Which way do the tie rod ends go out by the wheels. up or down?

1 PUT ON YOUR EMERGENCY BREAK, LOOSEN THE WHEEL NUTS ON THE FRONT WHEELS,JACK UP THE CAR AND REMOVE THE FRONT WHEEL. WITH SOME YELLOW PAINT ,MARK THE THREADS WHERE IT SCREWS INTO THE TIE ROD END SO YOU KNOW HOW FAR TO SCREW THE NEW ON ONTO. TAKE OUT THE COTTER PIN AND REMOVE THE CASTLE NUT FROM THE ROD. USE A PRY BAR TO SEPERATE THE BOLT FROM THE TIE ROD END. ONCE SEPARATED YOU SHOULD BE ABLE UNSCREW THE OLD TIE ROD END OFF THE SHAFT..TAKE THE NEW ONE AND SCREW IT BACK ON ONLY TO THE YELLOW PAINT MARK THAT YOU MADE ON THE ROD EARLIER. THEN JUST REASSEMBLE THE SAME WAY YOU TOOK IT APART. MAKE SURE YOU TORQUE THE NUT TO 50 LBS.AND BE SURE TO USE A NEW COTTER PIN ON THE CASTLE NUT..

Jack up the front of the vehicle remove the wheel. Put a jack stand or similar under the side of the vehicle , dont just rely on the jack to hold it up. remove the split pin from the nut on the joint. Crack off the locking nut from the tie rod to the end. Dont undo it just back it off less than 1/4 turn. Undo the nut that the split pin came out of. Leave it on a couple of threads. place a rod,bar or lever of some kind to put pressure on the tie rod end away from its position . The end has a tapered fit where you have undone the nut. Hit the side of the steering arm that the rod end goes through with a hammer. You will need to hit it quite hard a few times ,this will jar the tie rod out of the taper. Take the nut right off then unscrew the rod end from the tie rod. Place the new and old tierod end together to make sure they are identicle. screw the new joint onto the tie rod to the same position the old one was. place the tapered end through the steering arm. tighten the nut then fit the new split pin. Tighten the lock nut on the tie rod to the rod end. If it is a greasable joint grease it with a grease gun. You may wish to have a front wheel alignment done. Replace the wheel and let the vehicle down. Happy motoring. If this has been usefull Please Vote Jeff

Sounds like you need some front end parts. You can narrow down the parts you may need though. Get a jack and some jack stands and raise the front of your vehicle so the front wheels are off the ground. The first thing I would check is the tie rod ends as this would give you loose steering. Now that your wheels are off the ground, take both hands and grab each side of a front tire and wiggle it side to side. Keep your eye on the other front tire. If you can move the tire side to side at all, even a little bit, and the other tire does not move side to side with it, you have bad tie rods. Locate the point where the tie rod end connects to the steering knuckle at the wheel. The tie rod end will have a rubber boot with a bolt going through with a nut and probably a cotter pin holding the nut in. Now wiggle the tire again and keep your eye on this spot where the rubber boot meets the steering knuckle. If your knuckle moves (even a little) and the tie rod end does not, THAT tie rod end is bad. There are inner and outer tie rod ends. You want to check the pivot point (the place that the tie rod end is connected) on the inner and outer tie rod ends on both wheels. Again, you are looking for one side to move and the other to not move. Even if it only looks like a couple mm, it is bad. There should be NO movement whatsoever. Once you have identified all loose parts by moving the wheels side to side, we can now check ball joints and bearings. To do this is very similar to what we just did only this time we grab the top and bottom of the wheel and try to move it back and forth. Pull the top of the tire towards you and push the bottom of the tire away from you then vise versa. There should be absolutely no wiggle. If you do get a little play here, locate your upper and lower ball joints. these too will have rubber boots on them and just like the tie rod ends, you are going to keep your eye on the point where the boot meets the A-arm. If you see any movement here, that ball joint is bad. Now, if your wheel wiggles back and forth but your ball joints are tight (zero movement) then you have issues with the wheel bearings. If you have to replace any tie rod ends you will have to have an alignment done because your toe will be off and you will wear out your tires. When replacing a tie rod end, prior to taking it off, count the number of threads that are visible. You want to leave that same number of threads visible when you install the new one. Keep in mind, this only gets the alignment close enough to get to the shop to have it aligned. Good Luck!!

inspect the tie rods. side to side movement is tie rods and up and down is bearings. there should not be any play.

