smartypants

Hi All :

I went to replace the divers side brake pads and discovered a broken stabilizer link and excessive play in the wheel accompanied by a clicking sound where to tie rod end meets the lower control arm. I've looked through all the previous postings for these two topics and still have a few questions.

Tie Rod Ends - Were is this part located in the parts catalog ? I looked under "Knuckle" and "Front Lower Arm" and can't seem to find it.

Stabilizer Links - Where is the "allen" screw ? Mine have a plastic cover with little four bumps. Do you break that off and find the screw head underneath ?

Also, anyone got any tricks to loosen these nuts and bolts ? I hate front end work, it take hours and hours to remove a few nuts and bolt and ten minutes to install the new part.

Thanks all who reply.

smarty

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

No sir, that threaded screw that comes out of the front of that (on the OTHER side from those 4 little bumps) where the nut goes has an allen hole in the middle of it. That's where you put the allen to hold while you loosen the nut.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Oh, and an extra tip for suspension work (and this removal specifically)
Jack up the whole front of car and not the side...take load off BOTH sides of the stabilizer bar by doing this otherwise you'll be trying to hammer etc to get the stupid threads pushed thru (once nut removed)...when you have the front jacked up you can do it all by hand very easily.

Easy fix...20 minutes, tops.

smartypants

Thanks rockstar :

I got the allen key location, thanks very much. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to look at the bottom of the bolt, but it didn't.....

I guess that's why we have this forum.....

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Not a problem, man...hey, something is only obvious once you've done it already! lol...

Good luck man, should be an easy fix...the sucky part is that part is expensive...I think $45 or so per side per front/rear. I stripped one once
I should have checked the forums first!

smartypants

Steering : Tie Rod End
MOOG Part # ES3490
Frt Strg; Outer; LH
$26.79

Suspension : Stabilizer Bar Link
MOOG Part # K90341
Frt Susp; LH
$16.21

Plus $8.34 shipping.

Not too bad.....I'd hate to see what the Stealership would charge ?


Oh, and I found the tie rod end in the parts cataloge.....it's under "P.S. Gearbox"

hANDYcaptd

iTrader: (5)

Be sure to measure the threads expose on the existing tie rod and try to match on the new one. You should probably get an alignment afterward too.

smartypants

If I'm very careful and measure the tie rod accurately, do I really need a wheel alignment ?

Is tire wear the only way to spot bad alignment ?

Thanks again to all who replied

rcb2000

you won't be able to get it close enough, once it's installed get the toe adjusted. And they have gauges that tell you how bad your alignment is so no need to wait and see the tire wear. You also should have the rest of the front end checked out too.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Yeah, don't wait, if you see it, it's probably too late for the tire to get the full life out of it.

J.

SSM TL

I payed $58 for both links straight from the dealer.. its better having oem parts..

smartypants

I've always thought so to.

However, in this case there was allot of posts relating to the OEM links being generally weak and the Moog links being significantly stronger. Coupled with the fact that its been broken for I don't how long with, no apparent affect on the car's handling, I think I'm safe with this deviation.

01tl4tl

certain OE parts or fluids are good- thats true
others are what acura could buy a gozillion of.. for the cheapest price

in the case of end links- there is a problem with their failure
Moog brand is well known and trusted maker of suspension-steering parts, and for their price they cant be beat

01tl4tl

no way to get the alignment perfect by your hand
Measure-count exposed thread on old unit and set new one the same
That will get you to the alignment shop- safe enough

ways to tell alignment is off- the car wanders or pulls or drifts
Most of us need one once a year- and balance the tires!
speedbumps, potholes, and general freeway use all mess things up bad

you forget how smooth the TL was --then suddenly its like a new car again

01tl4tl

that piece you are replacing with the threads on it- thats where the adjustment is made
for toe,

dont let them bs you about shims for the rear etc, we dont have--
get a `4 wheel thrust alignment`

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

The man has spoken...
TRUTH.

rcb2000

when your refering to suspension parts MOOG will out perform any OEM suspension part from regardless of who the OEM is import or domestic regardless of the type of part. If I'm repairing the front or rear suspension on a car the dealer is the last place I would go to and buy parts. For two reasons the dealer parts will be higher priced and of a lesser quality as well, only time to get parts from them is if it is a dealer part only, meaning you can not buy it anywhere else but the dealer.

01tl4tl

allright!! something we essentially agree on!!

dealer parts for the TL I would buy:
ps fluid
but get it for less at the import/performance store

akad3m1kz

my front passenger end link went off as well... were gonna do a diy tomorrow.. not me actually itll be my friend.. ill try to post some pics and info up.. i had the same issue on my right rear as well.