Educate me on 2wd inner tie rods

[rsscoggins]

I have a 2006 2500 Mega Cab 2wd. I already have a 3" body lift and a 3" CST spacer on the front.

I am in the process of gathering everything that is required to add the CST 3.5" spindle now that it has cooled off a bit here in Texas. I plan on replacing the upper and lower ball joints as part of this process as well as the outer tie rod ends (boots are torn). The last time that I had the truck aligned, the guy stated that I needed to replace inner tie rods. NOW, I went and investigated and see that the inner tie rods appear to be a little different than the normal outer tie rods.

Has anyone changed the inner tie rods on the 2wd? It appears that they are under the rubber boots of the power steering rack so I didn't undo the semi-permanent clamps to see them. Do these typically wear out or is the guy hosing me because he thinks I wouldn't look under the boot.

They are only $50 a pair from Rock Auto but if it is unnecessary and a huge pain in the then I don't want to do it.

[JayG]

I did my inner tie rod ends a couple of years ago. Not much to it, if I remember correctly. I slipped the outer tie rods off/out of the steering knuckle/arm, loosened the metal clamps/tie wraps that held on the boot, slid the boot towards the outside tie rod, turned the steering wheel so the rack traveled all the way to the side I was working on exposing the inner tie rod, put a big wrench on it(it has flat spots on it for just this purpose), bumped the wrench a little bit and it simply screwed off! Actually, I was kind of concerned it came off so easy so I started asking around at the several mechanic shops in my neighborhood! They all said, "that's just the way they are"! I could not get the big end metal clamp on the rubber boot to tighten up worth a dang, so I used a big black tie wrap( in my business - the black tie wraps are for direct sun/UV exposure and last a LONG time ) and it's still just dandy with no issues! Good luck! Oh, counted the exposed threads on the outer tie rods before screwing them off and put the outers back on with the same thread count ( all MOOG parts ). I thought about it for a couple of weeks then decided to get the toe in checked. It was perfect.