I thought my tie rods were German... Will this work?


Just kidding.

Is this the correct "pickel fork" tool needed to remove the tie rods from the struts?

Yes, although it looks a bit big for tie rod ends. That might be better suited for ball joints.

This 'pickle fork' didn't help much on my tie-rods, but it did on the balljoints on the a-arms
For the tie-rods I had more luck with the clamping-style tool
YMMV

cheers,

Jeroen

Karl, This is the tool you need for tie rod end ball joint removals:

Phil

Karl,
Here is the one I bought from JCW long ago before the price got up to the teens.
Phil

Or you could beat the shit outta them with a hammer

How about one of these?

Ooops! I will try again.

do you just torque down on the bolt and it spreads the jaws to pull the end apart?

Karl,

I bought a tool from Automotion several years ago while re-doing the front end that looks exactly like the one in your photo. It seperated the left tie rod end perfectly, but when I tried the right rod end the damn thing let me down. The problem was that the jaws of the tool kept slipping off the knuckle of the steering arm. I don't know if the right knuckle was slightly smaller that the one on the left, which I suspect, or if the tool was flexing, which I also suspect, allowing the arms to spread apart letting the knuckle slip trough. I tried everthing I could think of and finally gave up with the tool. I proceeded to get a pickle fork and torch and beat the crap out of that joint before it gave way. Five minutes on the left, two hours on the right! Plus the trip to the auto store to buy a fork! Good luck!

Mike