Front inner tie rod and other fun stuff

[brendon]

Anyone replace one yet? I know the dealer says you have to do the entire rack, but I did find Moog EV800467 over at Rock Auto for ~$26. I bought it a couple years ago just in case, but the time has come to actually do this. It doesn't look too difficult, other than access to the inner clamp ring on the boot.

I diagnosed my clunking by getting underneath and having another person move the steering wheel back and forth with the engine not running. The clunking is distinctly coming from the left side inner area. Anyone see a flaw in that diagnosis?

Also, I found that the rear bushing on my front diff is shot. That should be fun!

Not to mention that both front bolts of the Mopar engine skid plate sheared off; one from a hit somerwhere in Colorado and the other when I was removing the plate to inspect the clunking sounds. I'll have to drill them out and probably install threadsavers.

[Matt]

Does the OEM tie rod have the two flats machined on it to allow the use of an inner tie rod tool? If so, installation is a breeze....

[07JeepXK]

Anyone replace one yet? I know the dealer says you have to do the entire rack, but I did find Moog EV800467 over at Rock Auto for ~$26. I bought it a couple years ago just in case, but the time has come to actually do this. It doesn't look too difficult, other than access to the inner clamp ring on the boot.

I diagnosed my clunking by getting underneath and having another person move the steering wheel back and forth with the engine not running. The clunking is distinctly coming from the left side inner area. Anyone see a flaw in that diagnosis?

Also, I found that the rear bushing on my front diff is shot. That should be fun!

Not to mention that both front bolts of the Mopar engine skid plate sheared off; one from a hit somerwhere in Colorado and the other when I was removing the plate to inspect the clunking sounds. I'll have to drill them out and probably install threadsavers.

I just replaced my driver's side inner tie rod not to long ago. I too went with MOOG (I think they are the only company that sells them for the XK). I bought mine from a local auto parts store and paid around $30 for it if I recall correctly. I also replaced the outter tie rod while I was at it. The install was VERY easy and only took about 45 minutes. All I did was jack up the driver's side front tire and remove it. Remove the outter tie rod to steering knuckle nut and pop the tie rod end out with a rubber mallet (I dont have the proper tool but the rubber mallet worked perfect). Next I took a large screw driver and placed it against the the inner clamp that holds the boot on and hit the end of the screw driver with a hammer and it popped right off. Pull back the boot to access the joint of the inner tie rod. I then used a pipe wrench to remove the inner tie rod from the steering rack (the oem inner tie rod joint where it screws into the rack was rounded and couldnt get a wrench or anything on it, the new MOOG inner tie rod was designed different to you can tighten it with a wrench). Once the old inner and outter tie rod are off I measures the length of it so that I could get the new parts the exact same length. I transfered the boot from the old tie rod to the new tie rod (make sure you do this prior to screwing the inner and outter tie rod together). Screw the new inner tie rod into the rack using locktite. Pull the boot back over the joint and secure it to the steering rack using a HD Black zip tie (works perfect in place of the metal clamp, went off roading two weekends ago and zip tie is still there!) Reinstall the outter tie rod end to steering knuckle and put the nut back on. Reinstall the tire and get and alignment.

[07JeepXK]

Does the OEM tie rod have the two flats machined on it to allow the use of an inner tie rod tool? If so, installation is a breeze....

The OEM inner tie rod doesnt, but the new MOOG inner tie rod does. I just used a pipe wrench to get the oem one off. It came off a lot easier then I expected it to!

[Matt]

The OEM inner tie rod doesnt, but the new MOOG inner tie rod does. I just used a pipe wrench to get the oem one off. It came off a lot easier then I expected it to!

Cool. Some steering racks don't extend far enough to get enough grip on the inner end with a pipe wrench. Glad to hear ours does.

And if the pipe wrench slips because its on too tight, I used to grind my own flats on there for better grip (stuff a shop rag or towel in the rack so debris doesn't shoot in there)

[Matt]

Zip ties will get brittle after a while... so keep an eye on it. Check before wheeling etc. I'd probably throw a fresh zip tie on once in a while, like after winter.

... I don't remember those metal clamps being very expensive, maybe $5 for a pack. And you don't need the crimp tool, a pair of dikes works.

[07JeepXK]

Cool. Some steering racks don't extend far enough to get enough grip on the inner end with a pipe wrench. Glad to hear ours does.

And if the pipe wrench slips because its on too tight, I used to grind my own flats on there for better grip (stuff a shop rag or towel in the rack so debris doesn't shoot in there)

What I did the install, I turned the steering wheel all the way to the drivers side. This helped out a lot. But the rack does extend out far enough to use a pipe wrench. I kept the old inner/outter tie rod incase I break on the trail. It would be an easy swap just to get moving again.

Zip ties will get brittle after a while... so keep an eye on it. Check before wheeling etc. I'd probably throw a fresh zip tie on once in a while, like after winter.

... I don't remember those metal clamps being very expensive, maybe $5 for a pack. And you don't need the crimp tool, a pair of dikes works.

I rotate my tires ever 1,500 miles and will check the zip tie when I do the rotation. In the mean time ill see if I can pick up a new metal clamp and throw it on there. I wasnt aware that you could use a pair of dikes. I figured you would need to use a tool and the location of it is hard to get to.

[Matt]

The crimp tool usually doesn't fit in that area... some dikes always did the trick for me (especially a long handled set if you have them)

[brendon]

I have the crimp tool (I've done lots of cv boots...) and there is no way that is fitting in the space provided.

My bumper is held on with cable ties, I keep a bag of spares in the back.

You're write up is just what I envisioned this would take, and I'm glad to hear that the moog part I bought a few years ago will actually fit!

[Matt]

zip-ties are like the "duct-tape" for 4x4s