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TIE ROD & DRAG LINK ENDS

G

Guest

Guest
Greetings all.

Spent the last 2 nights trying to get the tie rod & drag link ends replaced as part of general steering overhaul. The knuckles are sore & I'm no further on with the job.

The gear puller I have isn't up to the job, so I'm ditching the nicely nicely approach & going at them with a lump hammer and agricultural spec joint separator.

Question is - will I have as much trouble getting them back together? Do I need a special tool or is there a technique I should know about?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Niall

1995 HDJ 80 - with a tendancy to drift towards the ditch
 
> Do I need a special tool or is there a technique I should know about?
I have recently done the same job. The only way my old joints would come out was with huge amounts of heat and a big hammer.
Ian
96 HDJ80
Bordon, Hants
 
> Did the new ones go back in ok?
Niall,
Yes they did, no problems.
Ian
 
Hi Niall,
I have one of those ball joint fork things, but have never used it
because it buggers up the rubber on the ball joint.
I prefer to use a ball joint remover, than can be a little scary to use
as you tighten them up followed by a bang when the joint seperates, but
do the job OK.
See http://tinyurl.com/2lfajy
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Skype: julianvoelcker
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
 
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Julian

Re: those ball joint fork buggers up the rubber on the ball joint.

I was reluctant to get one for that reason. That ball joint remover you have looks like a better contraption than the one i'm using....

It's ok to wreck the rubber if replacing the whole joint, but if changing the pitman arm drag link end you have to remove the ball joint connection on the steering damper. If not replacing the damper then you need the rubber left intact - the softly softly ball joint separator approach is required.

Cheers

Niall
 
Hi Niall,
I find the seperator works fine for me, although you sometimes end up
pushing some of the grease out of the rubber on the ball joint so I
have a small syringe full of grease that I use for topping up when I
refit the ball joint.
It is also worth lightly smearing the mating surfaces on the ball joing
with copper eaze to make it easier to seperate later, although this
will make it harder to tighten up the nut - having an airgun helps with
this - if you don't have one then probably best to skip this.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Skype: julianvoelcker
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
 
Air driven impact hammer and a little heat has done the job for me on
various vehicles in the past. Memories of the tight working space on a Mini
come to mind - now I remember why I have old Land Cruisers.
Malcolm
FJ45's 75&76
From: [Email address removed] [mailto:[Email address removed]] On
Behalf Of Niall Sommers
Sent: 22 March 2007 10:30
To: [Email address removed]
Subject: Re: [ELCO] TIE ROD & DRAG LINK ENDS
Ian
=A0
Did the new ones go back in ok?
=A0
Niall
=A0
=A0
 
Using a wind up ball joint splitter and then putting an air impact hammer
the end once it had some pressure wound on, that rings a bell.
Malcolm Bagley
Stafford UK
FJ45 '75 & FJ45 '76
I was reluctant to get one for that reason. That ball joint remover you have
looks=A0like a=A0 better=A0contraption than the one i'm using....
=A0
 
Hi Malcolm,
I have a Sealey one, which is a reasonable brand, although it is a tight fit
and has bent a bit over the years - it all adds to the fear factor, not
knowing if the loud crack is the joint seperating or seperator cracking ;-)
Fortunatley so far it has always been the former - I learnt a long time ago to
never scrimp on key tools.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Skype: julianvoelcker
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
 
Thanks for the input on this one guys.

Round 4 this weekend - the hammer broke last nite!

Niall
 
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