I'm starting this in order to get all facts straight as soon as it is all fresh...


PROBLEM:
Steering linkage Inner tie rods - ball joints with too much clearance



SYMPTOMS:
Mushy feeling steering. With the power steering not easily detectable. Car tends to pull to side of drop in road. When driven on flat pavement a little pull to one side is not straightened out when positioning the steering wheel slowly back to middle position but needs another small pull to the other side for correction.

If you had the nice tech inspection we have over here they have hydraulically activated sway plates on the shop lift to rattle and roll all of your suspension - now that's neat to find the culprit ball joints.



REMEDY:
Get new parts and replace as per service manual - or DIY



PARTS:
Got my parts through rockauto.com from Moog suspension. Spent 45$ each (for one inner tie rod) and 10$ for an adjuster sleeve. I think it's worth going for the more expensive parts. Made very bad experience with cheap parts. (brakes)



TOOLS:
2 half inch wrenches (clamps)
Special tool to remove ball joints but maybe a crowbar does the job.
1 wrench 9/16 (me thinks) for the ball joint nut.
1 big adjustable plier
1 big screwdriver
1 steel brush


TIMES:
I've estimated these times to get the fix done:

15 minutes for the setup
1 hour on each side
1 hour for the adjustements
15 minutes to get out the place and clean up.


WORK: (inner tie rod replacement only)
Lift car up

Remove tires

Give the adjuster sleeve a good spray with rust penetrating solvent.

Give the parts in question a good cleaning (i hate working in the dirt)

Loosen 2 bolts on adjuster sleeve and get them off the sleeve.
Measure how much thread is in the sleeve from inner and outer tie rod. (Careful, replacement part may not have the same lenght)

Measure as good as possible distance from middle of ball joint bolt to sleeve somehow.

Here it forks out - if you got yourself all three parts (outer - sleeve - inner tie rod) Just get the nuts off both ball joints and pop them straight away. Now I would opt to spend 90$ more than go through the hassle of taking everything apart, clean, reassemble, readjust.

Go looking for the biggest adjustable pliers you can possibly fit under the hood (aka wheel bay). Maybe also a torch to heat the sleeve.

Use the pliers to turn the sleeve. I worked with the ball joints still in place so I had more leverage and a stable work situation. But you may get the darn thing out of the car to work on the bench if suitable.

Once the sleeve is loosened up I disconnected the nut from the inner rod and used an appropriate tool to pop the ball joint from the steering linkage.

Used a ring key as lever to turn the inner tie rod out of the sleeve.

Give everything a thorough cleaning. I had the sleeve completely off to get rust and dirt cleaned out from it and the thread on the outer tie rod so it would turn easily after fixing it back.

Measure old versus new part to have to overall length between axe of ball joint when at 90 degrees and tip of thread. Calculate difference to have it as close as possible to original once assembled.

Put everything together. (I used anti seize all over to prevent rusting in the future)
CAUTION: Don't forget to put the two clamps back onto the assy before turning in the new ball joint guess why I know...
Turn as much thread into the sleeve as required.

Fix the ball joint to the steering linkage and torque with nut according specs. Don't forget the cotter pin if delivered with such.

Leave the clamps as you have to adjust the toe-in now.

Put wheels back on and go for toe-in adjustment. Check steering wheel alignment and compensate for that if needed.

Torque the clamps to specs. Works well when car is supported even with wheels on.

Finally I had the outer parts sprayed over with black body protection to prevent them from rusting in the future.




ADDITIONAL:
The threads should be in the sleeve evenly from both sides. I guess there has to be at least 1 1/2 inch of thread into the sleeve anyway, so make sure it looks like the original one.

Adjustment of the steering has to be performed afterwards.

The right turning thread is on the outer tie rod. The inner has a left cut one! Use this info for adjustment of the toe-in and keep in mind that the steering linkage is in front of the wheels...









SUGGESTIONS:
Buy the whole set as is: inner tie rod - adjuster sleeve - outer tie rod.
Then measure the original from middle of axes on ball joints. So you can assemble the new parts completely in the shop on the work bench to clone the original one. Lot easier to take out and put back in.