Tie-rod end removal

[Greegiecee]

Anyone help? I have been trying to remove my tie rod ends to replace. They are so rusted on I can't get the securing bolt where the tie rod end connects to the tie-rod to losen. I have spayed WD40, scrubbed it with a wire brush, sprayed more WD40, brushed some more....you get the idea. It won't budge.
I got the bolt that connects to the hub to loosen but it gets to a point and then it just turns the whole thing. I can't get an allan key in the base to secure it either. Any tricks and tips I should know about? Now the thing is lose but won't actually come off! HELP!

 

[Mancseat]

I'd advise you to loosen the tie rod to tie rod end lock nut before removing the ball joint from the hub carrier as it stops the shaft rotating and allows you to apply pressure more easily.

To loosen, you could try tightening the nut slightly first to break the seize, heat the nut carefully with a blow torch and apply shocks to the spanner with a lump hammer or just try the spanner/hammer method.

To remove the ball joint nut, use a nut splitter or a mini grinder.

 

[Slimy]

I found plusgas far better than WD40 for opening up seized joints, having it soaking overnight made my suspension swap so much easier.

And the nut splitter will be the best option for the ball joint nut, as soon as the ball joint starts turning more than the ball joint then its time to start cutting.

 

[RoddersV5]

What Slimy said. Plusgas is amazing stuff. You will wonder how you got by for so long without using it..
Give it a good scrub again with the wire brush and a liberal coating and leave for a good few hours whilst it works its magic.

 

[Greegiecee]

Thanks for all the replies. It turns out the tie-rod ends were still the original ones (not bad for 12 years). But, they were so well seized on I eventually got a mechanic to change them. He had a blow torch in them for the best part of 15 minutes. It still took him 2 hours to get the 2 off! Strange thing though, ever since the new ones went on I have a very loud creak and squeak from the driver side. It's there when coasting over a mildly rough surface and when turning. Could these new joints need grease? I thought it was a sealed unit. I hope the tie rods themselves haven't been damaged with all the burning, knocking pulling etc to get the ends off!

 

[Greegiecee]

Oh and I will definitely be investing in some plusgas Never heard of it before but sounds like one of those miracle products

 

[RoddersV5]

I would defo invest some, and is roughly similar in price to WD40.
The creaking could well be the top mounts starting to perish. It could be as a result of all the pulling and what not, but could just be one of those things as well..

 

[Greegiecee]

yeah thanks Rodders. I got some off eBay for £6 delviered for a 200ml tin so not bad. I do hope it's just some of the rubber mounts that need a squirt of grease. I've just had my tracking done and could do without messing with that. I assume by top mount you mean the mount on top of the strut? Are they easy enough to change and would I need to compress the spring? Sorry about all the Q's, I'm still finidng my around this car