Mercedes GL450 GL320 GL350 GL550 Tie Rod Replacement

Does your GL450 clunk when going over bumps?  Most of the time clunks originate from the worn out control arm bushings or the airmatic struts.  After some investigating, it turned out I actually had a worn out inner tie rod.  In this article I will show you how to replace the inner tie rods on your GL450, GL320, GL350 or GL550.

Tools needed:

A pipe wrench or a proper inner tie rod tool.

CV Clamp pliers

15mm and 21mm wrenches

 

1.  Turn the wheel all the way to the right or the left, depending on the side you are working on.  The goal is to extend the tie rod out of the rack as far as possible.

2.  Unclip the inner steering rack boot clamp.

3.  Remove the outer boot clam.

4.  Since there is nothing wrong with my outer tie rod end, I am going to leave it attached to the spindle.  In this step I am going to measure the adjustment of the old tie rod so my alignment is not way off.

5.  Unbolt the outer tie rod end from the inner. 

6.  Unbolt the inner tie rod from the rack.  I used a pipe wrench to unbolt the inner tie rod from the rack.  Ideally you would want to use a proper inner tie rod special tool but since I am only doing this job once, I didn't see a point paying for a special tool.

7.  Bolt up the new inner tie rod to the steering rack and install the steering rack boot.

8.  Crimp the steering rack boot clamps with the CV boot claming pliers. 

9.  Screw in the outer tie rod and check the measurement you've taken previously.

You should probably get the car aligned, incorrect toe can cause tire wear.