So having changed the Tie-Rod end (expensively
!!) I took the Jimny down to have the wheels aligned.
The young lads in the depot admired the Jimny and balanced the wheels ok, but when it came to sorting the tracking I could see that a lot of huffing and puffing was going on under the car.
Eventually they came over and said "The tie-rod ends are rusted on and we cannot loosen them to adjust them". I asked if they were turning them in the correct direction as some tie-rod ends are reverse threaded. "Oh yes mate", they said, "we know what we are doing". They told me I was going have to get some serious heat applied to the joints and that they were not licenced on the premises to use gas. I needed to take it elsewhere to get the joints loosend off and I could then bring it back for adjustment.
So last night I put it in my garage and tested the lock nuts with my spanner and (I know you can guess the next bit) the nuts simply undid. Basically they hadn't really bothered trying AND they tried the drivers side first WHICH IS THE SIDE THAT THE JOINTS ARE REVERSE THREADED. A simple turn in the correct (ie wrong) direction undid the nuts easily.
So shall I trust them to align it properly....?
Martin