Are these tierods toast?

[safe]

These are up for replacement right?

[livi]

Good pics, Magnus !

I am certainly no authority, but mine (stock, original) looks a lot more healthy than yours, and I have the turbo items in a box ready for installation.

[safe]

I was hoping to avoid these right now, things adds up big $$ anyway...

[Gunter]

Magnus:
It looks loose. Use penetrating oil and soak it for a while.
Lots of info on how to install 930-tie rods here.
Personally, I only use adjustable- or pipe wrenches if absolutely necessary.

[safe]

Gunter, I don't use adjustable wrenches, if not necessary (36mm oil lines), I just used it to get a feel for the condition of the rubber.
It felt soft to me and the rubber seamed cracked as seen in the first picture.

If I got it right the outer nut is the lock nut and the one I have the wrench on is the one you adjust the tie rod length with, right?

I would like to change them right away but its a money issue right now...

[Evans, Marv]

Magnus,
I wouldn't like that amount of play in the tie rods. If they move up & down that much, they probably move laterally a good amount too. Turbo tie rods are not expensive, but you do have to get an alignment after installing them. If the rubber in the tie rods is as loose as you fear, it probably affects alignment anyway.

[Gunter]

I am not sure how to adjust these; I have the 930 rods.
It would be tough to get a good alignment with that much slop.
You could try to find a used set of 930 rods on Pelican.

[al lkosmal]

Magnus,
Those are fully toasted, my friend. Time to replace them.

Al

[safe]

Originally posted by al lkosmal
Magnus,
Those are fully toasted, my friend. Time to replace them.

Al

Yes, I guess...
It's going to be an expensive winter. New torsion bars, bushings, shocks, tie-rods etc...

[arcsine]

While you are tearing all this out, pull the steering rack and re-pack it. You can do a search for Tim Hancock. He did a a rack-rebuild and gives us all the part numbers/diagrams. Almost no cost especially compared to what you are doing.

[safe]

Streering rack, good point! I'll check it out.

[aigel]

The main cost on the tierod ends is labor and alignment, not parts. If you have your suspension apart anyway, it would be foolish not to go with turbo tierods, even if your stock tierods would still be good. And yes, those are far from fresh, so you have no choice!

George

[livi]

Magnus,

You will be doing these projects your self, right ?

I assume torsion bars could be a bit tricky, but I did the shocks myself and will install the turbo tie rods by my lonesome this winter.

I figure if yours truly can manage - the rest of you guys can probably do it blind folded with your left hand. Sure saves a lot of money.

[safe]

Yes Markus, I will be doing everything myself, hopefully including alignment and corner balance.
I'll take my time and not rush anything, but I got time since the car is in storage untill April.

[Gunter]

I know about 911-hibernation; All I can do is look at pix and re-live the memory.

[Nine9six]

Whatever you do on the tie rod replacement, go with the OEM units as supplied by our host. To many negative posts on purchasing aftermarket units as sold on Ebay and such, with the rubber boots self destructing all by themselves.

[safe]

I will be ordering new Lemförder tierods after the new year.

[safe]

A small update:

I have now removed my tie rods and steering rack.
I was unable to remove the cotter pins, but I just twisted of the nut.
On the right side the tie rod separated easily from the arm, but on the left....
I got help from a mechanic, since the arms are cast iron and the pin is tapered, hitting the arm (not the tie rod) with a BFH pops the rod right out.


When removing the steering rack this shaft was a little tricky to get off. I had to make a tool to hold it so I could get the second bolt off. There are probably a simpler way.


Then I could slide out the rack and rod assembly to the right of the car.


Then I started to clean and disassemble it.



Luckily It was full of grease and and had no play at all, rock solid!



Hopefully the reassembling will be breeze when I get the new rods.

[randywebb]

Is there a way to check the steering rack w/o the major surgery above?

[safe]

Well, you can remove the small "lids" from under the car and get a look inside.
But I think you need to remove the tie rods and steering column if you want to "feel" the steering rack for play.