Eagle Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Spanish to English. My wife's friend in Chile needs a part for a Chrysler mini-van, but she only knows the name of the part in Spanish, and all my wife knows is that it has "something to do with the steering." The word is "vieletas." Chrysler mini-vans in the 90s were already using rackety pinion steering, were they not? So I'm guessing it's either a rack & pinion unit, or a tie rod end. But the gal in Chile insists it is available only from Chrysler, so that's making me think it must be a steering box. Anybody fluent in automotive Espanol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
500 MJ Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 IIRC...JeepCoMJ is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 an online translator says "rods" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 My Buddie JUAN can likely do this!! He is on here regularly, usually just reading not so much posting. I'll be sure he sees this thread.. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juan Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 I'm sorry guys but I have no clue on this one, as the spanish words can vary from region to region. I can pretty much underdstand what they mean but this one got me.... some spanish words I do not use but I will know what they mean.... sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 Thanks for trying, guys. Dang ... the word isn't even in the Oxford English-Spanish dictionary. If it isn't in there, it MUST be specialized. Anybody else? IIRC the van is around 2002. If the part has something to do with steering, and a generic translation is "rod," my best guess is tie rod end. The Chrysler mini-vans have rack & pinion steering, so it can't be a drag link or something like that. But the gal said it's available only through Chrysler. Are mini-van tie rod ends proprietary? Oh, oh. Sway bar? Now THAT would be proprietary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Isn't there at least one CC member that lives in Mexico? I can't think of his name, but I know there's at least one who's fairly regular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfpdm Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 You know, a picture is worth a thousand words, in any language. :thumbsup: :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 those mini-vans are notorious for needing sway bar end links and bushings... we've done them to fix knocking in the front end of almost every one we (regularly) service. so i can see that being likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Just for kicks I asked the wife, she speaks some Spanish (not her native language) and worked for awhile in the Philippines before we met for an auto/truck parts import/export company, and she remembered the word vieletas as steering/stability related; she thought rear? Swaybar I thought. I did a bit of searching and it popped up on a couple of auto parts vendors in Spain as Mopar as such, but also as a Chrysler link arm hydraulic unit that looks like a steering gear. Not much help I guess, but I'm thinkin' sway bar too........... :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 We got it, folks. Tie rod. Of course, it's for rack & pinion, so there's an inner and an outer on each side and the friend didn't say which she needs, but we're closing in on it. FWIW, the bi-lingual dude at the Auto Zone store I called thought it meant "brakes." Epic fail. Brakes is "frenos." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Ive never seen a Chyco minivan that had serviceable inner tie rod ends. If that part is bad, us dealer techs have to replace the rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 Ive never seen a Chyco minivan that had serviceable inner tie rod ends. If that part is bad, us dealer techs have to replace the rack. My Jeep dealer stocks both inners and outers, and Auto Zone has listings for both. Curiously, the Auto Zone web site indicates that my nearest store has the inners in stock, but the outers are special order. Go figure. This is for a 2003 with the 3.3 engine, if it matters. I don't doubt that Chrysler wants to have you just R&R the rack. It's probably faster, and at today's shop prices it may even be cheaper for the customer. Plus Chrysler makes more money that way than just selling the tie rods. But that's just evidence of our throw-away society. In most South American countries, they still prefer to repair things rather than throw them away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 My 97 had a bad inner tre on one side and a bad seal on the other. After much deliberation, the best plan turned out to be replacing the whole darn assembly. Did it myself. :D Wasn't too bad but I literally needed a half-dozen different kinds of 18mm wrenches to get at all the bolts (long, stubby, ratcheting, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Just curious, but what is the problem they are trying to fix? Is the steering loose? Have they actually verified that the tie rod ends are bad? I had an Intrepid that would go through the bushings where the tie rods mount to the rack. It would cause wandering and a loose feel to the steering. Besides being a PITA to get to, they really weren't that hard to change. Maybe something to look into if they haven't physically verified where the problem is coming from? :dunno: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 Just curious, but what is the problem they are trying to fix? Is the steering loose? Have they actually verified that the tie rod ends are bad? I don't have a clue what the problem is. My wife and I are in the Yoo Ess of Ay, and the friend is in northern Chile. The friend doesn't use the same mechanic my wife used to use when she lived there. The lady knows exactly what part she's looking for, so we assume someone has verified the need for it, but I'm not going to start second guessing her mechanic by remote control from several thousand miles away. The part sems to be unavailable in Iquique, so we'll help her get the part. Beyond that ... she's an adult, she can deal with the mechanic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLHTAZ Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 The inner ends can now be replaced. It wasn't long ago that they were not serviced by Chrysler, but that is changing on most vehicles; although, some are still not available. Tech Tip Description: When replacing steering gear inner tie rod ends - the technician MUST always replace the outer tie rod end nut using P/N 6508273AA or its approved supercedence. The outer tie rod end nut is a one time use only Ny-lock type nut. Nut - 6508273AA Inner end - 68019643AB Outer end - 5066373AB The inner end package includes the large bellow clamp, small bellow clamp, breather tube clamp, and limiter. I hope that helps, if this is what you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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