The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun Tie Rod end undo - do I need that Fork-thing?

I need to swing my Tie Rod out of the way to get my Pan off.

I have undone the Castle Nut which holds the Tie Rod end, and I do not know how to seperate the Tie Rod End from the Steering 'Arm' of the Backing Plate.

Do I have to have one of those 'Fork' Tools?

Or are there any other methods for getting that joint apart?

I don't know what year of truck you have but the pan comes off just fine on my 1951 1 Ton without doing that.

I would use a pickle fork. Some say that you can backup the steering arm with a weighty hammer on one side and smack it with a big hammer on the other. This is supposed to make the tie rod end fall out.

Do you have the truck on jack stands? If so, be sure to support the frame, not under the axle, and the pan should come off without dropping the tie rod. With weight on the axle and springs, the tie rod will be 2 or 3 inches closer to the oil pan.
Jerry

I got it! Woo Hoo!

Borrowed a 'Pickle Fork' and used a Big Hammer, and 'Bink!' it popped right out.

Vehicle is my 1960 P-20 Step Van.

I'd dropped the Pan a couple weeks ago, with the idea of wanting to see if it had any old sludge in it...Pan would only drop a few inches, Tie Rod and Cross Member being in the way of it being able to move back far enough to come out...so I had to peer in from the sides, more or less, with a small Flashlight.

I had Bolted the Pan back up, and, then it was leaking pretty bad at the Rear when I ran the Engine.

Anyway, so, to-day, I got the Tie Rod end off on one side, and swung the Tie Rod out of the Way, and the Pan had enough room then to come off easily.

Once I had the Pan off I could see why I was having the leak at the rear - the "U" shaped Black Rubber Gasket element had fallen off into the Sump.

I have no Jack at the moment, ( only two ancient Cast Iron Hydraulic Bottle Jacks, which sadly are both refusing to operate now, ) so Van is just standing normally, not on Jack Stands.

Cleaning the Pan now, and I will straighten-tap the old bulged Bolt Holes, and install a new Pan Gasket Set all around, using plenty of Gasket Sealer on the Pan-side.

So this was cool...I learned something new. I have never taken apart a Ball Joint before, or used the famed 'Pickle Fork'.

Now I know the drill...at least for anything similar to the set up on this Truck ( Van ).

Be cautious of using "plenty of gasket sealer" as sometimes too much can make a gasket slippery enough to get out of place.
I have good luck with gasket or weatherstrip adhesive to fix the gasket to the pan and then use a small amount of Permatex #2 on the other side.

Grigg

Good point Grigg.

I will likely use the Spray on 'Copper' kind...it gets nice and tacky fairly quick, and then holds very nicely with no slip or slide.

Well, Pan is almost completely clean on the outside, so, a little more scrub-a-dub on it, and, on to the new Gasket and re-install.

Pan sure came out easy once that Tie Rod was swumg back to the side and out of the way.

Is the pan gasket 4 pieces, two cork, two rubber ones?
I use a small dab of grey silicone at the junctions between the different pieces.

Yes...Pan Gasket is the long Corck Composition pieces, and the two "U" shaped Black Rubber end pieces.


I hit the ground running early this morning, and got all that back together and installed before reading your mention.

Darn it! Thanks for the reminder! But, since I already got it all buttoned up...and without a dab of sealant in those 'corners'...I will just cross my fingers and hope it is alright as is.

If all goes well I may be firing it up a few days and I will see if any seepage there.

If it leaks in the corners, you can clean it up and put some RTV on there. It doesn't come out under pressure so that may do the trick. I have used this technique more than once. The pan gaskets I get have cork for around the ends and they don't fit well. I long for one with the rubber ends.

Well, I got lucky I guess...I had already got the Pan back on, with the new Gaskets, before I read your reply.

I did not even think about using some sealer there in the 'corners'...I should have thought of that! I did look at those 'corners' a few times and sort of thought "Hmmmm...I hope those close up alright..."

And, Looks like they did. Day five now of Daily driver use, and, no visible seepage anywhere.

"Next time"! I will definitely add a dab of sealer, if I ever do another 216/235 or related Pan.

Yes, my point was that you could probably stop a leak after the fact. Your situation is of course much better than that. It is great to see that you are enjoying the truck!

Thank you!


( Knock on Wood ) it has been running reallhy well and everything seems good now.

Surprisingly peppy too! I am very impressed with how much get-up-n-go it has, it literally does press you back in your Seat when accelerating. Keep up with general City Traffic just fine with me driving gently too, never gunning it or pushing anything...really a joy to drive!

I worked the old Van pretty well this last eight days or so also Moving, hauling lots of heavy stuff across Town...it did splendidly.

Off topic, but you can likely get those bottle jacks working again by adding some hydraulic fluid to them.(transmission fluid works well) You will have to remove the plug - it typically looks like a flat head screw.(some just use a rubber plug) Set the jack on its side with the plug on the top, then add the fluid through a small funnel or use a steady hand and run a small stream of fluid into the hole until full. Replace the plug and you are good to go.

Thanks for this mention!

I will try that.

My primary Bottle Jack is an old one, Cast Iron with an integral Handle as part of the Casting.

It had been my Truck Jack since the 1970s, and it is fairly low, so one can usually get under a front Axel alright, even with a Flat Tire.

No problem - just hope it helps.