genEus Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I wasted 3 hours trying to take ONE fkcing tie rod end off and I still can't! Any advice? Please!?? I don't wanna wimp out and have to drive it to a mechanic. It's a 99 Lumina so yes there's quite a lot of rust. But I took off the two bolts with the help of a pipe wrench and WD40, and stuck a 16" Harbor Freight tie rod fork in there. OK, I don't have a sledge hammer, which is my next step.. but using your regular hammer I was hammering as hard as I could, both trying to wedge the fork in and when then didn't work, hitting it vertically so it would push the tie rod up and out. The stupid thing DID NOT BUDGE! Haynes mentions a cotter pin but there's none... Any advice?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwk39018 Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 heat and a big hammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genEus Posted October 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 heat and a big hammer A heat gun enough or do I need a blow torch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwk39018 Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 settling torch would be best.You can pick one up at walmart i think. Any gas torch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 get a large sledge (10lb+) and rail on the area around the tie rod end it should pop off. but honestly, a bigger hammer is most likely what you could use. I have a 10lb sledge, it is my "w-body suspension tool" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 get a large sledge (10lb+) and rail on the area around the tie rod end it should pop off. but honestly, a bigger hammer is most likely what you could use. I have a 10lb sledge, it is my "w-body suspension tool" x2, but nix on a 10lb sledge.. I do tie rods a lot at work, and a lot are stubborn. I use a 36oz Tilton Unbreakable hammer... If you cant get it off like that, you need a more manly man Slam the area of the knuckle where it goes through. With the nut still threaded on a few turns on the tie rod, smack the end of that.. You will eventually get it popped out.. pickle forks are fuckin useless, period.. I am yet to see or hear of any real mechanic use them unless its attatched to a beefy Snap-On air hammer.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpchris Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I just have my cinder blocks and a really long metal pole pry on it while i hammer.. Works every time. Autozone has this really good tool for it. It looks like a puller but its for tierod ends. Looks like this If you cant get it on your own, THAT ^^^ will! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I just have my cinder blocks and a really long metal pole pry on it while i hammer.. Works every time. Autozone has this really good tool for it. It looks like a puller but its for tierod ends. Looks like this If you cant get it on your own, THAT ^^^ will! Those pullers are worthless... No need for it if you have a great hammer and a good forceful swing.. BTW, those pullers only really work on knuckles with flat edges for them to clamp to, not rounded ones like our composite knuckles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I just have my cinder blocks and a really long metal pole pry on it while i hammer.. Works every time. Autozone has this really good tool for it. It looks like a puller but its for tierod ends. Looks like this If you cant get it on your own, THAT ^^^ will! Those pullers are worthless... No need for it if you have a great hammer and a good forceful swing.. BTW, those pullers only really work on knuckles with flat edges for them to clamp to, not rounded ones like our composite knuckles I beg to differ. I have a shitty one from autozone (really shitty, fixed sides and everything- can't adjust the angle), and it makes removing out tie rods & ball joints 100x easier. It fits perfectly for both (not on many other cars though). Cranked it for a few seconds and it popped right out, whereas a variety of sledges hadn't been budging it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpchris Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Yeah those tools do work great on our cars.. I never use them but they do work good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I must of lucked out when I did mine cause they put up little resistance to a tie rod fork and a BFH. When in doubt, get a bigger hammer! Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 pickle fork and a 36 oz hammer. Get angry. Hit it harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genEus Posted October 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Aight here's how you do it, boys... Tools needed: 1. 10lb sledge hammer with a 3ft long handle 2. 16" pickle fork 3. Car jack Steps: 1. Put the car jack underneath the tie rod end and jack it up so that the jack plate presses up against the tie rod end bolt and makes that point the only support point 2. Jam the pickle fork between the ball joint and the knuckle. 3. With the 10lb hammer beat the fork in. Took me about 10 precise strikes. The key was #1. It took me about 3 hours to do one side and exactly 3 minutes the other, once I followed my father's advice to let the weight of the car work for me Thanks for all the advice. Now, please advise on how to take out the caliper mount, the one that has the torx head bolts? That SOB is stuck there..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96GPSE Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 It's a T60. Turn the wheel all the way so you can get a breaker bar on the Torx bit. If you're doing the right wheel, turn the steering wheel all the way to the right, same for left, that way you can get as long of a breaker bar on there you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genEus Posted October 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 It's a T60. Turn the wheel all the way so you can get a breaker bar on the Torx bit. If you're doing the right wheel, turn the steering wheel all the way to the right, same for left, that way you can get as long of a breaker bar on there you want. WOW. That is ALL it took. Sometimes one decision makes everything work. It never dawned on me to turn the wheels! DUH. