Bruce in Montana

Frustrated here....

I just had my upper/lower ball joints replaced and wanted to do a driveway toe adjustment. Measuring the toe, I have about 7/16" toe in.

Simple right? Just back the bolts off of both the replaceable ends of the tie rod....PB blast everything and grab the old trusty pipe wrench and a tape measure.

Well....I've PB blasted for a week....tapped on the tie rod where the threads are and strained....to no avail. That sucker is pretty stuck.

Has anyone else had this issue? Of course, I could throw money at it and replace both ends but they appear to be in good shape with no slack....I just need to get the tie rod itself to turn a little.

I've got a little HF tie rod end puller thingie, and have considered popping both ends loose and putting things in a vice. I'm not sure if that would tear up the rubber boots though.

Any advice?

sthon

I would pull it and put it in a vice. You don't need a tie rod puller though, a pickle fork and BFH works just fine. The rubber boots are replaceable for only a few bucks if you damage one.

rrich

PB blaster is great, but it evaporates.
Wrap a rag around the joint, soak it wih PB Blaster, the rag keeps it wet overnight.
Next morning use heat - a propane torch is enough - get it hot, it should break loose.

Bruce in Montana

I didn't realize that. Thanks.

So all these times I've "soaked" stuff in PB Blaster .... spraying once a day ... was a waste of time.

Well, you learn stuff everyday, I reckon.