Jack up car, remove wheels, pull cotter pins out of outer tie rod ends, tap tie rod ends till joint pops out, next unhook bolt that holds steering wheel to the rack and pinion, disconnect the power steering hose and drain fluid in a can, next remove mounting bolts from the rack and pinion that holds it to the frame, if the exhaust is not in the way yo can get it out without to much trouble, after removing the hoses and the steering knuckle drop the unit down in one piece, book time calls for 4 hours to remove and more time if you replace the inner tie rod ends, go buy a rebuilt unit at the parts store will cost about $400 fo a rebuilt unit, replace bot inner and outer tie rod ends, to install is the reverse procedure, the steering wheel shaft is keyed for it to fit in one way make sure it is pointing straight and the steering rack is centered get that started first then bolt up hook up lines and tie rod ends, then adjust tie rod ends to get alignment close, you can turn the wheels one at a time with a round file to make a mark on the tire and do both sides then with a tape measure check on the two lines on the wheels front and rear it should be no more than 1/8 towed out in the front if it is more adjust then take it to a alignment shop and get a four wheel alignment.

if fluid is flowing out the bellows, you need to replace the steering rack assembly. There is no fluid in the area of the inner tie rod. The seal is just before the tie rod.

Steering Gear
The power rack and pinion steering gear is serviced as a power steering short rack (3L547). The front wheel spindle tie rods (3280) and tie rod ends (3A130) are serviced individually. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• The power rack and pinion steering gear incorporates quick connect fittings for the power steering pressure hose (3A719) and power steering return hose (3A713) that allow the lines to swivel. This is normal and does not indicate loose fittings.
• If the fittings leak, check to make sure they are tightened to 14-20 Nm (10-14 lb-ft). Do not overtighten.
• If the leak is not corrected, replace the fitting seals.

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Section 11-02: Steering System, Power 1997 Windstar Workshop Manual
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION Tie Rod End Steering Gear Installed
Removal

1. Remove and discard cotter pin and nut from worn tie rod end (3A130).
   

1. Disconnect tie rod end from front wheel knuckle (3K185), using Tie Rod End Remover TOOL-3290-D or equivalent.
   

1. Hold tie rod end with a wrench and loosen tie rod end jam nut.
   

1. Note depth to which tie rod end was located by using the jam nut as a marker. Grip tie rod end with a pair of suitable pliers and remove tie rod end from front wheel spindle tie rod (3280).
   

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11-02: Steering System, Power 1997 Windstar Workshop Manual
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION Steering Gear Removal

1. Raise vehicle on a twin post hoist and remove wheel and tire assemblies. Refer to Section 00-02 .
   
   
   
   
   

1. Support vehicle with jackstands under front jack pads.
   

1. Remove tie-rod end cotter pins and nuts and remove tie rod ends (3A130) from front wheel knuckle (3K185). Refer to Section 04-01 .
   

1. Remove front stabilizer bar (5482). Refer to Section 04-01 .
   

1. Disconnect heated oxygen and catalyst monitor sensors.
   

1. Support flex pipe.
   

1. Remove bolts and disconnect flex pipe from the converter.
   

1. Raise dash opening steering column opening weather seal (3513) (secondary) above the steering gear housing (3548).
   

1. Remove pinch bolt retaining steering column intermediate shaft coupling (3A525) to power steering gear input shaft and control (3D517) and disconnect the shaft.
   

1. Remove nuts from steering gear-to-front subframe retaining bolts. Remove bolts.
   

1. Remove rear subframe-to-body retaining bolts.
   

1. Lower twin post hoist carefully until rear of subframe (5R003) separates from body, approximately four inches.
   

1. Remove heat shield band and fold shield down.
   

1. Rotate power rack and pinion steering gear to clear bolts from front subframe (5C145) and pull left to facilitate line fitting removal.
   

1. Place a drain pan under vehicle and remove line fittings.
   

1. Remove power rack and pinion steering gear through LH wheel well.
   

1. Remove and discard the O-rings.
   

Installation

1. Install new Teflon® O-rings on line fittings as outlined.
   

1. Place steering gear retaining bolts in steering gear housing.
   

1. Install power rack and pinion steering gear through LH wheel well.
   

1. Install power steering line fittings to power rack and pinion steering gear.
   

1. Position power rack and pinion steering gear into front subframe.
   

1. Install ******** heat shield.
   

1. Install tie-rod ends to front wheel knuckle. Install nuts and new cotter pins. Refer to Section 04-01 .
   

1. Install LH front stabilizer bar. Refer to Section 04-01 .
   

1. Install steering gear to subframe mounting nuts. Tighten to 115-135 Nm (85-99 lb-ft).
   

1. Raise hoist until rear subframe contacts body.
   

1. Install rear subframe to body retaining bolts. Tighten to 113-153 Nm (83-112 lb-ft).
   

1. Install exhaust system flex tube to dual converter Y pipe (5F250) and remove flex tube support.
   

1. Connect heated oxygen and catalyst monitor sensors.
   

1. Install tire and wheel assemblies. Tighten lug nuts (1012) to 115-142 Nm (85-104 lb-ft).
   

1. Using a new pinch bolt, install the steering column intermediate shaft coupling on the power steering gear input shaft and control and the lower steering column shaft. Tighten the pinch bolt to 34-46 Nm (25-33 lb-ft).
   

