rae houghton

Not long ago , putting back a tie rod into its ""slot"" the tapered length fit in nicely, and the castellated nut was turning on the thread until it reached a point where there must have been a misalignment or some nick in the thread or somesuch, because the nut would not turn any more without putting a spanner on it. ARound and around it went and I noted that it was not progressing down the thread. Yet it was turning. Of course it turned out the entire ball and shaft within the rubber protected boot and metal knuckle was turning with the nut. So my question is....what to do (besides buying a new tie rod joint). Any suggestions how to remedy the problem? thanks Rae

Hey Dave T ....if you type in GLITCH IN BALL JOINT REPAIR..... but make sure it is clicked on 'forums' and not 'this forum' ...you should get it. Rae

Here is my manual page with boot and #6 O-ring (which my boot has) On the right column the O-ring is distinctly named as part number 6 Thanks for your interest..and suggestions

tHAT IS EXACTLY WHAT i USED....

thanks Fairtax4me....that did the trick...could almost get the prybar in one hand and put on the castle nut with the other, but ended up getting the wife to hold up the pry bar ...worked great and I am on the road again. thanks again.

DAVE could you have a look at this thread and perhaps give some detailed advice (iv you have any to suggest)? thread is called GLITCH IN THE BALL JOINT REPAIR where there are a couple of pics to help. thanks to all who can add any suggestions. rae

thanks Dave...and thanks for the pic...you definitely know what i am talking about...and i have found a universal boot at a parts shop...however, I will have to check it out first for length. Meanwhile...I have taken your historical efforts and , rather than injure my wheel bearings trying to take them out...and buying new seals. ....I have injected some new grease into the existing wheel bearings.After picture.BEFORE picture.

this is an old thread, however, pertinent. My roll pin did not go in smoothly. I hammered it out a few times after it got stuck ...and i could not see why. Finally I took a chance and belted the damned pin until it went thru...although a 3 or 4 mm. are still sticking out one end. And so now I have to get my housing assembly with axle inserted and rotor on etc, and get the ball joint into the lower arm without injuring the threads or shaft of the ball joint 'stub' attached are three pic showing the lower arm with ball joint stub behind it. and 2 other pics from different angles. so i have tried a jack to lift the housing assembly up (pushing everything up but I am worried that when (IF) i can get the stub into the hole...at what angle it will enter...and not wreck the threads. Any advice would be welcome thanks Raei would love to just drop the lower arm...BUT...I stripped the outside of the nut on the lower arm in order to avoid taking out the ball joint (although now I am glad i did because it forced me to take the whole housing off, and thus regrease the wheel bearing)..and so now getting the lower arm loose is not so easy (if possible at all).

When replacing my front axle I noticed that the wheel bearings could use a replacement too, OR maybe just some more grease. See the pic of the bearing ..... Note lack of grease. So with a syringe and grease the job was done...A bit messy, but with some rubber gloves, and a little grease put in the syringe...saved some dollars and a lot of trouble to replace bearing. DAVE T suggested that he had never seen a brace of his bearing fail, and that he either added grease OR just took out the bearings, cleaned them and RE-Greased them. thanks for the confidence you gave me to add some grease. i thought the little point of the syringe would help push the grease in the right spots with as little excess as possible...and it worked pretty well.

sounds reasonable ...except getting new seals separately...that I would have to investigate. As for the boot...the spare one is broken just past the O-ring a couple mm. and so that won't do. But you have given me an idea I had not entertained...look at the other side of the parts car and look at the boot there. Question....the boot is taken off by unscrewing the outer tie -rod first .....undoing the ""clip"" holding the bellows (beside the O-ring) I am not sure this is reuseable..... then snipping off or finding a way to get rid of ""tie down"" at steering assembly end.... sliding boot off rack... YES???? Then finding a NEW O-ring....???? and mayby a simple ""plastic tie"" to replace the clip.????

was going to swap housing assemblies but ball joint stud got buggered....so am truly thinking about putting new grease in the existing bearings...best way???....buying new bearings requires getting on the road again...or getting friend to drive 40 km to get some new ones after i wait days to get order thru... attached is the bearing...previous picture.....note silver face is now discolored.

