[Roadsters] tie rod ends, the "shock"

[Dewey Hahlbohm]

Thanks to all that responded, I finally got the tie rods apart after 3 attempts.  The final effort was the power steering pulley puller, a C clamp with screw to push the bolt out of the tie rod end. 

After reading others experiences with the pickle fork, I think the tines on the one I borrowed from O'Reilly's were too far apart.  The tie rod end separator from Car Quest was too big to fit on the fittings.  The C clamp did the trick.  Many good ideas, thanks all for your timely and wise advice.  Regards, Dewey 


-----Original Message-----
>From: "O'Farrell, Fergus P (AS)" <Fergus.OFarrell at ngc.com>
>Sent: Oct 24, 2011 6:25 AM
>To: "datsun-roadsters at autox.team.net" <datsun-roadsters at autox.team.net>
>Subject: [Roadsters] tie rod ends, the "shock"
>
>And while I am sure the experts know (but it wasn't mentioned) the tapered
>joint gets a bit frozen in there, so I found the dual hammer "shock" helps a
>lot as well (just make sure the nut is still on a few threads!).  The taper is
>so tight I doubt the PB blaster is working its way in, although it certianly
>isn't hurting.
>
>Slap my wrist, but initally I went to Harbor Freight and bought a pickle fork,
>but it was of course sized for max sales, so the right size for American Iron
>ball joints.  It worked on the first 3 joints, then for some reason I had a
>hard time with the 4th.  Being of too soft a material, the tines had "spread"
>and it was no longer effective.  Went to AutoZone and they had one just
>slightly smaller, (I think it was 15/16") perfect size for the roadster.  The
>rest came off like "butta".
>
>Oh, and I made my own parts cleaner with a  plastic bin  and a quart of diesel
>and a chip brush.  Works like a charm, wear glasses for the splashes, and
>close the lid or the wife will complain the whole garage smells like a truck
>stop..... (or the fuel dock at the marina)
>________________________________________
>
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