question about the tie rod install on a MKIV complete kit

[howling-cobra]

FFR tech,
Last night I installed the steering rack and ran into something following along in the manual after installing the tie rods it states to add a castle nut and cotter pin. My tie kit did not come with a castle nut. It did come with the cotter pins. But, there isn't a hole in the threaded end to support a cotter pin. In addition, I torqued it down to the recommended torque setting and the threads don’t even make it to the nylon feature of the nut I received with my kit. I noticed that on the tie rod the threaded portion stops and the shaft appears to be tapered. Only allowing the threaded portion to go through the link so far before binding.

Looking at the parts layout on page 124 and other pagers it appears that the tie rod mounting screws are a lot shorter on the ones that I installed.

Any advice?

Thank you in advance,
Rich
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[howling-cobra]

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additional photos

[Joe Scott]

Hey Rich, you did receive the correct tie rod ends, we switched over to ones with a lock nut instead of the cotter pin/ castle nut style, the book just has not been reflected of said change yet. From the looks of the pictures you are installing the tie rod in the correct position, i would check that the taper is matching the way the tie rod end is. If this is still an issue you can file down the taper a small amount to allow the tie rod to fit more snug.

Thanks Joe@FFRTECH

[howling-cobra]

Joe,
Thank you for the quick response. I'll make sure that the parts are aligned and the taper allows for full engagement. I take it that I don't use the cotter pins? :-) more spare parts! Also I have to say that I'm very pleased with the Quality of this kit as well as the manual... this is my first build and it's going rather smoothly.

[Joe Scott]

Hey Rich, Yes you are correct, and just for a side note so everyone can see this. Please check every box for parts, some pieces end up getting folded into the wrapping paper, some parts are wedged in card board. IE the side louvers for the Mk4, they are packaged in-between 2 pieces of card board, and normally are disregarded and tossed. just wanted to throw that info out there. Enjoy your build and any other questions feel free to call us (508) 291-3443
Joe@FFRTECH

[Jeff Kleiner]

I think you may have your steering arms on upside down; i.e. with the larger diameter of the taper up rather than down. If that's the case you'll have to swap them side to side (and ignore the DS and PS markings which do not apply to the roadster).

Good luck,
Jeff

[howling-cobra]

Jeff,
I double checked them from serveral other builds and made sure that the PS was on the driver side. With that said... I will be taking another look at them tonight to make sure that I have them mounted on the proper side and will be checking the taper as well.

thanks for the heads up.

[howling-cobra]

Jeff,
you are the master! I went home last night and double checked the taper and it is inverted. Not sure how you could see that in the blurry photos that I took. I wish there was a note in the Manual. I was so concerned about the DS and PS...
Sounds like it should have been an easy fix... unbolt the steering arm and sway to the other side. Unbolted the steering arm and tried to remove it and it runs in to the lower A arm ball joint and the bolts cannot be backed out enough, hitting the hub (which is already capped and torqued.
So, I’m now looking for some help in disengaging the lower A-arm from the ball joint. I removed the castle nut and the upper shock mount. Raised the spindle to almost level and gave the ball joint a couple of hit to see it would break free. Nope.
Any suggestions? I DO NOT to have to remove the hub.
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on a separate note... I'm attaching another picture showing the castle nut and cotter pin. I have been concerned since I installed it... should I add an additional spacer under the castle nut to raise it up for better cotter pin placement?

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thanks again for the help!

RIch

[Jacob McCrea]

I know "another guy" who made the same mistake. I had to use a ball joint fork to separate the ball joint from the spindle. Surprisingly, I did not destroy the rubber boot in the process.

Before you get to that point, try tapping the ball joint out from above with a tapered bar and a hammer. Whatever you do, don't pound on the threads or you'll have a hell of a time putting the castle nut back on - the ball joint will just sit there and spin if the threads are even a little damaged. You could also try inverting the castle nut on the threads and tapping it, but that will eventually oval the nut if you don't use a block of wood on the nut.