bars, sway linkages, replaced the strut and springs) and now I think my inner tie rod ends are clunking a bit. I'm just wanting some opinions on if I should try to change them myself or pay a shop to do it. I have the chiltons for my car and all the tools I need, but my dad said he's never changed em so he can't give his honest opinion. Main reason I want to do it my self is the knowledge I'll gain and the money I'll save. The parts about 30 bucks each but to have a shop change them it's gonna run about 200+ each side. Wha do yu guys think

Its just a ball joint with a threaded end.. And if you changed the outers, why are you doubting yourself on the inners? They should be the same. But the clunking could be coming from the idler arm or pittman arm. But you'll need an alignment after you change any of those parts.

EDIT: THEY SHOULD BE SIMILAR.. lol not necessarily the same!

Edited July 26, 2010 by Im Hung N ur Not

[sandt38 448]

You have to have a special tool to get the inner tie rods out. It is a long tube with a hex or flat sided receptacle on the end to fit over the flats of the inner tie rod. It has a 1/2 inch square drive for your ratchet. They are usually really tight in there, so an impact is best. Plus, you will have to have it aligned when you are done anyways. There is not really much to learn about it, so I would say the knowledge you gain will be pittance. If I were you, I would save the time and money on the tools and have a mechanic do it... and hat is coming from a professional mechanic.

If you are getting a clunk, i suggest you get someone in the car with the wheels on ramps or on the ground (you want them with weight on them, as in the air they will move freely) and have them jerk the wheel from side to side. Check to be sure the rubber mounts for the rack are not wasted, allowing it to shift and thump. Also make sure the rack mount bolts are tight. Contours are bad about those mount bushings.

[Wackzirth88 4]

Yea I know it'll have to be aligned after it's done. And as for the special tool, do places like autozone or oreillys rent the tool out. Just figured they would siince they rent out things like the spring compressors and wat not. I know it's the right inner tie rod because I took it to a shop to see what's clunking and he said I had a bad right inner tie rod and sway link was goin bad also. And I figured it'd be similar to changing the outer but it looks like a bitch to get to and my manual says I have to remove the front subframe and the rack and pinion. Then remove the rack and pinion from the front subframe. That's where I'm a little uncertain. I just don't wanna have to pay 5x the cost of the part if it's something I can do myself.

[sefugi 166]

I checked on Alldata and for a '99 Contour it calls for 5.2 hrs to change the inner tie rods. Calls for removal of the rack&pinion to change. If you have the special tool as decribed above the rack does not have to come out to change them.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Yea I know it'll have to be aligned after it's done. And as for the special tool, do places like autozone or oreillys rent the tool out. Just figured they would siince they rent out things like the spring compressors and wat not. I know it's the right inner tie rod because I took it to a shop to see what's clunking and he said I had a bad right inner tie rod and sway link was goin bad also. And I figured it'd be similar to changing the outer but it looks like a bitch to get to and my manual says I have to remove the front subframe and the rack and pinion. Then remove the rack and pinion from the front subframe. That's where I'm a little uncertain. I just don't wanna have to pay 5x the cost of the part if it's something I can do myself.

Holy bullshit batman. One reason I'm not fond of Ford's in general, they make some of the simplest tasks so difficult. Not that others don't do it as well, it just seems so damn common with Ford. If it's truly that much hassle, have a shop do it, no question. Nothing wrong with wanting to gain a little mechanical experience, but that's complete bull. I mean, there's no damn room worth anything in my van either, but all I had to do was take a very long pair of needle nose pliers, get the factory clamp loosened on the boot (no easy task itself). Then just put the tool over the tie rod, jack it loose and put the new one back on in the reverse order. The new boot came with a simple hose clamp which was easier to put on than the factory clamp was to take off.

Autozone, O'reilly's and Advance Auto do rent the tool out, but it's not worth that much bull just to save the money unless you know an experienced mechanic that would be willing to help you change it and knows the trick it takes to do it without removing everything else.

[sandt38 448]

Yea I know it'll have to be aligned after it's done. And as for the special tool, do places like autozone or oreillys rent the tool out. Just figured they would siince they rent out things like the spring compressors and wat not. I know it's the right inner tie rod because I took it to a shop to see what's clunking and he said I had a bad right inner tie rod and sway link was goin bad also. And I figured it'd be similar to changing the outer but it looks like a bitch to get to and my manual says I have to remove the front subframe and the rack and pinion. Then remove the rack and pinion from the front subframe. That's where I'm a little uncertain. I just don't wanna have to pay 5x the cost of the part if it's something I can do myself.

I have seen many wrong diagnosis for rack noises. It is extremely rare that a bad inner tie rod is bad enough to make noise. While it is possible, it has been years since I actually heard a bad inner tie rod.

I am not sure if they rent the tool. They may, but being a mechanic I own one, so I can't say for sure. I will look at the manual and see what the big deal is, but I highly doubt you have to pull the whole rack to do the inner rod. Generally they are accessible with the right tools.

[sandt38 448]

Its just a ball joint with a threaded end.. And if you changed the outers, why are you doubting yourself on the inners? They should be the same. But the clunking could be coming from the idler arm or pittman arm. But you'll need an alignment after you change any of those parts.

EDIT: THEY SHOULD BE SIMILAR.. lol not necessarily the same!

No, on a rack and pinion steering they are quite different from the gear box steering with a center link like you are used to with the truck. With a rack you have to remove the outer tie rod, remove the dust boot from the rack, and unscrew the tie rod from the rack itself. They look like this:

To the OP... I went to the book and checked. For the 4 and 6 cylinder cars they give 4.6 hours for one and 5.2 for both. The book calls for rack removal. But I have never had to remove a rack as long as i have had the tool. With that being said, we rarely ever see bad inner tie rods on racks. While I used to see a lot of them, they have gotten really good with them in the last 10 or 15 years. I bet I have done maybe 2 or 3 in the last 10 years, and all but 1 of those were because they were bent, from railing a curb or going into a ditch.

TBH, I highly doubt that the issue is the inner tie rod.

[Wackzirth88 4]

Well thanks for your guys help. I'm going to take it to a couple different shops around town see wat they says wrong. How do I check for bad bushings? My dad doesn't think it's that bad but it's my car and I don't like it clunking.

[sandt38 448]

Well thanks for your guys help. I'm going to take it to a couple different shops around town see wat they says wrong. How do I check for bad bushings? My dad doesn't think it's that bad but it's my car and I don't like it clunking.

See post 4

[Wackzirth88 4]

Woot woot, I was able to change it myself. I didn't have to take the rack off to get to it, it would pry gave me more area to work with tho. And it only took me a little over 2 hours total. Now the clunk is completely gone and my car doesn't wobble at 50 mph+. I feel like I acheived somethin lol. Thanks again guys