Howdy all, I'm going to be replacing my ball joints and tie rod assemblies on my 2000 VW Jetta 2.0L 4 cylinder. The car has 150k+ miles and while I've changed the ball joints before, these are the original tie rods (inners, anyway). There's some noise in the front end (struts are newer already), and while I've not jacked the car up and grabbed a tire and shook, it's probably a good idea to replace these parts. From what I remember lower control arm bushings seem to be intact and in good shape too. Basically, the car's been squirrely for a long time and I've lost the feeling of the road. When it was younger and rock solid I could tell when the tires were about to lose grip and could 'feel' the general road conditions. This was nice and it felt good that I had a connection with what I was driving on, and that's been gone for a long time. I want that back, as best as I can, that is. I've purchased a special inner tie rod socket tool (think SUPER deep well socket, [URL="http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96558"]PIC Here[/URL]) and a boot clamp tool ([URL="http://www.toolking.com/ZoomImage.aspx?productID=9a0eeb60-59c2-4b56-b75b-110ce7433fb0"]Pic here[/URL]). Removing the hub and getting at the tie rod shouldn't be too much of a problem, and while I'm already in there I decided to replace the ball joints. 4 bolts later, I should have that part done. One curious thing about tie rod removal is that my Bentley manual says that I should remove the whole rack from the car. Like that's going to happen! The pictures show 2 wrenches, one to hold onto the part coming outta the rack, and the other on the tie rod itself. If I'm careful not to yank it around much, I see it happening right on the car. Plus, your local fix-it shop isn't going to remove the whole thing either. The inner rod is only torqued on to about 75ft/lbs, if I remember correctly, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Ok, I seem to be rambling... Sorry. Anyway, like I said before, I have one of those band clamp tools that uses a socket wrench to draw up the slack, but I have ZERO idea how to use it. Also, where should I get the bands? I'll need 2 larger and 2 smaller bands. From looking at the manual each one has a section that juts out of the otherwise perfect circle and resembles a rectangle on the outside. I assume that this is the area where all the tightening will occur. What about an open type clamp? I doubt it really makes a difference what type I use. Though, my tool's probably for the open type band only, and should focus on those types. [B]Anyone have any tips regarding the removal of the inner tie rod?[/B] [U]Here's what I'm going to do....[/U] Assume that the hub has been unbolted from the car already using the 12 pt. socket. Once I remove the tie rod end (keeping a close eye on the position on the threads), I'll need to cut the bands on the inner tie rod boot, and slide it off. From here, insert the inner tie rod tool, apply another wrench to the part coming from the rack and loosen. Unscrew old one, screw in new one, tighten to appropriate pressure. Should I use any thread locker in this? Insert big ring, boot, then small ring onto new tie rod end. Fit boot to proper location on rack, tighten clamp (HOW does my tool work?). Is any lubrication necessary inside the boot, similar to a CV joint boot? Probably not, but I'm just checking. Screw on tie rod end to the correct depth, attach as required to hub. Get the rest put back together... That sounds about right, yeah? I understand that it's a very good idea to get an alignment too because you can never be perfect with these. Thanks for the hand holding! I appreciate any tips and suggestions that you might have. Thanks! SkydiverMN :wall:

Hello! I have a problem with my truck and hope you can help me with it. I recently bought a 96 ram 2500 cummins with auto tranny, 4:10 rear, club cab, and 150k miles. I have put a few thousand miles on it, and have some problems. For one, my economy stinks. I am getting 14-15mpg in town and 17-18hwy (hand calculated). The guy I bought it from said he got 25.5mpg at 55 mph, and 22mpg at 70mph. I am consistently reading that folks are getting high teens and low 20s in town and low to mid 20s on the hwy. I personally know of several similar trucks that are par with that. I have tried driving with a light foot, then with a heavy foot, and actually got about 1 mpg better with the lead foot. Another thing, and it's probably related and may help diagnose the problem. I have a small single axle trailer...about 1000 pounds. When I hook it up, the truck turns into a dog. I can't pull out into fast moving traffic without fear. It doesn't want to pull the trailer up to speed. At 45-50 mph going uphill, the truck will barely pick up any speed at all even if I floor it. If I can get the truck running at 2000 rpm, it does ok, but at 45-50, it's at 1700 rpm and bogging. If I lock out overdrive, the engine revs, but falls flat on it's face at 2300 rpm. I know this 1000 pound trailer should be an insignificant load on my truck. As it stands, my 23 year old chevy 1/2 ton with a 305 engine can pull the trailer quicker and easier than the dodge. The turbo bearings feel tight (tolerance-wise) and like they should be. I feel the turbo kicking in once the engine revs up, and it sounds like a turbo should...so I know it's working, although I don't know if it's at full potential. A quick visual inspection of the turbo boost hoses showed nothing unusual. The engine runs good, and idles well. The truck lopes a little (I get a little "hop" feeling in the seat at idle), but I don't hear it in the engine speed...it's more like a reverberation in the truck frame from the vibrations of the engine. Maybe that's normal? This is my first time owning, but not driving a diesel. If anyone has any suggestions, I would be grateful to hear them! I like the truck, but I'd love to feel like I'm getting everything I was expecting. Thanks!