My front right outer tie rod end is blown and I was wondering if this Deeza part#CVT614 would be a good replacement. Thanks
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...041354k1030991

 

Personally I would stick with Moog or AC Delco after a bad experience with cheap ball joints and tie rod ends, but whatever floats your boat.

For the tie rod ends specifically, I would get the Moog one listed on the link you provided, as it has a zerg fitting for you to regrease it. The AC Delco one does not.

 

Ah, I was hoping for a cheap fix . Would it be advisable to replace both at the same time?

 

You should check the other one to make sure it's not worn as well, but there's nothing wrong with just replacing the one that's worn out.

 

Alright sweet. Ya I went to get the car aligned today because it's been drifting to the right ever since I purchased the car roughly a month ago and the guy told me he couldn't do the aligment because of a blown front right outer tie rod end. Wanted $194 to install and order

 

Moog for sure

 

I guess I'll get the moogs...
lol

 

They're very easy to install, so the part will be your whole cost! Look on the bright side

 

I've never installed one before. How do I do so?

 

Normally I disassemble the entire side because I'm removing everything, but for a tie rod end I don't think you need to remove anything (someone correct me if I'm wrong). So...

Warning: this looks intimidating at first, but I went into as much detail as possible, so there's a lot of words for not much work...

1-Jack up the corner where you need to replace the tie rod end. I place the jack on the marked jacking point on the side frame rail, then put the jack stand on the aluminum spring retainer, which will be towards the center of the car under the spring. Big flat piece, perfect for placing a jack stand.
2-Remove the wheel
3-Loosen the outer tie rod end retaining nut (the inboard side of the outer tie rod end; locks it securely to the inner tie rod, which is the long threaded rod it's attached to)
4-Remove the cotter pin from the outer tie rod end using pliers/vice-grips/whatever
5-Remove the castle nut
6-Use either a ball joint separator or pickle (automotive) fork to separate the ball joint from the knuckle. It may just come off with a light hammer hit to the bolt.
6-Before unscrewing the outer tie rod end from the inner, take a measurement from the bolt (the one that you just smacked) to some reference point on the inner tie rod end (where the threads start, where the plastic shroud starts, something). When you install your new one, since it is a different design (potentially), it may not have the same shaft length, so just installing to the old nut placement may not work. This will get you a ballpark-good alignment so you can drive to the alignment shop without tearing your tires up.
7-Unscrew the outer tie rod end, and screw the new one on! Keep screwing until the new bolt (that will go through the knuckle) is roughly the same distance as the old one from whatever arbitrary reference point you measured from last time.
8-Put the outer tie rod end back into the knuckle and put the castle nut (and I think there's a washer too) and tighten it down. I don't have my FSM with me to look up the torque spec, so hopefully someone here will chime in. (You could always use the German system, Good-n-tight )
9-You might find that when you try to torque the castle nut down, the ball joint of the tie rod end just rotates. In this case, get yourself a C-clamp or other such device, and clamp the outer tie rod end to the knuckle, just get some extra pressure so that friction will hold the shaft in place while you tighten the nut.
10-Now you need to align the castle nut to the hole in the shaft for the cotter pin. Just tighten it a little bit more (the FSM gives a torque range) until the hole lines up with a gap in the nut.
10-If you didn't destroy the cotter pin removing it, stick that sucker back in there and bend the end so it won't come back out again.
11-Throw your wheel back on (torque lugs to 100 ft-lbs) and drive to the alignment shop! Done.

 

I changed it today. Easiest install I've ever done. Bought the moog one too

 

Where did you get the Moog at? I see they sell them at Advance Auto Parts. So, that's probably where I would get mine if I need to replace a ball joint. On my 89, the steering wheel likes to turn some on bad roads in either direction. I've had it checked and they said all the ball joints, and everything were fine. So, I'll take it to a shop to get an alignment and I hope they don't find something.

 

Due in no small part I'm sure thanks to those excellent detailed instructions. This is what is so great about the corvette forun

 

I went online and checked with the local orilley's (moog is their primary brand for this stuff) and the guy told me of a store in the metroplex that had one in stock. I'd paid $20 more than it would have cost to get the same one shipped from rock auto, but I didn't have to wait for it. I was able to notice a huge difference once I installed the new tie rod. Btw, quick tip for the install:
When he says to measure the distance from inner to outer tie rod and what not, all u need to do with the moog is when ur loosening the tie rod bolt at the very beginning, back it off a hair (just to where it's barely loose) and then when ur putting the moog on, just screw it up to that point. This insures that u have exact placement as the previous tie rod