Track rod ends

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James

James

Active Member
Posts
811
Location
Reading, Berkshire
Any bright ideas how to get the track rod end ball joints off the track rod and draglink bars if they are rusted on? I have got 2 off but the other 2 are stuck solid?

Please help as i could realy do with getting the landy back on the road.

Ta
 
take the nuts off (obviously) then hit the drag link bar on the end, if this makes sence ? here >>>---> O=== not the end of the nut as this will splay the whole nut making it hard to get out. the vibrations should shock the trackrod out of the drag link hole. we used to use this method on the ex-MOD bedford 4x4 lorries ;)
 
So no special ways then, I already have it out of the wheel end just need to remove it from the link bar. I have had it in a vice and done the hit it thing, not sure that using a spanner will be more affective.

What kind of heat do I need. I have a blow torch for plumbing is that hot enough or are you talking about full on gas torch?
 
I have new ends but not the bars, I will probably get some new ones when the suppliers reopen. Are the bars solid in the middle or are they hollow, is it posible to cruch them with a vice?
 
when i did mine it stripped the thread out of the track rod anyway
so you may need a new track rod about 30quid from paddocks,
me an buster had trouble splitting my track rod last week, used a ball joint splitter an bash the fook out of it with a big lump hammer, it came off eventually
 
soak em in deisel. I've made before now a little container from a coke / beer can to hold just little around the offending joint. give it a few days and bingo.
 
James said:
So no special ways then, I already have it out of the wheel end just need to remove it from the link bar. I have had it in a vice and done the hit it thing, not sure that using a spanner will be more affective.

What kind of heat do I need. I have a blow torch for plumbing is that hot enough or are you talking about full on gas torch?
Click to expand...

You take one end of the track rod off at a time. The other end then acts as a vice to hold the bar still. Remove the clamp that tightens the track rod. Put a long spanner over end of track rod and use it as leverage to turn. You may want to add penetrating oil to help. Don't forget to count the number of turns as you take the track rod off.
 
Did mine in a vice with a blow torch and a ring spanner on the tapered sticky outey trackrod end bit. Once you count the turns to undo em put em back the same then if you have a haynes it tells you the measurement between track rod centres. Mine drove nice and straight after I'd done.
 
Finaly manged to get it fixed, by clamping it in a vice and using 2 pairs of stilsons and heat.

It was a bit cold out today though!

I also found that I had to tighen the ball joints back up tighter than the specified torque as they came with castlated nuts, I had to go along way past the 40Nm to get anything in the hole.
 
funny, I've just done all of mine and had a hell of a job getting them loose. I eventually did the following:
1. slacken off the little locking ties and with a chisel open up the slots as best you can without buggering up the threads of the track rod ends.
2. sit them in a bucket of diesel for a day (it's much better than WD40). then with the bar in a vice on a bench tighten it real hard - i used a mallet to tighten the vice.
3. a pair of steelsons with a scafolding tube or similar on the end and they will eventually break free.

of course some heat on the track rod will probably help some too, but mind the diesel what with it being flamable an' all :)

good luck.
 
Last edited:
My advice for you pop down a good garage and get them pressed out if you get the arms off, cost me a few beer tokens when I got mine done.
If you can't get the arms off do you know any one in the hgv side of life that you could borrow there 20 tone cv joint spliter. For free or a few tokens.

Hope this helps
cheers baz
 
hi just checking...... you do know that there are three right hand thread track rod ends and one which is left hand thread .......... that one was just fitted to puddle your mind you know
 
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