All of the tie rod ends on my 1986 F150 4x4 are very sloppy.<O</O I am going to replace the inner and outer tie rod on the driver side. I was wondering if I should try to save the adjustment sleeve or just get a new one.<O</OI also have to replace the drag/center link and outer passenger side tie rod end. Every joint from the pitnum arm the steering knuckle need replacing. Anything I should watch out for when doing this job. <O></O>


Thanks for your help.

 

just did this job on my 89 250. Those parts cost a decent amount. Has the truck been through a bunch of alignments before? if so, that can make the adjuster sleeves worn. There is no danger to them being worn, (or overtightened as they often are) it just makes it harder to align, as it takes more force to turn them. If you don't have a pickle fork for tie rod ends, get one, as it makes the job so much easier. It is nice to have two people for seperating them, one to hold the pickle fork and another to swing the sledgehammer. make sure when you have it apart that there is no play in the steering box and the rest of the steering system. Also check ball joints, if they haven't recently been replaced. All those types of things like going at the same time.... it doesn't take too long to do that job, maybe an hour or so, then you have to align it. To do that, measure the distance between the backs of the tires, and the distance between the fronts of the tires with a tape measurer. if they are the same, the tires are pointed in the same direction. If not, adjust the sleeves as necessary to make them point the same. You can get it pretty darn close that way, then you can have it aligned if you want to, depending on how often you use it, what condition the tires are in, etc. Good luck and have fun.

 

I have only had the truck for about a year. The sleeves look like they have never been touched. This truck was a backup truck for the former owner and is a weekend truck for me. I have records for the last six years on it and it has only been drive about 15K.

I did the jack up and wiggle the tie, and the ball joints seemed tight. I might do them as well. I guy here at work has a pickel fork for an air hammer. Will that do the trick?

 

never seen one for an air hammer, though I can't say they don't exist. You can pick up tie rod seperators (and ball joint seperators, they are the same thing, just ball joint seperators are bigger) they have two prongs that sit on either side of the pole for the tie rod ends. You hold it in place, and hit it with a sledgehammer. For the ball joints, you have to hit it HARD. I would go with the sledgehammer I doubt an air hammer has enough. Ball joints is a much bigger job than tie rod ends, so be aware of this so you don't get in over your head. It takes some time too. it is much easier if you have access to a hydraulic press. about the tie rod sleeves, I wouldn't bother replacing them, it would be another 50 dollars, and they don't wear out, they just get hard to turn if they have been turned a lot.

 

While you're at it, check/replace pivot and radius arm bushings. I think they usually wear out before the tie rod ends.

 

That's true, especially for the passenger side? one I think it is, at least on mine. That one joint there is used to turn BOTH wheels, while the tie rod ends just turn one wheel. That joint there that connects to the pitman arm is under much higher stress than the other three, and will wear out faster. You should replace all four at the same time anyway, because if one is gone, the others will soon.