Track rods

[carbman]

I have been told today that the track rod (inners?) need renewing on my daughters car.
I am not very mechanical, but I know a man who is!!
Is there any one able to give me any tips on this job?
Where is the best place to buy them?
Is there a diagram available that would help?
Any help and advice would be much appreciated.
Regards, carbman.

[MAXIBOY]

do you mean the steering arms rather than track rod ends mate..

is this due to play in the steering..

could be the column joint thats worn...

[carbman]

Hi maxiboy, thanks for the reply.
No it's definitely the track rod ends. It was in for a 4 wheel alignment because it was scrubbing off the o/s/f tyre badly and the guys couldn't do it because there was too much (play/toe-in? 11mm). They said there was play in both track rod inner joints. Needs 2 track rods.
Cheers mate.

[Coops]

track rods are a bugger, could opt for a recon rack and just swap it, its a rare issue tho tbh, so i'd still check the column for play aswell to be sure

[richy]

euro car parts sell the track rod ends with inner tie/steering arms for about £30 each side, but i would def check the steering column UJ as they are commen as muck for excessive play, and easy missed too.

[carbman]

Thanks for your help lads. Just to make it clear, we had a problem with the steering column joint last year and had it replaced.

[MAXIBOY]

cool...not that then...as richy says euro car parts or renault..get the complete arms and swap

[Joel]

Track Rod Ends, Horrible things I hated doing mine when i had the Clio.

I think there is also an A-Z Car Parts in Wakey try them mate,

[richy]

euro car parts it is then, btw there a febi bilstien product,

600745060 LH kit £36.46

600745370 RH kit £36.46

think there plus vat though, so price must of gone up!

[carbman]

Thanks everyone for your input.
Is there anything on the web that would have a diagram of it all ie. a workshop manual to have a look at?

[richy]

you might have to wait and see if anyone has any pics etc from when they did theres or a renault repair manual etc,

dont have any pics myself!

[MAXIBOY]

pm northy as he did his not long ago and might have pics..

[carbman]

Thanks again everyone for your help. Off to bed now, work at 6 in the morning.
Regards, carbman.

[eternalife]

Thanks everyone for your input.
Is there anything on the web that would have a diagram of it all ie. a workshop manual to have a look at?

If I had known someone needed pics of how to take it off, i would have taken some before i did mine.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r229/valverflavour/Picture.jpg

Need to get the gator off to reveal the rack and track rod/track arm/steering arm/inner ball joint (or whatever else you want to call it lol).
I decided on removing the 'Track Rod End' (noting the number of threads exposed to try and keep my tracking reasonable accurate) and removed the gator accordingly to avoid damage.

Then a pair of mole grips / stilson wrech on the Ball Joint housing (can see from my picture where I placed the molegrips as it slipped a few times) to unscrew them from the rack. Takes quite a bit of force to undo.

[eternalife]

Wanted to add (damn lack of edit button).

Once you remove the gator and expose the rack and inner ball joint, you should easily be able to see if there is undesired play/movement.

Will be a good idea to check before changing - this will confirm 100% if this item is at fault (before having to purchase the item and go through the hassle of changing them).

11mm Toe in sounds hugely excessive to me from worn inner ball joints.

[carbman]

Thanks for your help eternalife. I have been out of circulation since my last post. I have had a word just last night with the friend that is going to do the job for me and all the things you mention in your post he has also mentioned so he seems to have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

All we need to do now is get the car from my daughter. Easier said than done.