Tie Rods and Front End: How difficult?

[j1970GMC]

Hi Guys,

When I grab my steering bar (where the outer tie rod ends screw into) I can rotate it about a quarter of an inch. I assume this means that I need new tie rod ends? I'm not sure about play left to right since I don't have a jack or stands right now. The truck is a 1970 GMC 4x4 with a Dana 44.

How difficult is it to replace the tie rod ends, ball joints, and drag links? I'm thinking about buying some tools to do it all at once as this truck has me going broke sending it to the shop, and I don't want to keep dealing with these parts going out one at a time.

I am going to buy a lift and some jack stands. What special tools do I need? Do I need air tools? This truck has been one thing after another, but I'm trying to keep my faith alive....

Any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated as well as thoughts on the difficulty of the tasks mentioned.

[Clyde65]

You will need a pickle fork, for dislodging the tie rods, an air chizzle to break the ball joints loose, basic hand tools, spring compressor, patience, lots of foul words, beer, time and more patience.

THis isnt something your gonna do one evening when you get home from work unless you have the tools and experience of doing it before. the 4x4 will make it more challenging and probably more expensive.

I helped my buddy do his over two weekends, this is why I paid to have mine done, not because of the difficulty but because of the tools and my inexperience with it. it was worth the $. Oh and you will need an alignment right after rebuild.

[j1970GMC]

Thanks for the advise Clyde.

Can anyone confirm that the play in the steering bar is not normal? I know I'm probably asking the obvious, but since the truck is over 40 years old I never know what is ok and what needs fixing (although it seems like almost everything has needed fixing).

[j1970GMC]

I looked at some Youtube videos and I think they're shot.....

[gixxerpymp]

It's not bad. Just take your time.

[j1970GMC]

So....I got some jack stands and a floor jack and lifted the truck up. I'm not noticing any left to right movement with the wheels off the ground? Are my tie rods still worn?

As you can tell, I'm fairly new to working on this truck and don't know what I'm looking for. Perhaps my luck has gotten better recently?

Thanks for the help!

[Clyde65]

IMO its best to be safe than sorry, if you dont know the age of wear parts, change them even if it is for your own piece of mind.

[tubbedII]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

IMO its best to be safe than sorry, if you dont know the age of wear parts, change them even if it is for your own piece of mind.

That is good advise right there. Unless I plan to rebuild the entire steering assembly, I also just take it to a good aligmnet shop and have them check all parts. I figure they have the training/experience to tell me which parts need to be replaced. Then if it's too expensive for them to do it, I can now at least go buy the parts I really need. On top of that, they usually have a gaurantee on how long they'll re-align it for free...

[Clyde65]

I bought all the parts from ECE and myself and a friend rebuilt/replaced all the parts in my carport. I rented a spring tool to collapse the spring ( safety) and a fork for the tie rod ends and ball joints. took all day to remove everything and most of the day. by doing it myself, it cost only beer and a few meals for my friend, other than the $500 for the parts.

[j1970GMC]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I will try to tackle the job myself and then take it to the shop for an alignment and check when I'm finished.