Arash Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 Hi everybody Today I went for wheel alignment for my STS 94. The technician said that he cannot do the job until the inner tie rod be changed. These days I did a lot of front suspension work myself, so I decided to change the inner tie rod myself. I bought both of them for $100 CND. I read the GM service manual and it said I should open the rack and pinion assembly. It seems this work requires opening the exhaust Y pipe and steering wheel central shaft also. Has any body done this job before? I have seen the collision estimate book and it says, changing inner tie rod requires only 0.6 hours of labor each. It seems not true to me! Is there anyway to change it without opening the rack? Thanks in advance for your opinions Arash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arash Posted August 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 I found a special tool for this job "inner tie rod removal tool". I am going to buy it from ebay but don't know does it work for 94 STS or not. Arash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 Why would the inner tie rod have to be changed? Is it bent? Is the housing toast? Maybe it's just the damper? Why did he tell you to replace those? If you can get to the rack to take off the boot and get wrenches in there then you can do it without removing the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted August 4, 2004 Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 Where is Shiden Kai when you need him? Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arash Posted August 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 The inner tie rod has to be changed because the left front wheel is moving a little bit when you hold the left and right of the tire and move it in and out. The technician responsible for the alignment actually showed me this in the shop. It's impossible to aligne when your wheel has a play like that. I've not actually opened the boot myself in order to check the inner tie rod yet, but I trust the technocian on this one. Opening the rack seems like a very hard jod to me. That's why I'm doing everything in order to change the tie rod without opening the rack. I know the left side of my rack(steering gear) is worn. It makes a very harsh and noticeable sound in sharp turns. The GM mechanic also confirmed this and told me to replace it. He also told me that, if I don't replace the rack, new tie rods will be worn out soon. I don't know whether this is true or not. My immediate concern now is to just replace the tie rods not the rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted August 4, 2004 Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 Hmm.. how do you know it's not a tie rod end causing the play? If it is a tie rod it's really not that hard as long as you can get to it.. hell, replacing the whole rack isn't that hard.. it's just all the stuff that's in the WAY is a pain in the *smurf*. I'd ask around to see if anyone has done it with minimal taking apart of other things.. There are MUCH better tools available today than there was years ago especially in 94. There might be a tool made just to get in tight areas and do what you need .. I'd have to look at it.. All I have to go by is my 99 which you can do without taking apart half the engine :> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arash Posted August 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 I actually researched this yesterday in the internet. The good news is that, with inner tie rod removal tool, you don't need to open the rack. My outher tie rod or the tie rod end is solid and has no play in it, so I guess it's the inner tie rod that's going bad. I also searched the archives of this board and nobody has done this before (changing the rack). I guess it's not a very common failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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