*URGENT ASSISTANCE* not on a honda

ok, so i got a call while at work tonight from the GF, telling me that she cant come get me cause the front tires are trying to go different directions....first thought is tie rod ends. yup that was it but its not just as simple as replacing them, which i can do in my sleep. planest way to put it is the end peice and the rod itself just arent connected anymore. the threads where fucked, but not on the end it was on the rod. if i had a real job id just go buy a new rack and pinion and put that bitch in but i dont so i need another option...i can get a new tie rod end, but not the rod or the R&P.

my solution would be to align it perfectly and weld that bitch, but i dont have acess to a welder and if i could afford a tow and shop bill i would just replace the parts. so like i said and i know im rambling on i need another solution and i have to work at three and cant afford to call in...on a seperate not my new store manager is a fucktard and i warned him about shit like this but he refuses to transfer me to a store i can walk to. this vehicle is the only one that can be driven at the time being so it has to get fixed QUICKLY

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Originally Posted by NIGHTSTALKER

ok, so i got a call while at work tonight from the GF, telling me that she cant come get me cause the front tires are trying to go different directions....first thought is tie rod ends. yup that was it but its not just as simple as replacing them, which i can do in my sleep. planest way to put it is the end peice and the rod itself just arent connected anymore. the threads where fucked, but not on the end it was on the rod. if i had a real job id just go buy a new rack and pinion and put that bitch in but i dont so i need another option...i can get a new tie rod end, but not the rod or the R&P.

my solution would be to align it perfectly and weld that bitch, but i dont have acess to a welder and if i could afford a tow and shop bill i would just replace the parts. so like i said and i know im rambling on i need another solution and i have to work at three and cant afford to call in...on a seperate not my new store manager is a fucktard and i warned him about shit like this but he refuses to transfer me to a store i can walk to. this vehicle is the only one that can be driven at the time being so it has to get fixed QUICKLY

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Um well you didnt say what car but alot of cars with steering racks you can change the inner tie-rod ends also. Its called an inner tie-rod. Alot of times you need like a claw foot or a special tool to do it too.

Prolly be nice to find out what exactly happen to make them strip out later on down the road too.

EDIT: also some cars like older ones with steering boxes you can get that cage that goes around both ends for the toe alignment adjustment. they get fucked up and rust all the time up north

wp

oh, i know that and i found the parts....honestly enough ive done tons and tons of suspension work and have never replaced the inner before so id be spittin in the wind to get it right. prolly wouldnt be that hard, but i cant afford to buy the inner and the outer even with my 20% discount....(i work at a parts store) i was contemplating using a helicoil to replace the threads, but i dont know if that would hold up on a steering component, since ive never had to use it before. ive never come across a problem like this before cause i normally have the cash on hand to just replace the part cause its usually something minor.

its a 97 ford escort sedan. the car is totalled twice over, but still driveable....only totaled from frame damage...in other words its a peice, but its got insurance unlike my car.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NIGHTSTALKER

oh, i know that and i found the parts....honestly enough ive done tons and tons of suspension work and have never replaced the inner before so id be spittin in the wind to get it right. prolly wouldnt be that hard, but i cant afford to buy the inner and the outer even with my 20% discount....(i work at a parts store) i was contemplating using a helicoil to replace the threads, but i dont know if that would hold up on a steering component, since ive never had to use it before. ive never come across a problem like this before cause i normally have the cash on hand to just replace the part cause its usually something minor.

its a 97 ford escort sedan. the car is totalled twice over, but still driveable....only totaled from frame damage...in other words its a peice, but its got insurance unlike my car.

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well can you get a die (borrow one) and chase the threads and fix em up?

I think an escort you could get inners. They just unscrew like a regular tie-rod end there just usually a bitch to get at is all. Most pepps just swap the rack cuz its a pita.

I dont think welding would be that great plus then you'd have no adjustment.


wp

i was wondering about using a die, but the closer to the end of the rod it gets the smaller the threads are. when i tried to put the end back onto the rod it caught the threads at the adjuster nut, but obviously thats not good enough to keep it on.

i knew it wouldnt have any adjustability if welded, thats why i mentioned a perfect alignment. but both of those solutions would require a tow, since i dont have a welder and i can eyeball an alignment and get it right, but its not totally perfect. ive had to replace tie rod ends on all of my vehicles and never needed an aligment, and i did take it to a shop and they always give me a refund cause they dont adjust anything.

the outer tie rod needed replaced before the thread problem came about and i tore up the rubber boot getting it off...the end was stuck in the knuckle.

You could move that adjuster nut farther up so the tierod end will grab good threads and drive it with shitty alignment until you can get it fixed.... it'd be shitty, but at least it would go....
Otherwise maybe you could use a welder to throw some extra metal on the bolt and then use the die to give it threads again.
these are ghetto solutions, but you gotta do what you can.
Good luck bud

i had thought of that too, but i still dont have acess to a welder.