How do i check the outer and inner tie rod end on a 2006 saturn Ion 2, 2.2L

Check your motor and transmission mounts and both your inner and outer tie rod ends

if you are going to do tie rod ends do all 4 both inners and both outers then get an alignment to make sure you don't wear tires odd

Procedure on replacing the inner tie rod ends:


1) Raise and safely support the vehicle.

2) Remove the front wheel/tire assembly.

3) Clean the steering rod between the steering boot and outer tie rod end lock nut with a suitable penetrating lubricant and a clean cloth or shop towel.

4) Loosen the outer tie rod end locking nut 1/8 turn.

5) Loosen the steering boot clamp(s), and slide the small clamp off the boot.

6) Carefully loosen the boot and slide outward off the steering rack and onto the shaft to expose the inner steering rod mounting fastener.

7) If necessary, position the inner steering rack shaft in or out to allow for additional access.

8) Relieve the steering rod nut locking tab from the inner steering rack shaft, then loosen the steering rod ball socket nut 1 turn.

9) Matchmark the tie rod end to the threaded shaft.

10) Remove the cotter key and castle nut from the outer tie rod end threaded spindle, and using a tie rod end removal tool, remove the tie rod from the steering knuckle.

11) Hold the tie rod with a wrench, and remove the outer tie rod end from the threaded rod, counting the number of complete turns it takes to remove the tie rod end from the shaft. Write the number of turns on a piece of note paper.

12) Remove the tie rod end lock nut from the threaded steering shaft.

13) Slide the steering rack boot off the shaft.

14) Remove the inner steering rod ball socket nut from the inner steering rack shaft.

To install:

1) Inspect the tie rod end for looseness, and the steering rack boot and tie rod end boot for cracks deterioration or damage and replace as necessary.

2) Clean steering rack shaft and apply a light coating of Genuine Honda Power steering fluid as necessary.

3) Apply a medium strength locking agent to the threads where the inner steering rod ball socket mounts. Use a new locking washer and a new stop washer, and install the inner tie rod onto the steering rack shaft.

4) Tighten the inner tie rod end fastener by 58 ft. lbs. (78 Nm)

5) Peen the lock washer over the nut or onto the flat surface of the steering rack shaft.

6) Apply silicone grease to the outer circumference of the inner tie rod end ball socket, and onto the groove just outside of the socket.

7) Apply silicone grease to the inside of the small end of the steering rack boot, and slide the boot over the steering shaft and onto the rack and install the boot clamps. If the boot has air hose fittings make sure they are installed as removed.

8) Apply a light film of an anti-seize compound onto the threaded tie rod end, and install the tie rod end lock nut.

9) Install the tie rod end onto the tie rod, turning it in exactly the number of turns it took to remove it.

10) Install the tie rod end following the tie rod end installation procedure.

11) The balance of installation is the reverse of the removal procedure.

12) Check the front end alignment and adjust as necessary.

The inner tie rod ends are on the other end of the same rod as the outer tie rod ends. They should connect to the drag link and look almost identical to the outer tie rod ends. Hope this helps.

The first step in replacing the inner tie rod is to remove the tie rod end. It's basically a three step process, where you start by loosening the jam nut that's used to set the alignment (toe-in or toe-out). That jam nut determines how far up the inner tie rod the tie rod end is fixed. The tie rod end is hollow and threaded, so it can be screwed on or off the inner tie rod. Any procedure for removing a tie rod will start by telling you to count the turns you unscrew the tie rod end, something that I didn't do, and I'll save the explanation for the end:-) After you loosen the jam nut, you remove the cotter pin from the post on the outer tie rod ball joint, and unscrew the nut that holds the ball joint into the tapered fitting on the steering knuckle (video to right). After you pop the outer tie end free of the steering knuckle, you can unscrew the tie rod end. from the inner tie rod, but you need to grip it with something. Inner tie rods normally have some flat surfaces or a splined surface for grabbing with pliers. In this case, I needed two pairs of visegrips and a clamp to hold the visegrips on the inner tie rod from moving in order to get the outer tie rod end broken free and turning easy. That video is below. I happen to own the shop manuals for my Dodge Omni, so I was able to study the procedure for replacing the inner tie rod in detail. I didn't follow it for a couple reason. First, they show my type of power steering rack (Saginaw vs TRW) needs to be removed from the car to change the inner tie rod. That's a lot of extra work, not to mention the fact I buried one of the crossmember bolts in my unibody and flooring repair! So I went with an inner tie rod removal kit from Harbor Freight, manufactured by U.S. General (in Taiwan). The tool is very simple, basically a large steel tub with a snap in opening for a large crows foot insert on one end and a 1/2" socket drive on the other end. The kit is shown in the photo to the lower left (which I need to replace), and a video of the procedure is shown below. The kit wasn't quite right for my car, I had to use an oversized crows foot and the ball joint housing on the inner tie rod was too long, so the flats on the housing were barely held with the crows foot positioned by hand at the very end of the tool. But I got it out.

You may need a propane torch to heat up the nut on end of outer tie rod. With tie rod still attached to steering knuckle try to loosen the outer tie rod end nut that is connected to inner tie rod. Pull tie rod end back out of knuckle. Use pliers or vise grips to hold inner tie rod end while turning outer tie rod end to the left.

the inner tie rod is the joint right at the end of the rack,inside the gaiter/boot,the outer is called the track rod end.

#3 is the inner tie rod and it is simply screwed into each end of the steering rack. Raise and support the car remove the wheel and you should see where it is connected to the outer tie rod. There is a lock nut that you'll need to loosen slightly to get the tie rod off. You will need to get a wheel alignment once done but by slightly loosening the lock nut, you have a good reference of how it should be once done. Once loose, you should be able to turn the tie rod by using a wrench on the flattened area on the rod. Once disconnected from the outer tie rod end, you should be able to remove the dust boot covering the inner tie rod connection. Mine came right apart so hope you have no problems. After you have it out, here is where the loosened locknut comes into play. Put the new and old tie rod side by side, line up the ends that attach to the rack and pinion then mark the new rod so you know how far to put the lock nut on the new tie rod. Simply tightly screw the new one onto the rack and pinion put the boot back, screw on the lock nut to the mark then attach the tie rod to the outer tie rod end up to the lock nut then tighten the lock nut against the outer end. Get the tire back on, lower the car and Voila, done. Now go get an alignment.

to get the inner tie rod out you need an inner tie rod tool, it's a long tube that fits a 1/2 inch drive rachet and there's different size adaptors that go into the end of it to fit over the tie rod, find the right size put into tool, put over tie rod and brake it loose, reverse for installtion.

If this is a rack and pinion type steering, in order to remove the inner tie rods you will first have loosen the jam nut at the outer tie rod end,next unbolt the outer tie rod from the steering knuckle, unscrew the outer tie rod end off (be sure to count how many turns to remove), next remove the inner bellows boot (black boot) from the tie rod / rack and pinion, next is to unscrew the inner tie rod from the rack assembly (the do make a tool for this to make it easier) but if you do not have the tool,you can sometimes use a big pair of channel locks or a big enough wrench to fit on the fitting on the inside of the inner tie rod, and just unscrew the inner tie rod (normal left=loosen, right=tighten). Hope this helps. Would also recommend having it aligned after you are finished.