Thoughts?

Yes! Replace everything that's worn! Mo0g ftw! :thumbup:

I've not done tie rods on the Focus (just the steering knucklages for meh braykes), but Omni's the man for a quick how-to on inner tie rod R&R.

:arr:

 

Youll need a pipe wrench. Yes a pipe wrench for your car.

And some blue loctite for the new ones.

But I dont see a reason to replace them...

 

the outter tie rods on mine look brand new and clearly the bushings are still good at 126k on my SVT...I got my allignment done at firestone and they always check the car out while its up on the rack (I never get service other than allignments and tire rotations/balancing) and they said my passenger side inner tie rod was loose??? is there a bushing or some sort of bearing on the rod or the rack?? anyways someone with some info would help alot thanks..I think im gonna go with Moog myself...everyone seems to have success with there products...off topic but how can you tell when your ball joints are bad?? moog makes some nice looking ones for about 50 bucks a pop.

 

Good choice in replacement parts Drew. I havent done inners either, wish I could be more of a help.

 

Youll need a pipe wrench. Yes a pipe wrench for your car.

Yup, if these are the original factory inners, they lack the "notching" that the replacement ones have that aid in their removal and installation.

It can be a bitch to get in there with those tools, but it can be done. It's a lot easier if you have to drop the crossmember for something else, but I don't know that I'd drop it down JUST to replace the tie rods...

 

Locking pliers/Vicegrips might be able to be used instead of what's usually a bulky pipe wrench.

Just a thought...

 

youd need some honkin big vise grips. the joint you need to grab onto is about 1-1/4" diameter.

 

little tiny pipe wrench did the trick for me. Its a pain in the ass, but very do able. The pipe wrench is your only hope.

 

the joint you need to grab onto is about 1-1/4" diameter.

Ah. Yes. Well, that's that then. Thanks, illinipo and Gweeed. :thumbup:

"Personally, the joint I grab onto is about 2" in diameter..."

"That's what she said! OHHH!"

little tiny pipe wrench did the trick for me.

Sorry to hear that...
:lol:

 

Thanks guys.

I'll probably just tackle it and see what happens.

Rebuild is essential right now, so hopefully I can get it done asap.

- Drew

 

Good choice in replacement parts Drew. I havent done inners either, wish I could be more of a help.

My store gets crazy good prices on MOOG parts, so it makes the decision easy.



- Drew

 

Sorry to hear that...
:lol:

HAR HAR HAR....NOR Cal sarcasm has made its way out of the BS thread :lol:

 

Looks like you got it figured out FocusKiddo, i will add my two cents in here anyway for those that might still have questions.

The way you tell if the inner is loose is, jack the car up off the ground and put your hands at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions and move it back and forth quickly looking for play in the steering. If they are loose it will be a very obvious Click Click Click feeling in the hands.

Another symptom that could happen is that when you feel the front brakes vibrate like the rotors are warped, that could also be the inner tie rods. If you have a combo of warped rotors and loose inners, then its crazy BAD when it vibrates because you feel all the slack along with the vibration of the rotor.

As far as replacing the inners. The easiest way i found was remove the lower control arms, turn the wheel to the right if working on the left side (give you the most room) and use a pipe wrench like suggested. I have spent hours trying to do it differently, trust me, this is the best way! It doesn't take long to get the lower control arm off at all, it just looks intimidating!
The part that gets most people about the lower control arm is how to hold the nuts toward the back of the arm on the very inside. take a 7/8 (if i remember correctly) and use the open end to get it down on top of the nut and use the bolt on the bottom for all the torque to losen it up! Air gun helps bunches here!

Good luck!

 

Anyone know the actual part # for the Moog inner tie rod for a SVT focus.

They list two different ones:

EV419
EV461

I thought that the tie rods were the same ?

 

Anyone know the actual part # for the Moog inner tie rod for a SVT focus.

They list two different ones:

EV419
EV461

I thought that the tie rods were the same ?

EV461 is the SVT, the 419 is your standard Focus.

The rack is different between the SVT and standard, so the inners are different as well.

- Drew

 

Bump. Getting ready to tackle this. Picked up the pipe wrench, ball joint separator and replacement parts. The car is on jack stands ready to go!

 

I did the remove lcas and pipe wrench method. Worked pretty well!