Length: 9:20
Created: August 19, 2021
[0:00] What’s up, guys? Are you looking for a Heavy-Duty Tie Rod Kit for your Polaris RZR Trail 900? Well, SuperATV has you covered and today we’re going to show you how to install them. Let’s get right to it.
The first thing we’ll do is remove both front wheels and tires. Next, we’ll disconnect the tie rod from the knuckle. It’ll be an 18mm nut. Sometimes the tie rod will be stuck in the knuckle. If that’s the case, you’ll need two hammers. Lay one on the steering arm, on the knuckle. And use the other one to smack it until it comes free.
Do not hit the threads on your tie rod end because that will damage the threads.
[1:29] Now that we’ve removed that, we’ll turn the wheel to the point where your tie rod is at the most extended point. Remove the clamps from the boot. For this outer clamp, just take a flathead screwdriver and slide it through. When you twist it, it should pop apart and you can slide it off the tie rod.
The inner will actually have a zip tie on it. Take a pair of side cuts and reach up to cut that zip tie off.
[2:06] Once the boot is loose, slide it over the inner ball and socket, or the inner tie rod. Pull the boot down and out of the way. Then we’ll position the tie rod so we can get the pipe wrench in there.
We decided to go with an adjustable wrench because this center ball and socket has two really nice flat spots on it, where we can get to it. I’d say 90% of the time you’ll have to use a pipe wrench. But on this specific machine, we were able to just pop an adjustable wrench in.
Now we’ll unthread it all the way. Once it’s loosened up, you can grab the tie rod itself and start turning it. That will spin the inner ball and socket right out.
Now we’ll discard the factory tie rod. Grab our inner ball and socket and apply some blue Loctite to the threads. Then we’ll thread it right in to the rack and pinion.
[3:21] After that, we’re going to fully tighten our inner ball and socket. Get this really tight, then we’re going to grab the small boot since we’re working on the passenger side. Slide it over the inner ball and socket, as well as the threads on the tie rod. Then take the provided zip ties and securely fasten it to the rack and pinion.
Take this zip tie and slide it all the way back. You’ll feel a lip on the boot—make sure the zip tie sits down in that lip completely. Get it as tight as you can. Then we’ll put a zip tie on the outer portion of the boot.
[4:25] Take a pair of side cuts and cut off the excess from both zip ties.
Then we’ll take the nut from the inner ball and socket and thread it all the way up, as far as it will go. Then we’ll grab the tie rod.
One side will have a right-hand thread and one will have a left-hand thread. You’ll have to check and see. I’m going to thread this up about halfway. Then we’ll grab the outer tie rod end and thread the nut on it.
Remember, this will be the left-hand thread. So again, halfway is what we’re looking for here. Then I’ll grab the steering wheel and get it perfectly straight. Attach the tie rod to the knuckle.
[5:42] We’ll take the tapered stud from the hardware kit and slide it right into the hole in the knuckle, where the steering arm is. Slide it through there and grab one of our Nyloc nuts. Start it on the bottom threads. Then take the tie rod and slide it down onto the tapered stud.
Grab a misalignment bushing and drop it on the Nyloc nut.
Now I know my wheel is perfectly straight. As you can see, this one is pretty far out. So I’m going to adjust it a little bit until it is somewhat straight. Obviously, we’ll be setting the toe. But now I like to get a 19 wrench and a 19 socket and fully tighten the hardware.
[6:51] Once it’s fully tightened, take the cotter pins from the kit. Slide them through and bend them away from themselves. It’ll look just like this. We’ll repeat the same steps for the opposite side.
Now that our tie rods are installed on both sides, we’ll reinstall our wheels and tires. Set the machine on the ground and get it settled so we can set the toe.
[7:19] Now that the machine is back on the ground, we have Corey in there to help us. We’re going to be settling the suspension before we set the toe. So we’ll just roll the machine back and forth about five times. Cut the wheel both ways to make sure the suspension is fully settled.
Alright, now Corey will make sure the steering wheel is straight for us. Awesome. So now we’ll take a measurement from the center line of each tire. We’ll measure from here to here, and then we’ll do the same thing on the back side of the front tires.
Okay, it looks like we’re a bit toed out because we’re wider in the front than in the rear. We’re going to adjust accordingly, re-measure, and then fully tighten our hardware.
[8:26] To adjust the tie rods, just grab hold of the tie rod bar and spin it either way, depending on what your measurement is. When you have it set how you want, make sure your distance is the same on the front of the tire and the rear of the tire. If anything, you want your tires toed in about 1/8″.
Once you’ve made all your adjustments and you have your tire toed in about 1/8″, be sure to check your jam nuts. Make sure they’re tight.
And that’s all there is to installing SuperATV’s Heavy-Duty Tie Rods on this Polaris RZR Trail 900! Be sure to check us out online to pick up your tie rods today. Thanks for watching and we’ll catch you on the next one.
