Tie Rod for Steering

[C J R]

Is it possible to buy these new ? I have noticed a little play in the steering on the nearside. Play is lateral (not bearing) and I have narrowed it down to play in the tie rod (new track rod end already fitted) where it locates to the rack in the rubber boot.
 
Are these still available or do I have to consider a recon rack ?
 
Thanks
Chris

[philiwily]

I have been looking for cheapest pillow ball prices amongst all the vendors and i came across these, they were £180 and i thought wow thats dear lol.
But sorry cant remember where it was.Will have a look.
Phil

[philiwily]

http://www.mazdatrix.com/hsteer3.htm
Sorry wasn\'t as dear as i thought think £180 was somewhere else

[C J R]

Phil,
Thanks for the link.
Do you know if changing the tie rod requires a full strip down of the rack ?
 
Chris

[memski]

Clive sells the tie-rods, not that expensive either.

[C J R]

Thanks Memski
 
Phone call to Clive in a few minutes.
 
Chris

[philiwily]

Never done this on a rex but done plenty on other cars, you don\'t need to strip down but rack should be held in a vice.http://www.importworkshop.com/mazda-rx7-rx8.html
It will tell you in workshop manual
Phil

[clive]

Thanks Memski
 
Phone call to Clive in a few minutes.
 
Chris

Hi Chris,

Sorry Chris I should have dug a bit deaper when we spoke, I thought perhaps you had bent one.

Remove the boot (you can cable tie it back on)

Undo the lock ring then unscrew the cup off the end of the rack then inspect the ball on the end of the track rod,

If it is worn it will you will see the ball will be grey in color where it\'s worn,

If all looks O/K greese it up and reassemble by nipping the rod up till it "bites" then undo slightly so it moves freely in all directions then providing the movement does not feel "notchy" all is good to go,

When I was racing I used to carry these as spares to change at the track as they used to bend somtimes when the racing got a little "close"

Hope you can follow my jiberish above O/K,

[C J R]

Hi Clive,
Now thats what I call service. Don\'t convince me to buy parts from you and instead advise me how to repair/replace by other methods.
 
Top bloke in my books.
 
Many thanks Clive. This looks like a job this weekend.
 
Chris

[C J R]

Okay,
Just in case anyone else is experiencing a similar problem, I\'ll explain my experience, so it may help.
 
I\'ve removed the tie rod from the rack, but unfortunately on my model (FD3S 1992) the ball joint is a sealed unit and cannot be stripped to inspect the condition of the ball.
 
I have tried to force more grease into the unit, but when it is reattached to the rack the lateral play remains.
 
So, it looks like replacing it with a new or second hand one.
 
Chris

[clive]

Hi Chris,

Thank you for the comments http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fwww.smileycentral.com%252F%253Fpartner%253DZSzeb008%255FZNxmk696YYGB%2526i%253D4%252F4%255F18%255F7%2526feat%253Dprof/page.html" target="_blank">http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_18_7.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0">http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252Fnocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egif%253Fi%253D4%252F4_18_7/image.gif">

Anyway I\'m not sure if it\'s worth another look as I remember changing one on my own FD a few years ago and as you know the track rod is avaliable by it self,

I seem to remember that you will not find an nut as such but a smooth round surface that you will have to grip with stilsons or mole grips,

hope this helps

[C J R]

Hi Clive,
 
Just found your message;
"I seem to remember that you will not find an nut as such but a smooth round surface that you will have to grip with stilsons or mole grips,"

Yes I tried to loosen this smooth ring from the main housing, but the ring has only about 5mm of length so it was difficult to grip effectively.
 
Had a number of tries to loosen it but the grips were starting to make a mess of the rings surface.
 
I guess this part has to be removed to gain access to another lock ring or something of that nature to allow the ball to be released from the housing.
 
I will remove the tie rod from the car and grip in a vice and have another attempt at loosening the smooth ring.
 
Thanks
Chris