Inner Tie-Rod Removal and Installation
 

2001 Saturn SL1, 1.9 SOHC

According to the owner's manual. One is to remove and install the inner tie rod end by placing a shop towel over the steering rack teeth,
and position the appropriate wrench over the shop towel to rigidly hold and support the rack. See Fig. 2. While holding the rack, remove the inner tie rod with a wrench. The same goes for the installation. Practically, is it possible to use the inner tie-rod removal tool instead of using this procedure, if one can't get under the car? What are the chances one could break the seals or break the steering gear assembly which is torqued at 70 ft-lb? I've seen a couple of YouTubers who are not following the shop manual procedure. What do you recommend from your shop experiences? Realistically, it may be impossible to follow this procedure.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sat...5975759318.jpg

Tie Rod: Specifications

• Inner Tie Rod -to-Steering Gear 70 Foot Pound-Force (ft.lb)
• Tie Rod Linkage Installer 33 Foot Pound-Force (ft.lb)
• Tie Rod Lock Nuts 35 Foot Pound-Force (ft.lb)
• Tie Rod-to-Steering Knuckle Nut 19 Foot Pound-Force (ft.lb), +134 degrees

Buy or borrow a floor jack and jack stands to get your car up in the air and work safely. Not sure how you'd actually be able to do it without being under the car. But then again, I've never had to do it so I never considered that. The Jack and Jack stands will be used hundreds upon hundreds of times in the future. Just bite the bullet, get them, and keep from making things hard for yourself.

Well, I did jack up my Toyota with no issue to change the tie rods. But their manual didn't include this procedure. I installed them through the side. Ok then, I'll perform the installation to the SL1 per Saturn procedure. Thanks for the quick reply!

I can confirm that you can use a inner tie rod tool like the one you shared for this job. I borrowed one from Oreilly's. The tool wasn't of the best quality, which made the job more difficult than it needed to be, but it got the job done.

My 97 SL1 has the same procedure described in the manual as yours.

They tell you to do it that way to prevent damage to the steering gear.

But they also tell you to remove the steering gear before that, which I didn't do. Apparently that's how Saturn wanted it to be done in their dealerships, but it doesn't seem necessary.

Thank you!