Tie rod end. Damage during removal

[the sucker king]

I have a very stubborn tie rod end I ca nt get out of the knickle, I tried. Fork tool and a lot of grease got sqeezed out but it doesn't look like the boot ripped. My question is. If the boot is intact can you squeeze more grease into it and use it? I ask because the tie rod end is still stuck in the knuckle soaking with PBS blaster but if it is toast ill smack it out with a hammer, but I'll keep working at it if it can be saved

Edited April 5, 2013 by the sucker king

[the sucker king]

Forgive the punctuation I am posting from my phone

[987687]

Have you tried the hitting it with a hammer trick?

I know this pic is of an EJ, but it's the exact same thing for any car, really.

Take a good sized BFH and smack where I circled in red. Don't hit the tie rod or you'll break it. This will jar everything loose and the tie rod end will just pop out undamaged. Make sure the nut is all the way off when you do this.

 

 

[88wacaroo]

I"d leave the nut on just about 4 threads just in case you miss  that way you don"t screw up the threads!! I can"t believe you can"t get it off with a Fork-You Need A Bigger F*%&N Hammer

[mikaleda]

i agree you need a BFH, i have done the method that 987687 suggested, it ussually works well. there are alos the pinch type ball joint remover, you can get those at harbor freight fairly cheap and they sound like they work well on stubborn tyrod ends and they wont rip the boot.

[987687]

The other thing I do is take an air chisel to the top of the tie rod bolt. If you're careful you won't bugger it up, that's like hitting it with a hammer thousand times a second. Usually works well fo ball joints.