Question On Replacing Tie Rods

[ARCHINSTL]

Still savin' for simultaneous replacement of tie rods, struts, and CV axles, but...
I know at least the inner tie rods need replacement, as the ball-ends move within the sockets (and were rusty before I cleaned and greased them). This manifests to 1/8-1/4" horizontal movement at the tires' o/s arcs, and I've noticed wear at the shoulders of the tires. It would seem prudent to replace inners and outers at the same time - car has 172K miles, but no shaking/shimmying at highway speeds, which surprises me, given the tie rod wear.

The FSM mentions that the PS rack must be removed, but it does not look like it would have to be. I did some Searches and can find no reference as to whether it must be removed (several guys did remove it whilst replacing tie rods, but apparently their racks needed replacing as well).

Also, the FSM shows a special tool being used to unscrew the inner tie rod; any sub on this tool? Also no mentions of this in the Searches I did.
Dug320, takza, and 3A-C Power had quite a thread on this back in '05, but I found no mention of my 2 questions - nor in any other threads on tie rods.
Thanks,
Tom M.

[GTSSportCoupe]

Still savin' for simultaneous replacement of tie rods, struts, and CV axles, but...
I know at least the inner tie rods need replacement, as the ball-ends move within the sockets (and were rusty before I cleaned and greased them). This manifests to 1/8-1/4" horizontal movement at the tires' o/s arcs, and I've noticed wear at the shoulders of the tires. It would seem prudent to replace inners and outers at the same time - car has 172K miles, but no shaking/shimmying at highway speeds, which surprises me, given the tie rod wear.

The FSM mentions that the PS rack must be removed, but it does not look like it would have to be. I did some Searches and can find no reference as to whether it must be removed (several guys did remove it whilst replacing tie rods, but apparently their racks needed replacing as well).

Also, the FSM shows a special tool being used to unscrew the inner tie rod; any sub on this tool? Also no mentions of this in the Searches I did.
Dug320, takza, and 3A-C Power had quite a thread on this back in '05, but I found no mention of my 2 questions - nor in any other threads on tie rods.
Thanks,
Tom M.

I removed both my outer and inner tie-rods as one piece at one point. They were rusted together, and I had to get them apart to put new PS boots over the inner one. It was impossible to get them apart mounted in the car, so I was forced to remove them as one piece.

I don't remember it being that difficult to detach the inner tierod end. From memory, I think you need to remove the boot (or at least pull it back from the steering rack). There is a washer bent over to keep the inner tie rod from comming apart from the steering rack. I don't remember exactly how things came apart, but I know I just used standard tools. It becomes pretty clear how things come apart once you've removed the boot. I think I just used an open ended wrench...

Hope that helps a bit.

[ARCHINSTL]

YES !

Thanks - I had a suspicion this was the case. I'm familiar with making tools serve "dual purposes," as when I entered the bicycle trade, there were not too many specialized tools available. I recently assembled a pretty cool big caliper to measure the brake drums and shoes (or anything else), of which I'll post pix of pretty soon; it's accurate, too!
Tom M.

[takza]

You don't need to remove the rack...there is a sheet metal tab that is bent over to hold the inners.