track rod end

Forum: 

took my f78 fourtrack to the local ats too get the tracking adjusted and found my drivers side track rod is siezed,is this something i can fix at home and what sort of ball joint removing tool will i need,what are my options being a d.i.y mechanic? many thanks for your help...bill

Rusted

Track rod end ..... is the adjuster. Try gently heating with a heat gun. The 'threaded hole' expands more than the 'threaded bar'. Use spanner before the heat dies. If that fails than again heat the track rod end and apply WD40 or penetrating oil and allow to soak overnight.
After fitting a new track rod end the track will need adjusting. The wheels will either toe in or out by a set mm measurement. This can be a diy job but if you are uncertain how it is done, take the car to a tyre depot and get the track adjusted.

Tracked

Agree with Mace, but additionally; while you are stripping it do both sides and coat all the threads with liberal amounts of copper grease. This will prevent a reoccurence of this type of seizure.

track rod end

many thanks for your help lads,i was thinking of taking the track rod ends out and heating them up in a vice to get better access,is this an easyish job or will i need a heavy duty ball joint splitter?

FWIW I have done Sportrak

FWIW I have done Sportrak BJ's with a standard splitter in situ without too much swearing at all, and I believe (although I stand to be corrected) that they are the same part.

You do need quite a bit of heat to loosen the threads if they have not been touched since new, I once used oxy/ac (not a good idea really) but since then I've just screwed a MAPP cylinder into the blowlamp when it comes to stubborn exposed threads like that.

Dave with a Sporty

Dave with a Sporty

Split Ends

A tapered metal chisel is usually fine, they are not often tight into the taper due to the constant loads and movement on them, if you do not have a large chisel, place metal packing under a smaller chisel.