1. Position steering column opening weather seal (secondary) over the steering gear housing. Tighten nuts to 4.5-6.3 Nm (40-55 lb-in).
   

1. Remove jackstands and lower vehicle.
   

1. Fill power steering oil reservoir (3A697) with Premium Power Steering Fluid E6AZ-19582-AA or equivalent meeting Ford specification ESW-M2C33-F. Refer to Section 11-00 .
   

1. Check system for leaks and proper operation.
   
   

loosen nut on tie rod..22mm wrench,remove nut from tie rod end..18mm socket,hit side of knuckle with hammer to seperate tie rod end..unscrew tie rod end from tie rod..reverse procedure to install..you will to hold down on tie rod end to keep stud from spinning

The noise you hear could be the tie rod ends or several other front end items. Can you jack up the front end? If so then turn the wheels from side to side with your hands griping the wheel at the 9 and 3 oclock positions. if you feel freeplay or looseness you have to reach arround and place your hand on the outter tie rod end and see if the play is there or the inner tie rod end at the rack. I worked for saturn for a few yaears and we had ALOT of front struts that made a clunking sound over bumps. Don't forget the lower ball joints could be bad also. Check these by placing your hand on the bottom of the wheel and pushing and pulling on the wheel with it off the ground while checking the tie rod ends. Good Luck, Scott

Remove the front wheel. Loosen the jam nut on the tie rod using pliers and wrench with lots of Liquid Wrench or other penetration oil. Back off the jam nut and mark the position of the tie rod end on the tie rod threads with paint.
Remove the cotter pin from the ballstud and then loosen the nut. Again more Liquid Wrench may be helpful. Now place the puller (special tool from auto parts store or Sears Craftsman) over the steering knuckle and separate the tie rod end from the knuckle. Fully remove the nut and then turn the tie rod end off the tie rod.
Installation is just the reverse with the new tie rod end turned on the tie rod up to the paint mark. Tighten the jam nut up to the tie rod end. Secure the tie rod end to the steering knuckle with the nut with a torque of 35 to 46 ft-lbs and insert a new cotter pin. Don't forget to reinstall the front wheel. Checking the front end alignment is recommended. Do not get the more expensive four wheel alignment as they cannot make any adjustment to align the rear wheels. ps Buy at least the Haynes Repair Manual for your car or splurge and buy the Ford complete repair manual.

here is word for word what the manual says:

REMOVAL:
1. Loosen the front wheel lug nuts on the side to be dismanteld. Raise the vehicle and support it securely on jack stands. CAUTION: If the vehicle is equipped with Automatic Ride Control (ARC), make sure the air suspention switch is turned to the OFF position before the vehicle is riased to prevent damage to the system components.

2. Remove the front wheel.

3. Remove the cotter pin and loosen the nut on the tie-rod end stud. Discard the cotter pin.

4. Disconnect the tie-rod end fron the steering spindel with a Pitman arm puller.

5. Loosen the tie-rod end jam nut and back it off several turns.

6. Apply a paint mark to the theads adjacent to the adjusting sleeve or tie-rod end. Unscrew the tie-rod end from the adjusting sleeve or connecting rod.

INSTALLATION:
7. Install the tie-rod end into the adjusting sleeve or connecting rod. Thread the tie-rob end in until the marks made on step 6 align.

8. Install the tie-rod end to the spindle. Make sure the front wheels and steering wheel are in the stright ahead position. Make sure the tie-rod stud is seated in the taper to prevent it from turing while tightening the nut.

9. Install the new nut on the stud and tighent it to the proper torque (45-60 ft-lbs). Install a new cotter pin and bend the ends over completely.

10. Tighten the tie-rod adjusting sleever clap bolts or jam nut to 50-68 ft-lbs. Make sure the tie-rod is posistioned correctly in the same posistion it was in before it was removed.

11. Install the wheel and lug nuts. Lower the vehicle and tighten the lug nuts.

12. get the front end aligned.