Tie rod separation

[mrman5917]

Hello everyone,

I'm back to working on my 3A project after a month off due to day-job responsibilities. I'm attempted to remove everything from the frame so I can get it blasted, repaired, and painted. However, I'm having some trouble with the tie rods. After reading through the Moses Ludel book, he says that the tie rods require a puller to separate. He also made note that using a pickle fork could cause damage to the original dust seals. Finally he also gave a tip using two similarly sized hammers on the outside of the joint to cause a quick deformation of the hole that would allow the tapered stud to fall out.

So, armed with this knowledge, I went out and started trying to pull things apart. After removing the castled nuts, I tried using the puller on the bell crank/tie rod connector. The two jaw puller I have just wouldn't grip before spreading apart. I tried on the two knuckle end-points as well, and it just wasn't doing it. Then I tried going the hammer method, and the passenger side popped right out on the first hit, but I had no luck with the other two. After looking and seeing that I could get newer rubber dust covers as a replacement for the spring seat covers, I decided to try the pickle fork anyway. Now I have a slightly damaged dust cover and tie rods still attached. So then I ran down to harbor freight and picked up a tie rod puller. It looked a little wide but I was hoping it would still have the static jaws close enough to get enough bite to get things moving. Alas, they were WAY too big.

So, now that I've struck out on all of these options, what can I do? I could go spend $80 on a decent set of adjustable tie rod pullers that look almost identical to the kind used in the book, but that seems like a mighty big hammer for such a small job. I was thinking about maybe running to Auto Zone and seeing if they have a loan-a-tool that would work, but I've run out of time until next weekend, so I figured I could ask around instead of spending more time and effort trying to get these off. Any suggestions?

[F Bill]

Get a friend who is somewhat mechanical to preload those tie rod ends with a four foot crowbar. Pry in the direction that would force the tie rods out of their holes. Then, CAREFULLY give the end of the knuckle arm a good solid whack with a 32 OZ or so ball pein. It might be prudent to rethread the nut on the tie rod a few threads so you don't hit the threads. If it doesn't pop out don't keep hammering until everything is all boogered up, it should pop out in one or two good whacks. �

Kinda the backwoods version of the method you read about with two hammers, just a different take on it. Pickle forks don't work as well in my opinion and you already found out they damage things. THe pullers can damage the end of the tie rod joint, or mushroom it. DOne carefully and with good aim, my method is actually the safest for the parts. WIth bad aim, it can be disastrous. The bellcrank is going to be a tough one to get a good hit on, you want to hit it in line with the arm of the bellcrank. �THe knuckles, you would hit also in line with the arms, the hammer head would be pointing at the back of the jeep.

[Carls_jeep]

Sometimes heat with an acetylene oxy torch is the only way to get stubborn tie rods out. Put the nut back on with the nut flush with the thread end. Heat the socket the tie rod is in to a red color then pry up on the tie rod end and pop the nut end with a hammer.  

[Gunslinger]

Another version on the same theme, spray some PB blaster on the tie rod ends after you remove the nut, let it soak for a while, then put the nut on upside down, that way when you whack it with the ball peen hammer it won't distort the top of the castle nut.  I've given them 3-4 good blows, and they usually pop right out with this method.  Then you don't have to worry about fire on a greasy part...

[mrman5917]

Thanks for all the help guys. I had to take the wife's car down to the dealership yesterday for a recall fix, and while I was waiting I walked next door to Auto Zone to see if they had a loan-a-tool that would work. The puller type I wanted to try they didn't have and offered to order it for me, but they did have a slightly smaller C-shaped puller than the one that was too big from Harbor Freight. I decided to give it a try since it wouldn't really cost me any more than a drive back to the store to return it. It was still a bit too big to get a good gripe under the shoulder, but with some clever repositioning and a little ingenuity I was able to free the driver's side tie rod end. With a little more garage engineering I was able to get it to use a portion of the bell crank arm for some additional grip, the tie rod and bell crank soon became two pieces again.

Now if I could just figure out how to get a very stuck shackle bolt out of it's perch.

[macrisel]

Sweet..brings me back to stripping down my frame.  It really gives you a sense of accomplishment when you take EVERYTHING off, strip the frame, paint it and start putting it back together.  Take a lot of photos because it is great to look back on later!  

Stay with it!

[Gunslinger]

Your gonna need a bigger garage!!!