ADVICE NEEDED: Removing Inner Tie Rod Ends - TWO QUESTIONS

I am going to start replacing the worn tie rod ends (inner and outer)
and ball joints in my 1996 Mustang GT.

I have heard that the inner tie rod ends that originally came with my
car are screwed onto the ends of the steering rack and then held in
place by a small pin.

How do I remove this pin? Is it soft enough to simply shear off if I
start to unscrew the old inner tie rod ends? Do I have to drill this
pin out? Is there some "proper" way of removing this pin?

My new replacement TRW inner tie rod ends don't need a pin to hold
them in place, so I only need to worry about the pins when I remove
the old inner tie rod ends. But I need a fool-proof method of being
able to grab and remove these pins....I would hate to get STUCK
halfway through the repair!

Here's another thing that worries me....

The instructions that came with my new TRW inner tie rod ends mention
have this caution:

"CAUTION - Always hold the rack from turning by using an adjustable
wrench on the flat of the teeth on the rack. This must be done when
removing inner socket on each side. Failure to do so will cause the
rack teeth and the pinion teeth to wedge against each other as the
pinion tries to prevent the rack from rotating. This could result in
chipped, cracked, or broken teeth which will cause erratic steering
and binding of the steering assembly."

HUH?!? My Haynes manual makes no mention of this "hazard". But then
again, the Haynes manual only gives instructions for replacing the
entire steering gear. (I won't be owning this car for very much
longer, so I am not that interested in buying an entire replacement
steering gear. I would just as soon replace only the inner tie rod
ends. My current steering gear works great and has no leaks.)

I had assumed that removing and replacing the inner tie rod ends would
be a fairly straightforward "unscrew and re-screw" procedure. Why
would I need to brace the rack? Will I really be required to apply
that much torque to it to remove and install the inner tie rod ends?
I don't even think I have heard anyone on these newsgroups mention
having to brace the rack. What the heck are they talking about
here???

I should point out that I completely rebuilt the front steering and
suspension on my 1965 Mustang. But that car has manual steering, not
power steering. My 1996 GT has power steering, and I have to say that
I have never really messed with any power steering components, so I am
more than a bit cautious at this stage.

Any help, advice, tips, or other information would be most welcome!
Thanks in advance......

"EADGBE" > wrote in message
...
>
> I am going to start replacing the worn tie rod ends (inner and outer)
> and ball joints in my 1996 Mustang GT.
>
> HUH?!? My Haynes manual makes no mention of this "hazard". But then
> again, the Haynes manual only gives instructions for replacing the
> entire steering gear. (I won't be owning this car for very much
> longer, so I am not that interested in buying an entire replacement
> steering gear. I would just as soon replace only the inner tie rod
> ends. My current steering gear works great and has no leaks.)
>

Since your going to be selling it soon, why are you bothering with
this? Your not going to get squat in enhanced resale value
by doing this repair yourself.

IMHO the only people who should be buying inner tie rods are
the steering rack rebuild houses.

Ted

On Jun 26, 6:09 am, "Ted Mittelstaedt" > wrote:
>
> Since your going to be selling it soon, why are you bothering with
> this? Your not going to get squat in enhanced resale value
> by doing this repair yourself.


I'm doing this repair because although I will eventually sell the car,
I won't be selling it anytime soon...probably keep the car another
year, tops. But you are missing the most important point: Resale
value is NOT why I'm doing this repair. I'm doing this repair because
this is a safety issue. I should not drive the car in its present
condition, and I certainly wouldn't want to sell the car to someone
else if it weren't safe to drive.

Thank you Ted... I'll be sure to pass your remarks on to my customers....

Nearly everything we do to the modern automobile has special
considerations.... be it removing or installing spark plugs , installing a
wheel or brake pads, deciding on the proper lube spec for any subsystem....

Sadly, some DIYers are better prepared (both toolwise and smartswise) than
some "professionals" for many of these tasks.... The OP has the common sense
to see that "something is up" and you turn into a dick....

OP... simply push the pin (if present) into the cavity inside the tie rod
end...

Using a large crescent wrench in the manner TRW perscribes is no big deal..
but I highly recommend it to avoid any possible concerns with the rack.On
reassembly, I like to use red loctite (I don't care who might have to change
these things later... they ain't coming loose on my watch). Torquing these
things to spec is always a problem.

"Ted Mittelstaedt" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> IMHO the only people who should be buying inner tie rods are
> the steering rack rebuild houses.
>
> Ted
>
>

Thank you Ted... I'll be sure to pass your remarks on to my customers....

Nearly everything we do to the modern automobile has special
considerations.... be it removing or installing spark plugs , installing a
wheel or brake pads, deciding on the proper lube spec for any subsystem....

Sadly, some DIYers are better prepared (both toolwise and smartswise) than
some "professionals" for many of these tasks.... The OP has the common sense
to see that "something is up" and you turn into a dick....

OP... simply push the pin (if present) into the cavity inside the tie rod
end...

Using a large crescent wrench in the manner TRW perscribes is no big deal..
but I highly recommend it to avoid any possible concerns with the rack.On
reassembly, I like to use red loctite (I don't care who might have to change
these things later... they ain't coming loose on my watch). Torquing these
things to spec is always a problem.