Help needed asap.Outside right now and inner tie-rod WON'T come off

MustangLX-5.0

Founding Member
Dec 2, 2000
858
7
38
Lehigh Acres Fla.
I'm in the process of replacing the pass side inner tie-rod on my 6.I got the boot off and all but the inner tie-rod just wont turn.I sprayed PB in there twice allready and currently waiting to try budging it again.Is there something I'.m doing wrong here? I'm using a 12" adjustable wrench and I'm afraid I gonna break something inside the rack by trying too hard.

And is fluid supposed to come out when I pull the boot off? What is that metal line that connects to both of the boots?

Appreciate ANY suggestions.

I gotta frickin work in the morning..

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Wrench? They don't make wrenchs in 1 5/16".This adjustable is what I was told to use by several people,including LaserSVT.The guys at the shop use them also.

I'm tellin you,this thing will NOT turn.It's turning..sort of..more like the whole rod going inside the rack is twisting.Like if I keep trying it's liable to break something inside.I put a floor jack under the end of the wrench and kept jacking it up slowly.That thing is not budging.Its f***in welded on there or something.
 
well ive seen then that big, i own some that big. but moving right along, get a inner tie rod tool, its a tube with different inserts. at the end of the tube there is a 1/2" plug that you can put a breaker bar onto.

o and stupid question, sure you are turning the correct way, righty tighty, lefty loosey.
 
Yes..I'm turning it the right way.I don't think that tool wil help with this.I locked 2 large pairs of vice grips and an adjustable wrench onto the rod.I tried..it just wont turn.The grips and wrench aren't slipping either.I went and knee pressed it while on my back along with using my arms.The force is so great I can see the entire steering rack trying to twist against the bolted mounts.This thing is seized in there.And now the shaft going into the rack has a bunch of play in it...

I'm just gonna have to go and buy a new rack tomarrow morning.I've been out here for 2 hours just trying to turn this anyway I can.

Thanks for your help.
 
Have you removed the outer tie rod already? If not then thats your problem. You have to knock the outer tie rod from the wheel then you can unscrew the inner tie rod.
Yes there will be a little bit of fluid under the boot too and the crosover tube is to equalize pressure between sides when you turn and still keep it a sealed system.

And if its the passenger side then the wrench should be going twords the front of the car :D
 
Oh, and its the fox right? Just go very carefully over the inner tie rod and look for any holes where the wrench goes. What you are looking for is a dowl pressed in it. I have only seen that once and it was on a Porsche but I have seen the holes on Stangs before too but never seen anything in the hole other then an allen screw once :shrug:
 
Oh yeah,I knocked the outer tierod off the spindle (common sense).I know you had to ask.The wrench goes on the front side of the outer tierod and I'm pushing up on it (like you are looking at the tierod directly from the passenger side wheel and I'm turning it counterclockwise).And there are 2 tiny holes in the tierod.I stuck a cotter pin in them and it went through to the metal shaft.No pins or screws. This is a '96 (SN95) not a Fox btw.

The tierod's just stuck on there real good.I think it's siezed.The fluid that gooped out was a little thick and white milkshake colored.Water had to of gotten in there.There was also a little rust where the tierod threads end.It's probably seized from a little rust.I wouldn't doubt it with the lakes that get created in the streets during the summer rains.



I drove it to work today.It seemed no worse than before.Js afraid the arms gonna come off while I'm driving and the wheel decides to turn on it's own.
 
Funny I have a few 5" wrenches as work, I also have a pipewrench taller than I am... but that's a differen story.

Hopefully you get everything fixed the way you want it down the road.
 
Yeah, if the threads are siezed/rusted together and you worked on it hard enough that the rack was twisting then chances are you may have dammaged a couple teeth on it :(

Never seen one weld itself together before :shrug:
 
Funny I have a few 5" wrenches as work, I also have a pipewrench taller than I am... but that's a differen story.

They exist,but not in say your average auto parts store or home center.Big tools ..abnormal sizes aren't use often so they aren't generally carried.Either a specalty store,special order or one of the major tool carriers like Matco Tools or Snap-on would have it.. $$$

But now that's cleared up.I probably will just replace the whole thing.I'm not gonna try blowtorching the thing as a last resort.Might not be a good idea

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Dont know if this will help or not but worked on my fox do you have the whole front end jacked up off the ground because mine would not budge until i jacked up the whole front end and then it came off with no problem
 
they make an inner tie rod tool. another trick is to use a pipe wrench.

sometimes they are a bitch to get off but i've never ran across one i couldnt get to spin off.

try the pipe wrench. i've had to break a few of them loose like that before.
 
this is the tool you need
LIS-45750.jpg