damn straight! but i cheated a little bit.

since i was headed to the dealership this morning for the alignment, i just left the clamps off completely. told the service advisor..."while he's in there.....can you get him to clamp the inner tie rod boots?" LOL.

laughing now. that will probably cost me $64.

the special tool would have been nice but it was pretty easy with the crescent wrench. very easy in fact. the hardest part was marking the old rods (i did mine with spray paint), disassembling both sets, removing old boots and transferring over. not difficult, just a pain.

i thought the alignment would be a LOT further off than it was but it wasnt bad at all. the control arm R&R knocked it out WAY more.

just like every other repair....if i had to do it again it would take me half the time.

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2005 X5 3.0i - 71k mi (9.2018) -> 81k (9.2019) -> 100k (9.2021) -> 123k (8.2025)
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SOLD : 2003 X5 3.0 - 177k mi (9.2018) -> 186k (9.2019) -> 205k (9.2021)
SOLD : 1997 328is Coupe - Hellrot Red
SOLD : 1988 528e w/ Bullseye s256 / MS2 Extra / GC Coilovers / Yukon Coils ~ 300+ HP