Mini cooper 2008 inner outer tie rod end replacement

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• published: 07 Oct 2014
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Please be careful when doing automotive work! My videos are not intended to supplant professional advice. I am not responsible for improper or substandard work. Cars are heavy and they can hurt and kill you, always use proper protection ...eyes, ears, gloves etc. jack stands too! What a day this was. 2008 Mini Cooper Convertible. 150k miles approximately. Tire wore unevenly and went flat a few weeks ago. Garage couldn't align the wheels because the passenger side tie rod was frozen. Eileen (owner of the car) went to the mini dealer for a quote on replacement. $900 for parts and labor for inner and out tie rod ends. I went online, looked for parts, and found out that there is a delineation between SOHC and DOHC engines on rockauto.com .... so I asked Eileen for the VIN # ... Vin # check online showed DOHC. Eileen called the dealer w/ VIN, DOHC. Ok... so she ordered the tie rods accordingly. For this job, need tie rod ends (inner and outer....the came together and single assemblies), new rubber boots, and a Haynes manual. We had today to install the parts. Took a wheel off, drivers side was totally fine (although I eventually did change it out anyway, just to keep things even). Went to the passengers side to do the video (hence the switch in the video). Passengers side was frozen. Turn the wheel for better access. Cut the tie rod towards the boot end w/ grinder or sawzall (I prefer lennox gold blades on the sawzall for this job, but we used the grinder...just have to watch out for sparks!). Remove the outer ball joint w/ ball joint puller. The one here that I got from Harbor Freight works brilliantly. Just be careful because there's a lot of force being used and the joint pops!. Remove the boot clips and remove the boot. Then use the inner tie rod end tool to remove the inner tie rod end. YOU NEED THIS TOOL, JOB IS NOT POSSIBLE WITHOUT IT. Best w/ an extension and breaker bar. Inner tie rod thread that goes into the power steer rack is a DIFFERENT SIZE than the one that we bought from rockauto. DOH! Best I can tell, the car is likely SOHC not DOHC and the information according to the VIN # is INCORRECT. SO!!!... went to NAPA, part was in stock but at a different store. pep boys and autozone were "special order". Ok, drive to other napa store. Inner ends have the correct thread! yey! ONE OTHER DIFFERENCE that I didn't note was that on the part we got from rockauto, the OUTER tie rod end threads looked HEAVIER than the stock part. The new napa outer tie rod end had identical ball joint threads (and taper). New inner tie rod goes in, 59 ft lbs (was the rating online...so we went w/ that) w/ blue Loctite. Then the boot. Then the nut, then you need the collar for the outer tie rod end. Footnote: this little collar piece was needed for the outer tie rod end due to the fact that it was tapered and the taper locks the inner tie rod end thread to the outer tie rod when the nut engages it. I had to SALVAGE the collar from the old (stock) tie rod ends. Next step we had to take was to cut 3/16" or so from the end of the inner tie rod end. When we test fit (sorry, the video is a bit out of order and confusing here), the outer tie rod was fully tightened and the wheel appeared to be still slightly toed in. (even though the steer wheel was straight). Since that was the limit of the adjustment, we needed to cut the tip off the threaded part of the inner tie rod end so there'd be more adjustment possible. Then we put the outer tie rod on w/ antisieze. Outer ball joint installed w/ torque wrench to 38 ft lbs (mark 1 mini model ... check the Haynes manual). Wheel back on, 88 ft lbs lug nuts ... DONE. I did the passenger side myself in 30 minutes, and that's even w/ having the complication of stripping out the nut on the outer ball joint. Its a nylon locking nut with minimal steel thread, and the ball joint taper, when fully seated, is high enough that when the nut is fully seated against the knuckle, it engages minimal thread on the ball joint. It would better to have a washer in my opinion... but the old (stock) nut worked just fine. Frankly, with the right parts and tools, this is NOT a difficult job. Eileen basically did the whole thing herself w/ minimal strain and injury. Perhaps someone can post better part #'s? and/or clear this up...that be great. Must have tools and products: Harbor Freight Ball joint separator (around $20). Inner tie rod tool (CARQUEST or other vendor $100) Blue locktite Antisieze compound (permatex) 1/2" Torquewrench ...extentions and sockets. Screwdrivers and diagonal cutters (for the boots). Haynes Manual here's the link that I found that helped through the process http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-problems-issues/201385-replacing-inner-tie-rod-tie-rod-assembly-any-tips-and-diy.html