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Castle Nut Spinning on Tie rod end

A

arin

CEG'er
Joined
Feb 26, 2006
Messages
201
We're trying to get the outer tie rod end off and the castle nut is just spinning in place.. we put a jackstand under the bolt and tried to turn it off... doesnt seem to be going anywhere. We doing something wrong or is the nut stripped?!
 
well, we were on a roll and decided to hack the bottum of the bolt off above the castle nut... Tie rod still wont detach with a pickle fork
 
The holes in the knuckle for the tie rods are tapered ie :\___/
Although its not that pronounced.

Check to make sure you haven made the end of the bolt bigger than the hole you are trying to withdraw it through.
 
arin said:
well, we were on a roll and decided to hack the bottum of the bolt off above the castle nut... Tie rod still wont detach with a pickle fork
Click to expand...
just for future reference... i found an easy way is to get the rods off. Take a piece of timber or the handle from your trolley jack and lever down on the tie rod using the driveshaft as leverage. This stops the ball joint rotating while you loosen the nut. Don't remove the nut completely, leave it level with the end of the thread... then hit it with a hammer to release the ball joint. Then re-apply the leaverage while you undo the nut completely ... works like a charm if you clean the thread with a wire brush and squirt with wd40 etc ....G.
 
I do believe that OEM tie rod ends all have a spot for an allen wrench at the top, bottom based on orientation, of the tie-rod end. Also most aftermarket ones should have the same or a flat spot for a wrench. This aids in removal of the nut if the tei-rod end shaft is spinning.
 
gorman said:
Don't remove the nut completely, leave it level with the end of the thread... then hit it with a hammer to release the ball joint.
Click to expand...
I'll expand on this and suggest you actually remove the castle nut and flip it upside-down, then thread it back on flush with the end of the stud before hitting it with the hammer. This prevents damaging the...castellations or whatever they're called. Trick from a racing team.
 
BrApple said:
I do believe that OEM tie rod ends all have a spot for an allen wrench at the top, bottom based on orientation, of the tie-rod end. Also most aftermarket ones should have the same or a flat spot for a wrench. This aids in removal of the nut if the tei-rod end shaft is spinning.
Click to expand...

i believe that you're thinking of the sway bar end links.

i have found that nine times in ten if you smack up the tie rod with a BFH after you have backed the castle nut off just a bit it will pop out. then you can finish backing the nut off and remove the tie rod.
 
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