Looking to see if anyone has done inner tie rod ends on 2008 AWD Pacifica, and if they noted which hex head size goes on the inner tie-rod end tool?

Thanks,

Dave

 

I've done Pac tie rods several times. I used a free "loaner" tool from O'Reilly Auto Parts. Worked fine. Seems like I also removed one tie rod with a giant pair of Channel Locks, spinning the steering wheel hard to each side to gain access. Definitely had two (2) aftermarket Chinee tie rods "snap" with driving down the road, was very exciting... Do not have the size of the hex head unfortunately.
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As a followup, I did order a cheap "tie rod removal tool kit" off of Ebay, and it came with three sturdy looking heads that slide over the inner tie rod nut. The sizes in the case were marked 1-5/16", 1-7/16", and 1-9/16". As (bad) luck would have it, the 1-7/16" was too tight on the replacement tie rods, and 1-9/16" was too loose on the replacement tie rods. At my own risk, I used a dremel grinder to open up the 1-7/16" to probably 1.5", and it fit over the nut on the replacement inner-tie rod ends. Luckily, when I actually pulled the wheels and went to remove the old tie rods, that 1.5" opening seemed to fit properly and the inner tie rods bolts came out with little difficulty. The original bellows seals (which felt like a harder plastic) were longer than the rubber bellows seals that came with the Ebay kit, so I end up using the originals. I also had to re-use the hoseclamp-like ring that clamped the bellows seal against the shaft of the inner-tie rod. they looked they sealed OK further in against the engine, although there were zip-ties on the end of the boot which held it in place.

The other bad part of the job is I couldn't budge the jam nut against the outer tie rod. After a bit of PB-blaster and heating red hot with a torch, it still wouldn't budge. I ended up cutting the inner to outer joint with a Sawz-All. I tried to eyeball the length setting for the new outer tie rods, but I missed, and the passenger wheel was toed-out when I checked it with string and tape-measure. Luckily, new and newly greased tie-rods are super easy to adjust to get the toe-in set decently.

Never a dull moment keeping old Pacifica's running.

Dave