Rear tie rod

[jturnbull]

How involved is the replacement of the rear tie rods? I need to replace both bearings and the bushings are cracked so might as well do those too.

[MikeD7]

How involved is the replacement of the rear tie rods? I need to replace both bearings and the bushings are cracked so might as well do those too.

Tie rod? Your A4 has 4 wheel steering??? lol

[jturnbull]

Tie rod? Your A4 has 4 wheel steering??? lol

No does yours?

http://www.purems.com/products/product.php/II=2110

[T0mat3]

Guessing they named that wrong as that is a sway bar link not a tie rod.

Sent from my Acer Liquid E

[ApeX-CrZn]

Guessing they named that wrong as that is a sway bar link not a tie rod.

Sent from my Acer Liquid E

it is also commonly called a locating arm

The main involvement will be dealing with the Eccentric Bolt and getting an alignment
http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-...M/Rear/ES5838/

[Mad Cow]

Guessing they named that wrong as that is a sway bar link not a tie rod.

Sent from my Acer Liquid E

That's not a swaybar link, it actually is a tie rod. Don't know why that comes as such a surprise to you.

[T0mat3]

On my phone it looks a lot like this, which is a sway bar link....

http://store03.prostores.com/servlet...i-90-A4/Detail

Sent from my Acer Liquid E

[Aragorn]

It sets the toe angle on the rear suspension, so it quite correctly IS a Tie Rod.

I'd replace them, along with all the other bushes under there, as they will all undoubtedly be knackered given the car is 10 years old+

[zak]

Thought it was called a track rod.

[Seerlah]

If replacing, upgrade to aluminum or steel adjustables. I replaced mine with CCP units that I scored for cheap. The stock ones are plastic. Adjustables can be pricey though, if not purchased used. 034 just released their versions of the adjustables a couple months ago. Look into it. I can also try and search for a guy who had a really good deal going on from a different company (just ask, and I will try to find the guy's user name). But yeah, just remove them and place new ones on. You don't need an alignment afterwards. The rear tie rod basically keeps the rear sway bar in place. There is no changing of toe on our vehicles in the rear (that I know of, correct me if I'm wrong), only camber/caster.

[vietxnam]

The rear tie rod is not too involved if you have ever replaced the rear bearings. It was tough to get off. Pickle fork works magic also hammer. Becareful though don't want to break the spindle. Lmk if you have any questions.

[SuprGenius]

I know this thread is ancient, but I just found it today, since I'm about to replace one of my rear tie rods. I suspect the mechanic who replaced my wheel bearing damaged the ball joint, which is ultimately why I end up doing most of my own repairs.

You're referring to the sway bar end links, and you're right about them not affecting the alignment. The rear tie rods (which have nothing to do with the sway bar), however, do allow for toe adjustment using an eccentric bolt at the inside end. A track arm, or Panhard rod, performs a similar function of eliminating lateral movement but has no toe adjustment capability.

You said to correct you if you were wrong...

If replacing, upgrade to aluminum or steel adjustables. I replaced mine with CCP units that I scored for cheap. The stock ones are plastic. Adjustables can be pricey though, if not purchased used. 034 just released their versions of the adjustables a couple months ago. Look into it. I can also try and search for a guy who had a really good deal going on from a different company (just ask, and I will try to find the guy's user name). But yeah, just remove them and place new ones on. You don't need an alignment afterwards. The rear tie rod basically keeps the rear sway bar in place. There is no changing of toe on our vehicles in the rear (that I know of, correct me if I'm wrong), only camber/caster.

[fR3ZNO]

Necrobump. I'm planning on doing this job this weekend, since the right side has a ton of play in it and I can't get an alignment because of it.

Found this video on YouTube, hopefully it's not too much of a bitch to do... considering I recently replaced the toe adjustment bolts.

[walky_talky20]

It really depends on where you live (ie: road salt exposure). The only real hard part is if the eccentric bolts fuse to the inner bushing ID's. Then you got problems.

[Cgoon009]

GET THIS ONE::::


http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-.../Rear/ES11864/

Why? Because its the only one that seems to have anyway to control the stud from spinning and making you life a living hell. Note the picture:



You can get a hex in there to stop it from moving while tightening the nut.

Here is OEM:



It looks like it has the same thing, however it doesn't, and I found this out the hard way. The thread lock on the nut cause the stud to spin in place, making it very hard to tighten.

Here is the cheapest one:



It has the same design as OEM, and thus the same problem.

[fR3ZNO]

It really depends on where you live (ie: road salt exposure). The only real hard part is if the eccentric bolts fuse to the inner bushing ID's. Then you got problems.

Hopefully that doesn't happen since the bolts were replaced and I used a generous amount of anti seize.

GET THIS ONE::::


http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-.../Rear/ES11864/

Why? Because its the only one that seems to have anyway to control the stud from spinning and making you life a living hell. Note the picture:



You can get a hex in there to stop it from moving while tightening the nut.

I did not even notice that when I was shopping for them on Monday! Thankfully I bought the Meyle brand ones.

[walky_talky20]

Meh. Just run them on with an impact. Never caused me a problem. If it does try to spin, just put pressure on the back side (pushing the taper into it's seat), and then hit it. No problem.

If the goal is making things easier, I'd go with whatever part lasts the longest.

[fR3ZNO]

True. We'll see. I bought the Meyle ones since they were cheaper on FCP ($50/piece compared to $60/piece on ECS) and had free shipping.

[Bordom]

True. We'll see. I bought the Meyle ones since they were cheaper on FCP ($50/piece compared to $60/piece on ECS) and had free shipping.

And that lifetime warranty!

[fR3ZNO]

And that lifetime warranty!

That too! FCP is one of my favorite part stores. The only thing is that their selection isn't quite as big as ECS'.

[fR3ZNO]

Just a quick update, got both sides done tonight, also replaced one of the rear wheel bearings. Took me about 4 hours including eating dinner. Not too bad. The toe adjustment bolts came out with ease. One put up a bit of a fight as it got seized to the bushing, but I broke it free thankfully. Also, when removing the nut(s) from the stud(s), it started to spin, so I just cut it off. But the hex on the Meyle units definitely made it much easier when installing. Just took a pass through ratchet and an Allen key and torqued it down.

[Bordom]

Just a quick update, got both sides done tonight, also replaced one of the rear wheel bearings. Took me about 4 hours including eating dinner. Not too bad. The toe adjustment bolts came out with ease. One put up a bit of a fight as it got seized to the bushing, but I broke it free thankfully. Also, when removing the nut(s) from the stud(s), it started to spin, so I just cut it off. But the hex on the Meyle units definitely made it much easier when installing. Just took a pass through ratchet and an Allen key and torqued it down.

Excellent! Did you start on the eccentric bolts before removing the rod from the arm?

[fR3ZNO]

Excellent! Did you start on the eccentric bolts before removing the rod from the arm?

I believe I loosened the nuts to the stud, then smacked the spindle so the joint popped out. Then I removed the eccentric bolts.