Do it yourself, It is not that bad. Mine came out nice and easy with some penetrating lube that I let sit on them for half an hour.

 

How simple is the job? You mind summing it up?

I assume....

1. jack up car, remove wheels

2. lube up bolts.

3. remove old bolts

4. install new ones

Is that it?

Is there tension on these parts?

How about the torque of the ends?

 

Nope, no tension on the parts. You will have to remove the nut on the bottom of the tie rod and hit it with a hammer to pop it out though. Then there is a sleeve that you have to remove the tie rod end from.

 

So pretty much a no-brainer?

How long would this take?

 

Yeah, pretty much a straight forward repair. The time it takes depends on the person doing it and their mechanical skills. I took me and my friend half an hour to do both sides but that was on a lift and taking the wheels off with an air gun. In a driveway I would probably give myself 1-1/12 hours without running into any problems.

 

I'm wondering how much of a bitch the rusted on bolts could be. My car has three winters on it in Maine, florida car before that. Rust is no issue at all, but still.

 

Use more penetrating oil. Or torches. My car has 10 VT winters on it and there are very few rusty bolts on it.

 

hey!
im doing mine too they should be here by the end of the week
itll be a sinch

 

Remember to count how many turns it takes to get the outer tie rod end off of the inner tie rod. When you put the new outer tie rod on, just turn it on the same amount it took to get it off. This will keep your alignment somewhat close to what it was (but you still need to go get it done).

 

yeah or just mark it with a white pen or something..
aligning a lowerd 9-3 with 18s aint guna be easy!

 

Yeah Tie rod ends are Very simple. But I would suggest an alignment afterwards so when your Toe angle is screwed up it doesnt eat your tire.

 

I changed mine a couple months ago and with out a torch and a impact gun it would have never came off.

 

trex you had to use a torch?
to get it out of the strut huh?
i just used a gear puller

 

^ no, to get it out of the threads.
The part where the screw goes on the bracket on the strut was easy.

 

What you guys need is some good penetrating oil. I have used them all even P.B. Blaster but have never seen anything as good as Aero-Kroil. You can buy it off the internet there website is www.kano.com. This stuff is unbelievable. I had a flat head screw in the brake drum of a 53 ford farm truck that was stuck. I sprayed it down and the next day it came right out, didn't even feel tight.