For those who ae wondering...the cling wrap did not last long. Combination of axle spin, maybe heat from catalytic converter, made the wrap undo itself very nicely...very very broken...

Hey DAve...what do you think of the photo of the bearing? Can new (moly disulphide) grease be inserted adequately pushing in with the finger tips?

Yes...sorry Dave. Was working on the axle and viewing the bearings, when it became apparent that the Tie-rod Rack Bellow / boots were in need of replacement. Have enquired about new bellows / boots (but it seems an entire kit may be needed...so for now...I have wrapped the old boot in plastic) However, the axle bearings are in question....fill them with new grease, pushing it in with my finger tips?....or //????? thanks for your interest

temporary boot tied at both ends onto unbroke n part of boot. With some fresh moly grease.

Thanks "naru"....can you give me a detail as to how to remove it....I look at that o-ring and say...how did it stretch enough to get over that raised section at the end of the boot. ?

thanks to JesZek here are some pictures of my wheel bearing after axle is out. Seems they have had black as night molybedeum sulphide grease...and I thought to push some in with my finger tips....thoughts? and after that are some pictures of the O-ring where the inner tie rod boot clamps on. It would seem that both the parts car and my driving car have problems...because , although they have different endings....the point where the O-ring is located on parts car can be pushed up revealing the tie rod end. Not good... So new boot seems the go......but costly no doubt if they can be found......and I have to order them no doubt and need the car on the road again NOW....so maybe easy to change when axle back in?????? First pic is of the used parts car boot arrangement and how it is fastened with an O-ring behind it. 2nd pic (small one) is with boot pushed in...as it is obviously broken behind the O-ring. The 3rd pic (big one again) is of O-ring on good car...but there is no clip fastener like on the parts car....(the boot is broken badly behind a cenitmeter or so.) tghe 4th picture is the worn boot pushed back on the parts car...obvsiouly not sealed but the good car is completely torn (I touched it) and liable to get dirt in it. I thought to wrap it in plastic for now (with some grease) and fasten with some pull-ties and then see about getting some new one. So the question is still....can I just unscrew the outer tie-rod end....and pull the boot off...and replace it the same way or must it be fastened to the steering box in some way????thanks RAE

question...My other thought is that the big ball joint at the wheel is not out yet. It will "pop" with enough effort...but how easy is it to get back in.?

according to my manual there is a tiny O-ring....and that needs to come off first. HMMMM. Then a clip at the tranny end....

tie rod at wheel end off already ...no problem. inner boot is the one I am wondering how to get the entire rod off (with boot) without taking apart the steering assembly. thanks for your thoughts. RAE

I have even considered taking the entire tie rod complete and exchanging the parts...but I still need to get that boot off....and am thinking how to do it the easiest way.

Yes I thought using an old boot might be what many would deem unwise. I was thinking that to get that old boot off might be difficult and was wondering how to do it, without actually taking the entire steering mechanism off. There appears to be a clip of some sort near the tranny end....which is of some odd design...maybe a special pair of pliers. My parts car is quite useful, the previous owner having replaced a lot of parts, during her ownership. I think the constant repairs and rust, were what caused her to get rid of it....my advantage).The old boot looks to be in pretty good condition, may even have been replaced itself...I am not sure. Certainly its tie rod ball joints (outer) are recent. Your thoughts are very welcomed. Thanks Rally Suby!

With a ripped tie rod boot, I am looking to replace it myself. My 'Servicing the Suabaru" mechanic's manual is detailed, yet expects to be used by a mechanic, and thus knowledgeable about many things (which I am not) For example.... Must I disengage the steering gearbox in order to remove the boot? taking boot of 1994 Leone (I think they call them Loyales in the USA) and putting on a 1990 Leone (mine is a stationwagon 4x4..and we called them Sportswagons, L-series here) And what are the real dangers that one must be aware of when doing this repair. At present my tie rod at the wheel is disengaged....It would be nice if I could just undo the boot, and slip a new one one...but that would be too easy, wouldn't it? thanks RAE