This simple guide will teach you how to remove the inner tie rod without a tool that is sophisticated to deal with or complex to handle. Replacing tie rods is essential if you want your car’s steering mechanism to function appropriately at all times.

You don’t need any specialized equipment or tools for accomplishing this task. With a little bit of know-how and basic tools, you can remove the inner tie rod with much ease.Here are the steps you need to follow to remove the inner tie rod.

How to Access the Tie Rod End?

Before getting started, make sure to learn more about tie rods. You can do that by reading our blog post that deals with that topic in specific. Check it out here.

Alright now, let's get started!

The first step is to loosen the front tires of your car slightly. You can do this with an impact wrench or tire iron. The car’s weight will prevent the wheels from turning when on the ground. This will help you in loosening the nuts in a safe way.

You need to then raise the front end with a floor jack. You can refer to your service manual to identify the jacking points. Make sure that the car is stabilized with jack stands. You must remember that it is not safe to leave your car suspended just on the jack alone. You can learn more about this here.

Now carefully remove the wheel by taking off the lug nuts from the wheel. Remove the nuts carefully from the base. You can then slide the wheel under the car. This acts as another way of safety measures in case the jack stand fails.

Now locate the outer tie rod end. While removing the wheel, you will be able to see the steering knuckle. You will find a shaft passing through this knuckle with a castle nut placed at the bottom. This is the outer tie rod. Now locate the inner tie rod end by following the outer tie rod end. By the way, if you need a new tie rod here you will find our honest reviews of the best tie rods available on Amazon.

How to Remove the Tie Rod End?

In order to remove the tie rod end, you need to use a wrench for loosening the pinch nut which holds the outer tie rod end. Loosening this nut will allow you to easily rotate the outer tie rod end.The next step is to move the pinch nut up so that it touches the outer tie rod end. Tightening the pinch nut will make it difficult for you to rotate the outer tie rod end.  

You need to now remove the cotter pin. The pin will be present where the tie rod end connects to the steering knuckle.You can use a pair of needle-nose pliers for straightening the pin and then pull it out carefully. Discard the cotter pin away and don't use it again!Remove the castle nut next by using a properly sized ratchet. This is actually the nut from which the cotter pin passes through.

It also connects the steering knuckle to the tie rod end. Removing this nut allows you to take out the outer tie rod end. You don’t have to panic if you don’t know how to remove the inner tie rod without a tool. Just keep following the instructions mentioned here and you will be able to accomplish the task pretty easily. By the way, you can always get yourself a toolset like this one: And just to play on the safe side, make sure to check out our blog post that answers the question of what happens when a tie rod breaks. Find it here.

How to Remove the Inner Tie Rod Without Tool?

You need to now remove the outer tie rod end from the steering knuckle. In order to do this, you can use either a ball joint separator or a tie rod puller. You need to place the tool between the steering knuckle and the ball joint of outer tie rod. Then, pry the shaft out of the knuckle.Now remove the outer tie rod end by twisting it slightly from the spindle.

You can loosen it by just turning it in the counterclockwise direction. Remember to count exactly how many turns it takes so that you can follow the same process while tightening the replacement with the same number of turns when the process is complete.Now, remove the boot from the inner tie rod end. Follow this step if and only if you are replacing both the inner and outer tie rod ends.

You will have to remove the pinch nut and then remove the clamp from the boot using a pair of pliers. There is yet another clip on the other that you will have to break using a flat screwdriver.Now carefully remove the inner tie rod end. Some cars come with a small pin that has to be removed before you can turn the rod end. Simply locate the pin and pry it out with a flathead screwdriver.

Once the pin is removed, you can carefully remove the tie rod end.You can do this by using a deep socket that fits over the inner tie rod end. Although tie rod removal tools are available, you can use simple tools to accomplish the task. Twist the inner tie rod in a counterclockwise direction until it turns loose. Simply pull it off of the car.If you still need help, check out the following video:

Final Thoughts

Just following the simple steps mentioned in this guide will help you understand how to remove the inner tie rod without a tool. You can use any regular or simple tool that you can easily find to accomplish the task easily.However, if that's not something you can do, you can always get a special tool or just simply take it to a professional mechanic and let them do the job. Good luck!

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