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I've used the weight of the car on a ratchet for something on the cutty... but I can't remember what! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 1. Put the car jack underneath the tie rod end and jack it up so that the jack plate presses up against the tie rod end bolt and makes that point the only support point I should mention that I've also tried this, and all that happened was that I compressed the suspension and they eventually started lifting the car (by the tie rod end stud). I always have these situations where I think a jack is going to help, but I just end up lifting the damn car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 1. Put the car jack underneath the tie rod end and jack it up so that the jack plate presses up against the tie rod end bolt and makes that point the only support point I should mention that I've also tried this, and all that happened was that I compressed the suspension and they eventually started lifting the car (by the tie rod end stud). I always have these situations where I think a jack is going to help, but I just end up lifting the damn car... I've had the same thing happen here as well. Lifted the car instead of popping it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genEus Posted October 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 1. Put the car jack underneath the tie rod end and jack it up so that the jack plate presses up against the tie rod end bolt and makes that point the only support point I should mention that I've also tried this, and all that happened was that I compressed the suspension and they eventually started lifting the car (by the tie rod end stud). I always have these situations where I think a jack is going to help, but I just end up lifting the damn car... I've had the same thing happen here as well. Lifted the car instead of popping it out. Well that's the point, you want to lift up the car so that its weight presses through the tie rod end stud on the jack!! I lifted the car on the tie rod end stud so that it lifted a TINY bit above the jack stand, just so that the jack stand wasn't supporting the car entirely. Then I hammered the fork in and when the tie rod end popped up the car "dropped" if you wish onto the jack stand, but since the drop was so small, there was no risk of doing this. Sometimes I drop the car onto the jack stand inadvertently much more than this when I lower it with my jack onto the stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 10lb w-body "suspension tool" for the win! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 the fork that is sold (or rented) at advanced auto is the best! I broke the head clean off of the harbor freight fork went and got this and had it off almost instantly. The rods (air hammer and regular rod) threads into the different forks (tie-rod, balljoint, pitman) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 harbor freight sells nothing but a bunch of junk. it's like going to a flea market for tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Ive used my harbor freight one for countless suspension jobs and has yet to break. I have broken one before though, but i was using it incorrectly. The fragility of harbor freight tools teaches you the fine art of tool handling, haha. Whatever, they cost less than lunch money, so i figure im still doing pretty well with one broken. I picked up sockets, a breaker bar and a ratchet from them. They all seem fairly nice and I am surprised with the ratchet, it seems pretty durable. I'll just say that i've broken more craftsman hand tools than harbor freight hand tools. However DO NOT buy a harbor freight drill bit set and expect it to drill through anything but wood and plastic (poorly) Drill bits and other tools that get worn constantly should not come out of china or taiwan or wherever. I've broken 3 1/8-NPT taps in a row, tapping into ALUMINUM because they were all chinese CRAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genEus Posted October 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 harbor freight sells nothing but a bunch of junk. it's like going to a flea market for tools. Oh give me a break. Of course if you're a professional mechanic, you won't go to harbor freight because you will need to beat on your tools day in and day out. But I've used their sockets, wrenches, ratchets, and many many other tools to fix my cars, including the tie rod fork this time, and to date have only chipped the stupid mirror on an extension handle because they use some cheap reflective plastic. Yeah, that really was a piece of crap. However, considering how much Craftsman costs, you could go through three sets of HF tools before it made sense to buy one Craftsman... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Oh give me a break. Of course if you're a professional mechanic, you won't go to harbor freight because you will need to beat on your tools day in and day out. But I've used their sockets, wrenches, ratchets, and many many other tools to fix my cars, including the tie rod fork this time, and to date have only chipped the stupid mirror on an extension handle because they use some cheap reflective plastic. Yeah, that really was a piece of crap. However, considering how much Craftsman costs, you could go through three sets of HF tools before it made sense to buy one Craftsman... Isn't that the point? Why would I want to waste time buying the same tool set 3 times rather than buying the tool set once and not have it break on me in the middle of a job? broken creepers, hole saw sets that are trash halfway through the first use.. and I was being gentle with them. I beat the shit out of my Craftsman tools and the most I've ever done was break two 15 mm sockets, a 1/2"-3/8" socket adapter and I twisted a couple of 1/4"-3/8" socket adapters for my electric impact gun, plus I got to bring them back for free replacements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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