Inner tie rod ends on 80
 

I am replacing the tie rod ends, inner and outer... Trying to assemble everything up, I can get the idler, steering, and passenger side stuff in OK... However, the driver side inner tie rod is not sliding in on the steering bar hole. Seems like the hole is not big enough. I have tried to put it in there from both ends and still no go.

Are the tie rod ends the same for both sides? Any other suggestions?

Thanks

When I replaced all my tie rod ends on my 79 I remember them being the same part numbers (inner both the same, etc). Sounds like either your steering arm or the new rod ends are out of spec. I would try measuring the steering arm and tie ends to make sure both sides are the same.

I don't understand this statement, "the driver side inner tie rod is not sliding in on the steering
bar hole".

Can you elaborate or show a pic of what you mean? I just did my SA rod ends inner and outer
with no issues and even went to a new Moog idler arm as well.

OK, wasn't sure what it's called but it is the bar that goes from the driver side to the passenger side... It links the wheels together. One hole goes to the steering box pitman arm and one goes to the inner tie rod end on the driver side. The passenger side, one hole goes to the inner tie rod and the other to the idler arm.

Everything else fits as intended except the driver side inner tie rod.

I believe that bar is called the center link, shown at the bottom of this pic:

Attachment 553773

It should be at least a snug fit I think. You may need to press it on or take it to someone who can. If you don't have a press you may be able to tap it on by tapping on a large socket with a hammer / persuader...

Do you have a burr on the bushing I.D. of the center link, or the shoulder of the tie rod end stud? Maybe chamfer both sides of the bushing with a c'sink and hit the I.D. with some emery cloth. You can debur the shoulder of tie rod end with a smooth file or stone. Unless one part or the other was just machined too far out of tolerance, this should be enough to get them to smoothly mate up.

Ok gotcha, now I understand. These parts go together just like the other tierod ends, nothing
special about the inner driver side that I can think. As others have said, check to make sure the
inside of the center link hole is clean and free of debris. The new tierod end should just slide
on most of the way and when you tighten the nut down to the torque specs it should settle
down to the right fit. At least thats how it worked with mine.

Let me check things out again. I will also try taking the passenger side off and putting it on the DS since it works there.
Thanks

Well... mystery solved... Apparently the tie rod end that won't go on is the wrong part. Has a thicker bolt area and it's actually a bit different than the other one.

where did you find your replacement parts? this is something I need to do as well

Bought cheap at O'reiley's like $15 each. they have better ones for $30, also on Ebay

I got all my stuff at rockauto.com, even with shipping its cheaper than the parts stores around
here.

Plus none of them are ever in stock locally anyway, so the wait time is the same.

thanks! that RockAuto site looks great - I want to get my baby fixed up but don't want to sink too much in to it if possible - I know I'm looking at an engine rebuild and a good paint job I figure that'll set me back close to $5-6k if I do it right :/

What I've found with Rock Auto is that their shipping is kind of high. Prices look great until they add shipping

Even with shipping they are usually half the price of what the parts stores are charging and they have the parts. You can also play around with selecting your parts to get the most shipped from the same place if you aren't too picky about the part supplier.

Be thankful you don't have to pay international shipping from them! :nod: Haha

Rockauto has great prices, but they are notorious for shipping the wrong parts, for a while I was running about 50-50 on getting orders in without at least one incorrect part. Apparently a lot of their inventory comes from buying out auto parts stores that are closing down, often times they end up getting a box that was returned but with the wrong part inside, a buddy of mine even got a box of scrap metal instead of a tie rod end one time. They are always great at replacing the parts but it can be a pain if you have been waiting for the parts and then can’t finish the job and have to risk missing a race.

Interesting, I've never experienced that. Were you buying stuff on close out by any chance?