replace heat-loosened tie rod parts?

Question

All attempts to loosen the tie-rod jam nuts on my 2004 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport have failed. Im about to resort to heating it with a blow torch, but want to ensure that I won't be ruining the nut and tie rod when I do this. The parts honestly look pretty new, but I know that the previous owner replaced them and probably wrenched these nuts down far too much.

Can I reuse these parts after they've been heated?

Is there a general rule about replacing heated parts?

Are these nuts a standard size? Or would I have to replace my inner tie rod just to get a nut? I can't seem to find them online ...

Answer 1

A garage mechanic would have an oxy-acetylene torch on the nut straight away. I have seen them do that on one of my cars and I didn't like it. If you didn't want to use heat, you could cut the nut off and replace it with a new one. There shouldn't be anything special about the nut that would make it difficult to replace.

Answer 2

It depends how much you heat them. My personal preference is to replace parts that get removed with heat. Specially critical ones like tie rods. They are not expensive and you would still require an alignment.

The nuts are a standard size, but they all vary by vehicle/model. Its not a custom nut

Can I reuse these parts after they've been heated?

I don't. Because I don't know how high the temperature was when heated. Anything above 350 degrees F can weaken the metal. You can go over 350F easily with a blow torch.

Is there a general rule about replacing heated parts?

Only reuse those that are not safety critical. Like exhaust components, for example.