On 01/02/2020 at 21:53, VWD said:

to get the alignment near the original there's a very good mention regularly on TV from Ed China. - when removing the tie rod end- COUNT the number of turns to get old one off. Then screw the new one in the same number of turns. THEN go align steering. it won't be perfect, BUT it'll be pretty close.

 

I'd think that that only works when the parts you buy even when they are TRW same manufacturer that VW Group used for most of these cars (when not an earlier one with the Japanese brand of steering gear) is exactly the same length as the rods you are taking off!

 

I've done this job twice first on a 2002 VW Polo in 2013, I bought TRW complete rods from ECP, then bought the right size of Neilsons tool that fitted the new rod assemblies - only issue was it didn't fit the original rods fitted to a 2002 VW Polo, so I needed to buy the other size of Neilsons tool!  The next time was in 2016ish and on a late 2009 SEAT Ibiza, this time both the original rod size was the same as the replacement TRW from ECP, but in either one or both cases, the rods were slightly longer - that makes no difference as was enough spare "space" in the TREs to contain that, but would mess up the old "count the turns" trick.  The tools I bought looked the same as in TMB's picture though the cheaper Neilsons ones are on piece complete with "handle".

 

Edit:- as far as getting the alignment close enough to drive for alignment, just use common sense, maybe take a picture from the front of the car with wheels straight ahead prior to starting this job, then keep checking that view as you adjust the rough alignment.

Edited 4 February, 20206 yr by rum4mo

I should have edited to say that have never tried this method. I check the new rod end against the old one and allow for the difference when fitting the new one. Then it's straight to have tracking checked before any excess wear hits tyres.

I've seen a suggestion of using an old bike tyre pump and  a length of threaded road to measure the toe in/out before replacing and to get the alignment close after fitting . ( rod is inserted into space for inflate tube and rod set to have pump be a snug fit on the inside of front tyres ,before removing the old one and setting the adjustment to same after).

But at alignment costing so little compared to th cost of a pair of tyres and the handling benefits, I'd sooner have it done at a tyre place or at my local place where the mechanic is a pedantic bloke and things have to be done just right.

BTW- I've had a suggestion from one fast fit place that they can "persuade " stuck track rod ends with heat. NEver let them do this, unless they will remove the old one and fit a new one. Heat melts out the grease and it's new track rod end time in a few weeks.,

You're certain it's not a busted console bush leading to these symptoms?

Much more common fault.

1 hour ago, Wino said:

You're certain it's not a busted console bush leading to these symptoms?

Much more common fault.

 

I was just accepting this at face value, maybe MOT has pointed at this being an issue, or he has tried rocking the steering wheel lightly from side to side and noticed a knocking noise.

Hi I'm a bit of a newbie here i did drivers side inner and outer tie rod/tie rod end today got the inner tie rod off easy enough but have no torque wrench to tighten to 80Nm will it be ok to tighten as tight as i can with blue thread lock worried about the inner rod vibrating loose 

Wheel bolts are 120 Nm so it's not super tight, threadlock will be fine for peace of mind since you won't be needing to remove them again.

Thanks for the help Sepulchrave that has put my mind at ease i applied blue thread lock and tightened the inner rod as tight as a could with a extension and socket wrench and a removal tool that looks like a beefed up exhaust D clamp i got off ebay ...not overly tight didnt want to put too much twisting motion on the rack its self 

Tried to do my nsf tierod today and failed 😞  could not get the rod turning with my 13inch pipe wrench so put it back together but with the new tre.

 

Can i ask what sort of wrench people are using , must be a bloody big set of mole grip's or a bigger pipe wrench , I'm going to regroup with more tool ammo and have another go at the weekend. TIA

It reads that you are trying to undo by putting the pipewrench on the shaft which will only turn the shaft until the TRE stops rotation. There is a ball joint on the rack end which you will see on the new component, so if the undo the TRE , so you will find that the rod just keeps rotating and not undoing the thread. You need to undo the tierod by unscrewing at the opposite end using a 32mm? spanner. I did my own yesterday - on a Mk2 offside - and put steering on full LH lock to bring the inner end of the tierod as far out as possible. Space is tight but will allow you to access the inner end with the correct spanner that has to be short, a crows foot is required although I cut down an old spanner I had.

Edited 15 September, 20214 yr by KeithCheetham

6 hours ago, KeithCheetham said:

It reads that you are trying to undo by putting the pipewrench on the shaft which will only turn the shaft until the TRE stops rotation. There is a ball joint on the rack end which you will see on the new component, so if the undo the TRE , so you will find that the rod just keeps rotating and not undoing the thread. You need to undo the tierod by unscrewing at the opposite end using a 32mm? spanner. I did my own yesterday - on a Mk2 offside - and put steering on full LH lock to bring the inner end of the tierod as far out as possible. Space is tight but will allow you to access the inner end with the correct spanner that has to be short, a crows foot is required although I cut down an old spanner I had.

 

This. Although I have seen some track rods without the hex bit on the inner end requiring the use of pipe wrench or more specialised tools. Usually once you get them cracked they spin off in your fingers rather easily.

Cheers, I was grabbing the ball (!) but because i was at a slight angle could not exert enough force on it, I took the plunge and bought one of those box tools with the cam that bites on the ball as you turn it with a 1/2 inch extension drive. For 12.99 it should be well worth it and you can reverse the cam so it bites c/w to tighten up the new one. 

 

Thks for your help, great forum :)

That tool  was well worth the money, easy to use and it did not need much force with 3 extension bars and a torque wrench undoing it. Nipped it up using the same tool and the only issue was getting the ziptie on the boot because its so far in with little room for my hands to work.

 

 

Another job ticked off on the FAB, the VRS lives on     Cheers ALL

Old topic I know, but having just changed both track rods the only issue I had was getting the clip on the inner front left boot. 

I have oetiker pliers both side and front acting but just not enough clearance to get the clip on. 

After an hour of trying  and ruining 2 clips I put a cable tie one for the time being.

Is there something I'm missing with this clip as there doesn't seem to be enough clearance to open the pliers far enough to get them on the clip! 

Use a big fat black cable tie, it's perfectly legit and a damned sight easier to install.

Yes, a good plan to fit new Oetiker bands - but only if you have the rack off the car!

 

Trying to fit these new bands when the rack is on the car is a nasty way to waste an hour or so, as above, a suitable black cable tie is maybe the only solution, worked for me on the late 2009 Ibiza, I might just have succeeded refitting the old bands when I did that job on the 2002 Polo though, maybe I had more patience back then! I seem to remember that one side has a rubber sleeve over the end of the rack just to make life a bit harder.

My own solution was stainless steel jubilee clips. Cable ties is not my kind of solution.

 

1 hour ago, TMB said:

My own solution was stainless steel jubilee clips. Cable ties is not my kind of solution.

 

Thanks, yes I'm not confident a cable tie will be tight enough to keep all the water out and I'd rather not replace the rack further down the line!

This was going to be my next plan if there isn't a magic tool for the oetiker clips, although looking at that photo I could probably get down there with the pliers. 

Did you have to remove much from the engine bay? 

26 minutes ago, tee3 said:

Did you have to remove much from the engine bay? 

 

I  think I removed the battery box and an air intake pipe. However, my car is just a 1.4 mpi and the engine bay is not as crammed as some models. I got the stainless jubilee clips in Halfords.

Edited 1 May, 20224 yr by TMB

30 minutes ago, tee3 said:

although looking at that photo I could probably get down there with the pliers. 

 

I had the proper Oetiker pliers & clips too but there simply wasn't enough room to use them.

Another view...