Tie rods have play

[Jamul74]

My mechanic says my tie rods have play. Is this good/bad? Can I do it myself with absolutely no experience whatsoever? Also, what does it look like and should they last 27 years? Thanks and yes I'm serious.

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Dan S.
1974 911 Targa

[epbrown]

Play in your tie rods means there is looseness in your ability to steer - it takes a bit more turning of the steering wheel before the front wheels turn. The more play you develop, the less accurate your steering gets. Not a problem if you don't mind running into things with your Porsche :-)

A common upgrade when these start to go is Turbo model tie rods (available from our sponsor - Pelican Parts. Like most jobs on a Porsche, it can be tackled by a novice with some patience.

Emanuel

[This message has been edited by epbrown (edited 10-02-2001).]

[Rick Lee]

I just got the turbo tie rods put in my '87 Carrera 2 wks ago. They make a nice difference. I did not try it myself, however, as you will need a front alignment after replacing the tie rods. Keep that in mind. You may make through the tie rod install, but if you can't do an alignment yourself, then don't start the project.

[Clark Griswald]

I don't know what I would do with all the spare time if I didn't start any DIY projects because they required an alignment at the end.

You can't do an accurate alignment at home. Leave it to the pros (but "help" them do it right).

Get your hands dirty, put those tie rods in, eyeball the toe setting and take it in for any alignment. Simple.

[dbanazek]

As a novice you may want to stay away from a home aligment but I do it all the time on the race car. I can't spend $80 every time I change a suspension part.

That is no reason not to do the tie rods. You just take the nut that holds them into the strut off. You can then bang on the end of the bolt in the tie rod with a hammer while supporting the strut, use a "pickle fork" to split strut/rod end or use the tool sold by Pelican Parts and others. The tool is easiest and the only way to do it if you want to reuse your tie rod (which you don't). The other end just unscrews from your steering rack. You will probably save a couple hours labor at your local shop and have a better understanding of your car.

Front toe is pretty easy to set at home. Make a straight edge with a couple of blocks on it. You will use this to get a mark on the ground from your wheel. The blocks are to keep the straight edge off the tire and on the rim. Set this device against your rim at roughly a 45 degree angle and mark where it comes in contact with the ground in front of each rim. Do the same in the back. Measure the distance between the front marks on both sides of the vehicle and the rear marks on both sides. Adjust your tie rods in or out untill both are the same. When they are the same you have zero toe. Which is the factory spec for most 911s. Setting rear toe is much harder because it is harder to adjust and you have to get the thrust angle right.

[pbs911]

I did mine and had to eyeball the toe in. But I was taking it in for an alignment anways so it didn't matter.
My suggestion is to replace the tie rod one side at a time. Use a piece of string to measure the distance between a preset point on each tire and adjust the toe accordingly.
Good Luck!

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Paul
78SC Targa

[Jamul74]

Thanks for the input guys. I just received Wayne's book and believe I saw a section on how to replace them. Probably should get a floor jack first though eh!

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Dan S.
1974 911 Targa