Help please...I went to a tire shop to have the alignment check and adjusted if I needed it. ( one of my tires was cupping and wearing funny)...They showed me I needed a toe in or something like that..


my problem is this:

The shop said he could not turn or adjust the bolt to get the alignment done. It was rusted or ceased. He said I needed I "think" a tie rod center strut for each side... Is that right??

he said I could get one off another used gsl-se..does it have to be a gsl -se ?? can I get one off a gsl?
or...should I get new ones for each side. I am leaning toward getting new if they are not too expensive.

and most important.. what is the part called? Is it indeed a tie rod center strut?? or just tie rod ends??

can you let me know what I need...thanks...


chris

 

rockauto.com has them for 3.49 each. Each tie rod consists of and inner end the center stud (with 2 nuts) and an outer end. If the center stud is seized that badly you might want to replace the ends as well as the center stud. $60 or so in parts for both sides. Local parts store can probably order the parts if they don't have them in stock.



1985 MAZDA RX-7 : Steering : Tie Rod Center Stud
BECK/ARNLEY Part # 1013590

$3.49

 

+1

 

As the guys have mentioned, the parts themselves aren't all that expensive, and they do control the 'turn and burn' rate of your tires, i.e., the factory toe settings are good if you want the car to stay centered on sloped roads (which are sloped for rain drainage), not wander within your lane too badly, and also get reasonable tire tread wear before you have to rotate them, and you SHOULD be rotating them regularly.

The center studs are built as turnbuckles, meaning that if you loosen the end links (*the ball joints that connect to the upright arm which turns the wheels and the inside ball joint at the connecting link), and rotate the center stud - it moves BOTH ball joints either further apart, or closer together - depending on which direction you turn the stud. This makes for faster and easier adjustment of toe angle. Since these parts are exposed to road salts if it snows where you live, rocks, and vibration, they tend to get corroded pretty fast, and occasionally get rounded off on the center stud which prevents the shop from getting a good enough hold to adjust them.

Replace them in left and right sets, and while they're in there, you should ask them to look at the condition of your Idler Arm bushings (*mounted to the passenger side frame raile by the exhaust manifold) which tend to go bad and allow for a lot of play which will negate an alignment. Also, if the ball joints are worn on the steering links, then they could also be bad on the center link and steering link. These are all located in the same place, so are easy enough for the tech to look at and tell you if they're okay.

Good luck, and don't be afraid to get under there and learn something. We all started somewhere, and you might as well start getting familiar with the steering system first.

 

Soak them with liquid wrench for a couple days and then try loosening them

 

another method for loosening the tie rod adjusting nut is to heat it with a map gas torch. map gas isn't hot enough to melt the nut but will expand it enough to free it. remember that the passenger side is reverse threaded.

 

Great info guys...appreciate it....I may try this myself but ...little apprehensive...will have my whole front end checked and see what mechanic says...

Thanks for your help and part number for the stud...

--chris--