Re:: tie rod

[Michael Harris <md-harris@worldnet.att.net>]

>After 25 years of playing around with Alfas I'm stumped, how on earth do I
>remove the inner tie rod end on my Milano. If I apply enough torque to break
>the
>retaining sleeve free I+ACI-ll surely destroy the steering rack, when I
attempt
>to hold the rack steady with a wrench it slips, also I'm afraid of messing
>up the teeth.
>Is there a retaining key?   All help is appreciated.

Hi:
I'm not sure if this is identical - and what precisely you are doing, but I
have just done some work to my GTV6's steering rack to change the boots.
The drivers side (on a LHD car) is quite straight forward - just take off
the ball joint and change the boot.  The passenger side if more complex (at
first glance).  There is a bracket that holds the end of a steering damper
(like a small shock absorber).  This braket is also attached to the
steering rack.  If you look under this bracket, you will see a metal
locking plate with a tab that must be bent away from the 'nut' that is
machined into the inboard end of the outer tie rod section. Once this is
done, you can use a large wrench to loosen this nut and unscrew the outer
section of the tie rod from the steering rack.  Note that this can all be
done with the ball joint still connected to the steering arm.  

Hope this helps...
Cheers
Michael Harris
1985 GTV6
1982 GTV6 Balocco #261
Alfa Romeo GTV6 Web Site:    http://www.gtv6.org/