1992 Eagle Talon:
Replacing Tie Rod Ends

1. Raise the car and support it securely with jackstands.
2. Remove the front wheel(s).
3. Here is an overview of the parts you will be working with. In the picture below, you can see the brake rotor (lower left corner), the tie rod end/balljoint, the castle nut and cotter pin on top of the tie rod end, the jamb nut and the tie rod itself (top center).
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4. Remove the cotter pin from the top of the tie rod.
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5. Using one wrench to hold the tie rod end in place and another wrench on the jamb nut, loosen the jamb nut. I put some 3-in-1 oil on the nuts a few minutes before trying to break them apart to loosen the crud that had formed over the nuts (the roads in Anchorage get pretty messy in the winter...)
   
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   Once the jamb nut has broken free, you may have to use the wrench that was holding the tie rod end to hold the tie rod so it doesn't twist as you loosen the jamb nut. Yes, I know--crescent wrenches are evil, but it's all I had in the proper size.
6. Now, use a 17mm wrench to remove the castle nut that locks the tie rod end to the wheel assembly.
   
   Note--if you have replaced your tie rod ends before, they may not have 17mm nuts any more. My replacements from Schucks used 19mm nylock nuts rather than the original 17mm castle nut.
7. Use a tie rod separator or a ball joint separator (pickle fork) to remove the tie rod end from the ear on the wheel assembly. I bought a 15/16th inch Craftsman ball joint separator from Sears, but it was a little big. It worked, but a smaller fork would probably work better. However, I've never tried a smaller one, so that's just a guess--your mileage may vary!
   
   Incidentally, one of my friends at work (thanks, Ben!) tells me that the single piece pickle forks work much better than the two piece, as the two piece forks absorb some of the impact of the hammer.
   
   The picture below shows how they look once separated.
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8. Before you remove the tie rod end, use paint or a marker or something to mark the tie rod where the tie rod end sits, so that you can put the new tie rod end in approximately the same place.
9. Now, remove the tie rod end from the tie rod. You may have to use a wrench on the tie rod to keep it from rotating as you remove the tie rod end.
10. Reinstallation is pretty much the same process as installation, except that you don't need the pickle fork to put the pieces back together :) The only tricky part I had was when installing the nut that locks the tie rod to the wheel assembly--my new tie rod ends were from Schuck's Automotive, here in Anchorage (they've always been real easy to deal with, so I don't mind giving them a plug), and they use nylock nuts rather than castle nuts and cotter pins.
    
    Once the threads on the tie rod end engaged the nylon lock in the nut, the entire stud rotated in my tie rod end. However, it wasn't just spinning freely. After a few turns, I could feel resistance in my box end wrench, and the threads popped through the nylock nut. If yours are similar, don't worry that the nut isn't tightening. It will; just keep turning.
    
    Here's a picture of the reassembled pieces (yes, I know--there are not enough threads showing through the top of the nylock nut. This was before I finished tightening the nut.):
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11. Now check the alignment, and you're done!