Tie rod end nightmare! DIY = not worth it.

[pigpen]

I posted this on AW, but their picture posting options are lacking... so I'll share my pics here:

My driver side tie rod end was dead, so I ordered a new one and began working on Saturday. The DIY guides say you simply unscrew it from the 18mm nut. Ok, easy enough. Little did I know, it would take me until Monday night to get it off (not working non stop obviously).

What a nightmare. Totally not worth DIY unless your B5 has been stored in a climate controled art gallery. Rust sucks. These hints probably apply more to people who live in areas that use tons of salt in the winter...

Pic 1: notice all the marks? You know I had fun.


pic 2: you can see how far the pentrating oil got... the chewed up part was where I was turning it by with vice grips and pipe wrenches


pic 3: DONE.



So here's what I did:

1) unbolt everything like the guides say. Don't listen to the guide after getting the tie rod end out of the spindle.

2) I then cut the thick shaft part off with a grinder for more room. I don't recommend doing this unless you know FOR SURE you can take the rest out.

3) Soak the crap out of the bolt over night with pentrating oil. I cut a pop can open and filled it with some pentrating oil and let it soak.

4) wrap everything up in wet rags that can melt and slowly heat the 18mm nut, turning it every 2-3 mins. I used a normal propane torch.

5) put your 18mm wrench on the nut and grab a small plumbers wrench (vise grip will NOT do) and put all your might into it and hope it starts turning.


If this fails, give up and call a tow truck.

[marked001]

yeah... just did this a couple weeks ago.. the passengers side (the bad one) came right out...driver's side wouldnt budge.. no room to do anything in there.. plus nowhere to grab since the end just flexes if you grab that..

[Crisqo]

I had to change out my inner tie-rod too...b\c the outer one just wouldn't move

[TheBlueMartin]

Congrats on getting that thing out Pigpen, but you may have damaged the socket on the inner tie rod from heating it.

For future use: after cutting the larger part away from the 'shaft', use a 14mm bolt extractor on a large breaker bar to get it out. Its a pain, but it'll go.

[Kruat]

What were your symptoms of the bad tie rods? Just curious, I think mine might be going out.

[Audi 555]

i wish i knew how to do taht stuff.. i just paid to get my tie rods replaced

[nramsey]

When I had my alignment done last weekend at the Audi dealer they found one of my tie rod ends to be bad (ball joint part) and it was seized on there too. Luckily it's still under warranty so it cost me $0.00.

Really kinda bizare so many people have problems with Audi suspensions...never heard of this many problems on the Japanese cars I've owned.

Oh well...price you pay for having a German car I guess. No biggie...car more than makes up for it in other areas.

[skaterjay85]

not many japanese cars have the 4-link suspensions like the audis

[SoloSpeed101]

Originally posted by Kruat
What were your symptoms of the bad tie rods? Just curious, I think mine might be going out.

both sides of mine were out... its mostly... the steering feels loose... then when you are driving maybe 60+ mph you notice vibrations...but make sure its not like your wheels or tires or whatever... but the best thing is having a good local friend mechanic to take a look at it... thats what i did... damn Audi charges 100 for just diagnosing it...

[Wholsea]

Hmmm, I just did min this weekend, both came out without a fuss...

90,000+ miles through some nasty winters here in Central Ohio

Used two wrenches, one on the tie-rod assembly, and one on the "loose" nut shown in the picture.

Pinched them together (with a lot of force) and the loose nut broke loose from the assy, and the rest came free...

I'd say, if all else fails, grab the end of the tie-rod end with a pair of vise grips, and the nut on the steering assy with either a wrench, or another pair of vise grips and spin it out that way...

The hardest thing on the entire suspension assy is the long bolt that holds the two upper control arms into the wheel bearing housing!

[offroader1006]

PB Blaster and 30 mins, the bithces fall right out.

[quattroanillos5]

I did mine too last fall... along with my control arms and my suspension..... they were a pain in the a$$ but i didn't have that much trouble.... the major problem i had was getting out the the bolt that hold the two upper control arms in place.... they were so rusted that i had to drill the entire bolt out.... took about 4 hours per side and i went through about 9 drill bits...

[EuroA4]

I did mine last month and had no problems at all...the ends unscrewed with very little force. I have over 90K in NE winters too...but there was no rust on it at all.

Hopefully you got the HD Meyle replacements, which are notably beefier!

[marked001]

yeah..its pretty hit or miss with these things..either you're lucky, ore you're not..

[Kurzer]

Originally posted by Kruat
What were your symptoms of the bad tie rods? Just curious, I think mine might be going out.

WOOHOO!!!! We get to add a tie rod end to the cams, more cams and EFK kit... might as well tighten the DTS while all our cars are up Nate! Where you at mang?!? It's time for that BBQ

[Wholsea]

Originally posted by quattroanillos5
I did mine too last fall... along with my control arms and my suspension..... they were a pain in the a$$ but i didn't have that much trouble.... the major problem i had was getting out the the bolt that hold the two upper control arms in place.... they were so rusted that i had to drill the entire bolt out.... took about 4 hours per side and i went through about 9 drill bits...

Two words: AIR HAMMER.

Mine were in there HARDCORE, wailed on it with a claw hammer, and I finally pounded it out.

Used an air hammer on the other side, took all of 2 minutes to get it out, and it was *IN THERE*

[Hassmeister]

Do they use Salt or chemicals on the roads there in Toronto?

[pigpen]

Originally posted by Hassmeister
Do they use Salt or chemicals on the roads there in Toronto?

there's more salt on the roads then in the sea in the winter

[white fish]

oh man do they ever use salt up here
just did my arms and rods this weekend
no problem with the pass, but drivers was a bit of a bitch

[Rosati]

Originally posted by skaterjay85
not many japanese cars have the 4-link suspensions like the audis

correct but shouldnt be the excuse for the tie rod problem

[Wholsea]

Originally posted by Rosati
correct but shouldnt be the excuse for the tie rod problem

No, tie-rod ends go bad on all cars. Its the control arms that are the real issue...

I think it is pretty safe to say that most other cars don't have the same issues that we do as far as control arms and such...

But then again, look at the wheel angle when you turn your wheel to the lock, and look at the angle of say, a dodge magnum.

The tire actually moves to an angle, whereas your audi holds the tire flat on the ground, giving you more grip in the turns.

Its a sweet setup, just not made for a long lifespan :-(

[Rosati]

^^ agreed :)

[audidrvr]

next time try soaking whatever you are going to be working on in pb blaster or something of equal quality, it has been a life saver for me.

[pigpen]

Originally posted by audidrvr
next time try soaking whatever you are going to be working on in pb blaster or something of equal quality, it has been a life saver for me.

I'm using the industrial version of PB blaster.... safe to say its BETTER then PB :)