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How To Replace Boot on Fabtech Tie Rod End
I’ve had my Fabtech 6″ lift on my 09 GMC Sierra for about 6 months. While rotating my tires I noticed that the boots on my tie rod ends looked cracked and dry-rotted as though they were 10 years old. I called Fabtech and they were nice enough to send me 2 new boots. They are located in California and I’m in Arkansas so calling on Monday morning and receiving the boots Friday afternoon was good enough service for me. Here’s what happened next:
Remove front wheel:
You will need to remove the nut holding the tie rod end to the top of the spindle. It is a size 22mm. After removing nut:
Now you will need something to separate the joint from the spindle. I was told that you could apply some upward pressure to the tie-rod and simply wack the spindle really hard with a hammer at the point where the bolt runs through it and it would break loose. Well, either I’m not strong enough or not brave enough so this didn’t work for me. I went to AutoZone and for 9.99 I bought a “Pickle Wrench”:
I used it to separate the joint like this:
The torn boot should slide off the joint fairly easily. You need to pivot the joint back and fourth to ensure that being dry hasn’t damaged it. It should be tight and move smoothly with no extra play. I used a paper towel to clean the dirt and extra grease of the joint.
The new boot will have a metal ring around the top that has to be pressed onto the tie rod end. I almost damaged the ring beyond repair trying to force it on with channel locks. The method I ended up using is by no means the correct way but I used what resources I had. I found a hole saw in my tool box which was the exact diameter of the metal ring. I greased up the outside of the boot and smashed it down into the hole saw.
I rotated the tie rod end upside down, and rested it on the spindle. Note that you want to let the grease fitting on top of the tie rod end go through the hole in the spindle so you don’t bend it. Next I put a socket on top of the hole saw and tapped it into place with a hammer.
Now flip it back over and place nut on the bottom and tighten to original torque. Then replace wheel and repeat these steps for the other side.
