Outer Tie Rods

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I just installed the two outer tie rods on my '04 Altima. The castle nut(tie rod to steering knuckle) torque spec is 22-28 ft.lbs. Seems a bit low to me. I went 30 ft.lbs. on my beam style torque wrench as I was on my back, looking upward(no sarcasm
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Any opinions on this spec?

Should I have gone a bit more?

Thanks,

CB
 
Is it a nylock nut or did you have to stuff a pin through it?

Spec should be so-many ft lbs then crank it some more to line up the holes so you can stick the pin in, on a true castle nut.
 
Yes, there is a castle nut with cotter pin. And this is exactly what I did! Got close as I could see(looking up) and then lined up the hole for the cotter pin.
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If I torqued the castle tooooo tight, is there a risk of pulling the joint out of the socket(over time)?
 
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No it won't pull it out, the pin should not be bottomed out such that the socket is contacting the knuckle. If it is, then it would restrict movement. You might pull the threaded portion of the pin off the tapered part if it was way overtightened. Most likely it will just make it harder to get apart for the next time.

And you are right, it doesn't seem that tight. But it's the same for my cars and so far nothing has ever come apart
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Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Yes, there is a castle nut with cotter pin. And this is exactly what I did! Got close as I could see(looking up) and then lined up the hole for the cotter pin.
smile.gif


If I torqued the castle tooooo tight, is there a risk of pulling the joint out of the socket(over time)?
 
Normally you would tighten to around 40-50 and back off re-torque to 20+ to align pin. This is a Morris taper and does not require much torque once it is seated. Over tightening can split the casting or make it impossible to separate.
 
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