Tie Rod Question
 

I just recieved my Febi tie rod for my 82 380SL and I have a question. The old tie rod I removed from the car had grease packed in the rubber boot at each pivot end. Quite a bit oozed out when I pried if off with the tie rod fork. The new tie rod does not seem to have any grease packed in this boot (but I'm not sure it is hard to tell). Do I need the add any grease to this joint - inside or outside the boot?

Thanks

Lee

No, they are sealed & greased from factory.

Got it done
 

I have installed it and it seems to have solved the clunking noise I had before. I think I just tore the boots on the old rod prying it out and the new one just didn't seem like it had any grease in it but like I said it was hard to tell.

When I installed the new one I adjusted the ends to the same position as my old one and it drives great - no pulling to either side. But I think I will still take it in for an alignment.

That was a pretty easy job for anyone out there that hasn't done it before like me. Just make sure that you get the tie rod pry fork (it only cost me $6.99 for a set of three different sized ones at Harbor Freight Tools here in Florida) and a good 3 pound sledge hammer and don't be shy about wailing on that pry fork to get the old rod out.

Thanks for the info!

Lee

If you need to save the boots from tearing when removing the tie rods, use something like this:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10101/s-10101/p-100000219190/mediaCode-ZX/appId-100000219190/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000219190

Ford told us that, too, back in the day when most everything had grease fittings. Fords also had some of the shortest service life in the industry, with their " Perma Lube " suspension pieces. I added grease fittings to all my new Lemforder tie rods. This allows me to use my choice of grease. Mobil28 full synthetic, the standard in aviation. As always, YMMV.

Al- how did you add the grease fittings. I want to do the same thing. I've replaced upper Lemforder ball joints- the one piece unit and would like someway to lubricate them.

Well the old tie rod lasted 25 years without the grease fittings. What more can you ask of a $10 suspension part?:confused:

True, but I'm not putting the old one back on, nor a new one from Mercedes Benz.
I can assure you the aftermarket parts are not near the original quality. Mercedes forum members operate under the misconception, that if a company( ex. Febi, Lemforder, etc) is the manufacturer for parts that Mercedes uses when building the cars, then the parts they sell aftermarket are identicle. Grapes, drill the proper size hole, depending on what grease fitting size you choose, that will allow the first thread to start, and self tap them in. A six point socket and 1/4" ratchet make this happen easily. Adding fittings to parts already installed will complicate the process some, but still do-able.

I think you're wise to get it aligned with the new tie rod in; perhaps others disagree with me, but it is not as easy as it sounds to turn the new tie rod to the precise length of the old rod; plus, even with other components still okay, they've still got some micro-wear, so the old tie rod length is not the correct length. When I replaced a tie rod on my 220D last Fall I had to drive 20 miles to get it aligned and what a difference it made even though I had went to effort to set the new length equal to the old length.
Sorry for an old war story on greasing suspension components, But; back in the sixtie's a lot of the Detroit Iron cars came with a plug where the grease zirk would go, I guess to save a few pennie's. I worked as a mechanic at the time so when a car would come in to be greased I'd remove all the plugs and replace them with zirks. There was one fellow, who took very good care of his car, who insisted the zirks be pulled after greasing & replaced with the plugs. So, I did it. He was a good customer and I'd argue with him every time that it was costing him half an hour for no good reason. I'm not a fan of the new components that are sealed and require no greasing. Dust/grime, I would think just has to make its way inside the boot. In the old days, in my opinion, greasing through zirks had less to do than ensuring there was adequated grease beneath the boot than the driving out of the old dirty grease. One had to be very careful if a customer had not had the car greased in a long time, or ever, as the grease tended to harden near the lip of the boot, so the pressurized grease would break the boot. To me, the new greaseless ball joints or king pins is less problematic than the pressed U-Joints. Years ago if one of my cars didn't have threading for a zirk I'd drill & tap it. Not that the grease would ooze out, but to force out old hardened/dirty grease. I say all this as opinion as I've never read of studie's that compared the old zirk style with the newer sealed joint systems. I'd be very interested to hear anyone's opinion on this.

I could not tell the difference between my original tie rod ends and the Lemforders I replaced them with. Exact color and the same casting marks too.

Clean up an original and stick it next to a new Lemforder, I challange anyone to tell them apart.

I installed the drivers side tie rod on my 450sl 73, and ran into a few problems. The part was OEM in the Mercedes bag ,from Performance products.
1st. I noticed they did not have castle nuts with cotter key, they used a nylon lock nut and cross treaded ( both ends).
2nd. the adjusting center barrel was too long, I could not make the unit short enough.
I contacted Performance products and the gentlemen on the line went and pulled one from his shelf. They confirmed that the nuts were nylon lockers and his to were cross treaded. We measured the barrel length and it was the same as the one I got. He confirmed the part #, it too was correct.
So I used the old barrel over. I must say that the people at Performance Products were quite nice and very helpful. Just my story

Yes, my new tie rod used the nylon nut, too, but the length was the same as the OEM; at least I suspect the tie rod was the original; it did use the castle nut with the cotter pin.