I'm givin in. I cannot get my drivers side tie rod off...

[Movin]

There is no comparison in the grandpa story. A shop cannot do repairs like that to a fuel line. The line on that kind of car has to be certified by somebody so that the liability of a failure is not on the shop. They quoted installing a fuel line assembly I am sure. Likely the transmission had to come out on that car to put in a new assembly. Grandpa saved money bay accepting a substandard non-engineered and unwarrantable repair.

Lower ball joint TRW part ( Moog might be okay or ford if you can find it ) List price is around $83 bucks, times 2 because you put suspension parts on in pairs.Labor for 2 is around $160. Sublet alignment is $65 or so.
OR
On a festiva we can still do some of this stuff to all of it our self!! We assume warranty responsibility , liability and provide somewhat free labor. Sometimes we run into something like this stuck tie rod. We can buy more parts and replace the whole thing ( win -win ) or pay a shop. It is still better than $400 a month payments to make your brother-in law jealous lol.

[jfd64]

There are some excellent mechanics worth every penny.I however assume most of the time i can do just as poorly or better than most for a fraction of the cost.I came to that point years ago after paying to have a van "repaired".650 dollars later i towed it home and fixed it myself.I have been in business for myself as a contractor and assume the challenges facing an auto mechanic dealing with a thousand moving parts and overhead, safety and liability would be more challenging than i probably faced but i hesitate to trust for anyone to put their hands on my cars anymore.And i am a guy that absolutely hated working on cars in my youth and always paid up to have it done.Still dont love it

[WmWatt]

Labour costs in North America are high along with the cost of living so if you can do it your self you save. You have to have time, space, tools, and materials. I've collected enough second hand tools to do quite a bit. It takes longer so I'm without transportation while planning, costing, and doing repairs. But I was able to replace all the brake line on the Festiva for $83.00 in materials and a special wrench after quotes of $800 from garages. Mechanics at shops have to work quickly to make a profit and they sometimes (often in my experience) make mistakes which they have to spend more time correcting, maybe because it's an unfamiliar older model. I'm able to take my time and to it right the first time most of the time. I'm not crazy about working on the car but I do it and try to stay ahead of problems before they happen. I just finished spraying the underside with canola oil to slow down the rusting process over the coming winter. That works. I was complemented again last week by a stranger at a stop light on the car's "clean" condition.

[Movin]

Now a look from our side..Most shops have one lead tech or a shop owner that is a great mechanic. There will be a constant flow of trainees coming in to work under him. About one in ten will get good enough to become a lead mechanic someday. The lead mechanic does not work on cars like ours, only the most expensive jobs. Some kid that took a 2 year course in some college is trying to learn the trade on your car. The service writer is going to try to justify the extra time this kid takes learning on your car to keep the income on that bay up where he will not catch heck from the pencil pusher. Because of all these factors it is better to find a one man shop with a guy old enough to have been in his prime during the early 90's. Even better a retired guy with a shop at his house just making a little extra to pay medical bills.

Only after you cannot do it yourself!! Even with the occasional tie rod like here you have to love these little cars for being easy and dependable!!

[Cory_Thurmond]

Im lost... Why r u not replacing the inner tie rod ? Its got to be bad if they are stuck together that bad...

Go to autozone and buy an inner tie rod removal tool for 8 bucks and be done with it.

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[Movin]

I use a open end wrench...and I have the special tools it is just easier with a plain old wrench.

[jimdigs]

YES!! VICTORY!! I need to thank Movin and Siliconesoul for suggesting the Mapp torch instead of propane. I heated the crap outta the thing, put the vice grips on the arm and a pipe wrench on the tie rod and got the thing to just squeak a very little and barely move. Heated it up some more, got another squeak move, did this about 4 more times until it finally started to turn. I was all happy. I went to Lowes today and bought a Mapp torch, it wasn't cheap at $43. But way better than $155 at the shop.
Now I need a front end alignment and put my two new front tires on and I'll be all set. All new control arms and ties rods. YAHOO!! By the way, how much grease should I put in these new moog tie rods? I just put enough in so that it started bulging out, is that enough? Thanks, Jim

[jfd64]

Always feels good to push through and overcome.Sounds good to me on the grease.

[ryanprins13]

I always grease till i just see some starting to come out.
You mean the outers right? Are the inner tie rod ends greasable?


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[Movin]

The inners are not greasable with a gun but I pull the boot back and put some in there now and then.