One thing leads to another...brakes, tie rods etc.

[jester911]

Well I have had my car up on jack stands for a week now. I started last Sunday removing the rear wheels first to address an exhaust leak at the premuffler and an oil leak on the other side.

Well it took the better part of a day to get all of that done. With no time during the week that left it for this weekend to flush and bleed the brakes and install new brake lines.

Well I remove the front wheels and while inspecting the brakes I notice the tie rod ends rubber boot is torn and ratty. I had totally forgotten I had bought turbo tie rods and never replaced them. Dig around in the shop and sure enough, brand new ones still in the package.

So much for doing brakes. Well it took me the better part of 3 hours to change one side. Ran out of time with other stuff to do today so now it looks like I finish the tie rods and wait til next weekend to tackle the brakes.

It occurs to me that working on my car is a little like visiting the denist. A look inside the mouth or under the car rarely happens without some kind of repair. Plus they are both painful and expensive.

[jester911]

Okay so after doing the turbo tie rods I wanted to give a a couple of tips. In a search I found a couple write ups so I won't give a total blow by blow but just a couple things that might be helpful for someone else doing this.

First removing the spindle on the old tie rod from the control arm is stuck in there pretty good. If you are like me you don't have the "special tool" that separates the two. Well if you are replacing the old one then you don't really need to worry about
damaging the rubber around the joint.

I used a 12" adjustable wrench and set the jaws open enough to shove in there but tight enough that it will probably tear the rubber. Once in there firmly you can just pry down and they pop right out.

Now backing out the tie rod from the steering rack is no small feat either. At certain angles the tie rod can be turned so that it is its own wrench and back out. But there are lots of things in the way so you don't get full rotation with that method.

Again using the same adjustable wrench I placed in around the U-shaped end and was able to turn it around where needed.

At least on the Carrera you have to take care in this area because you have a small hard brake line that you can damage so even though it takes some force to back out you have to be watchful for that.

Next make sure you remove the old boot from the steering rack. I have the 101 book and Bentley manual but somehow forgot to do this.

Leaving the spring retainer on the rack end place your new boot on. This is a tip. Pull the new boot over the end of the rack but don't put the spring retainer on yet. Screw in the new tie rod and now pull the boot over the tie rod end.

The secret is to start the boot at the bottom and as you work your way around you twist the whole boot because you cannot reach the top to ensure it is in place. You may need to do this on both ends to seat them properly. Rubbing a little grease on the inside of the ends from the rack also helps this process.

Once both ends are properly seated now go back and pull the spring retainer over the rack end of the boot. This not easy. Using a long thin flat screwdriver and needle nose helps. Again you can turn the whole but as you work your way round with the retainer.
Hopefully this info will help others in this repair.