Fast delivery for Rubber shoe cover-L supply for Amman

FAQ Content

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

In this brief video I discuss how I like to remove the reeded edge of a coin ring in the event of existing knicks and/or damage done to the reeds during the forging process; as well as how to round out the thinner, rough cut side of my coin rings. Props to Dave for “coining” the term “coin ring lips”!

To pick up a Set of the Finishing and Polishing Mandrels shown in the video, click on this link: http://etsy.me/1UcRSJ1

* For a complete list of the highest quality coin ring-making tools, visit my Shop page at:

http://www.CoinRingUSA.com

The advantage to using the Rounding, Finishing, and Polishing mandrel Set is that as the ring is held on tightly to the tapered mandrel that’s spinning while being attached to your power drill; it acts much like a small lathe, providing a much more uniform finish to the ring than can be achieved with either hand-sanding, using a nail buffing file, a steel round-file, or even a small rotary tool such as a Dremel.

*** TO BEGIN ***

1.) Determine which size tapered rubber mandrel fits your completed coin ring, and slide the coin ring on to it.

2.) Place the mandrel bit into your power drill and tighten.

3.) Adjust the coin ring until it’s well-balanced with no “wobbling” on the mandrel with your power drill on, and then expand the mandrel by tightening the Stainless Steel Phillips head set screw at the top which holds the coin ring securely in place.

4.) Begin on the outer edge of the coin ring with the coarser 100 Grit sandpaper and work your way around to the inner edge of the coin ring; making sure that ONLY the corner tip of the sandpaper is making contact with the unfinished inner, top, and outer edges of your coin ring to prevent damage to the rings’ detail. Take your time with this step; especially when you’re first starting out.

5.) Continue to work the inner, top, and outer edges of whichever side of your coin ring you’re working on using the finer Grits of sandpaper as you go; finishing with “0000” Steel Wool. You can also use the steel wool and LIGHTLY go over the inner and the outer detail of the coin ring before you either polish it with a jeweler’s cloth or after you’ve put a patina (antique-looking) finish on the ring.

6.) The final step is to use a jeweler’s cloth to both buff and finish-polish your coin ring.

Your coin ring will now have a highly-smoothed, rounded, and polished edge on both the reeded and the non-reeded side that is not often seen on coin rings!

Other materials needed: a power drill, 3 different grits of sandpaper; (I use 200 Grit, 500 Grit, and 1,000 Grit), some “0000” Steel Wool, and a jeweler’s polishing cloth to complete this process. Those items can be purchased from Amazon.com; at a big box store like Home Depot, or any local hardware store inexpensively.

*** SAFETY FIRST ***
- Always wear safety glasses and work gloves.
- Always use caution when working with any power tools and electricity.
- Keep fingers, long hair, and loose clothing away from any fast moving parts.

Description: “How to Remove the “Coin Ring Lips”, Damaged Reeds, and Smooth the Rough Coin Ring Edges”