inner tie rods...

[theghostoftime1978]

Hi guys, about to replace my inner tie rods on my vt. Can you replace them with steering rack still on car and what size if the nut on rack end to remove rod? and do i need a special spanner for the job?

 

[_R_J_K_]

Just get a really big shifter. Don't need to take the rack out.

 

[Jxfwsf]

To remove it won't matter what you use (If you plan on using them again do not do what i'm about to suggest)

Use a set of stilsons to remove, they self lock and you can put a lot of force into it, the reason i say do not use them on rackends you plan to reuse is that you will generally grab somewhere around the pivot point of the rack end and the force you can apply with these can crush the outside closing the gap around the ball joint inside, making them unserviceable.
I found this out the hard way when i installed a new one once..... it locked it up and it no longer pivoted no matter how much force i put on it....

Before you go pulling it all apart there's 1 more thing to check on VT and newer models, get it up in the air and on stands, remove the cable tie's around the boot on the passenger side.
Move it out of the way so you can see where the rackend is threaded into the rack, now grab it and try to move it up/down/forwards/backwards. The bush inside the rack is plastic in these and has a tendency to wear, if this is the case then it may be a waste of time doing all the other work and a wheel alignment if the rack needs work anyway.

 

[Brett_jjj]

To remove and replace the rack ends (or inner tie rods, or tie rod assemblies as they are also known) turn the steering wheel to the right for the right side,(or left for the left side) and remove the tie rod end from the steering arm, and then remove the rubber rack boot. Straighten out the lock washer tab. Grab the exposed part of the rack with a suitable size spanner, hold this spanner in place to take any pressure off the rack, and with a suitably sized spanner or large stillsons, undo the rack end from the rack.
When fitting new rack ends, make sure the lock washer is folded down over the flat part sufficiently to stop the rack end from coming undone.
Dont forget to get a wheel alignment..