tie rod ends

[faiyaz]

hello, im planning on replacing the tie rod ends for my hilux tomorrow how can i tell that there worn out ? if they arent stiff ? secondly, apart from genuine toyota what other brands of tie rod ends are good is CTR any good ? your feedback is much appreciated !!!

[Mud Dog]

There should be no play between the tie-rod and the steering arm in the push-pull action. Get someone to turn the steering left and right while you check. You can can cup your hand over the whole joint while this is being done to feel if there's play that you cannot see by eye. Any play = worn ball joint on the tie-rod.

I would rather replace with genuine parts on this.

[faiyaz]

ok ill do that but if the boots for the tie rod ends are cracked its best to replace the tie rods isnt ? as water and dirty will enter and cause them to wear out ? haha, ok ill have to check if the genuine ones are within my budget, oh and what about the steering damper how do i check if that needs to be replaced ?

[Mud Dog]

Yeah, if the boots are cracked then replacement is on the cards. You can put it off for a spell while you budget for replacements if they're not too bad yet.

If you're getting a rough kick-back on the steering wheel when negotiating rough terrain, then the steering damper is no longer serving it's purpose and should be replaced. You don't have to use OEM here - Monroe are good too.

[faiyaz]

ok, it was a real pain to unscrew the old tie rod ends ! had to put them in a vice and use a pipe to lever them open, i guess 23 years of rust makes things interesting, ok i see it seems to be fine dont really go offroad its a daily driver for work. Managed to get ctr tie rod ends but will try and organise genuine toyota ones from dubai or sa. the ctr ones came to $34.5 a pair.

[Mud Dog]

If you've already fitted the CTR ones, stick with it and see how they last. Just remember to check them periodically. Who knows, they may turn out to be decent quality.

[faiyaz]

true! i put anti seize grease on the threads that go into the bar and also where the studs go, and torqued everything as per workshop manual , hopefully in the future everything will open up more easily, only need to do alignment tomorrow, set the spacing to 1.20m roughly .

[Mud Dog]

[faiyaz]

thanks for the help!!!