Bad tie rod? need help

blaketeg

I <3 Boost
To those of you who know more about suspension than me, i need help.

i was putting my front lip on and discovered by camber wear on my front tires were horrible, especially the drivers side

than i grabbed my drivers side tie rod end and i discovered i can easily twist it side to side. I cant wiggle it side to side or front to back. Does this mean the tie rod end is bad or the inner tie rod end is bad or niether? i know something isnt right because i cant twist my passenger side one at all.

thanks cl



 

mirrorimg

Well-Known Member
Thats not camber wear, thats toe in wear.

The rod should be able to twist, as its perched on a ball joint. The one that twists more freely has just been on the car longer and has been worn a bit more. If you can pull/push the tie rod end in and out of the inner tie rod, then that needs to be replaced.
 

blaketeg

I <3 Boost
Thats not camber wear, thats toe in wear.

The rod should be able to twist, as its perched on a ball joint. The one that twists more freely has just been on the car longer and has been worn a bit more. If you can pull/push the tie rod end in and out of the inner tie rod, then that needs to be replaced.
alright thanks...well i cant push/pull it out any, so thats good

would this be a sign of a bad ball joint possibly? i can twist the tie rod about 30-40 degrees to both sides
somethings not right because of the bad toe wear.
 
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blaketeg

I <3 Boost
i can also grab my wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and it has a slight wiggle in it
 


jznsn2u

Active Member
Thats not camber wear, thats toe in wear.

The rod should be able to twist, as its perched on a ball joint. The one that twists more freely has just been on the car longer and has been worn a bit more. If you can pull/push the tie rod end in and out of the inner tie rod, then that needs to be replaced.
x2

alright thanks...well i cant push/pull it out any, so thats good
would this be a sign of a bad ball joint possibly? i can twist the tie rod about 30-40 degrees to both sides
somethings not right because of the bad toe wear.
I don't know if its normal if you can push it/pull it. But like stated about it should be able to twist.

i can also grab my wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and it has a slight wiggle in it
You're just strong Blake ;):pimp:
 

mirrorimg

Well-Known Member
i can also grab my wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and it has a slight wiggle in it
Look behind the wheel and see what is moving. It wiggling could be different things. Like I said with the push/pull of the tie rod end, if that is happening when you hold the wheel at 3-9 and move it, the inner tie rod is the issue. It may just be the ball joint in the control arm shifting, but that should only happen when you hold the wheel at 12-6.

Make sure theres actually slack, and you arent just feeling the actual wheel turning the steering rack.
 

blaketeg

I <3 Boost
Look behind the wheel and see what is moving. It wiggling could be different things. Like I said with the push/pull of the tie rod end, if that is happening when you hold the wheel at 3-9 and move it, the inner tie rod is the issue. It may just be the ball joint in the control arm shifting, but that should only happen when you hold the wheel at 12-6.

Make sure theres actually slack, and you arent just feeling the actual wheel turning the steering rack.
alright thanks a lot, im pretty sure its my inner tie rod

thanks for your help man :thumbs up
 


mirrorimg

Well-Known Member
Do some more checking and look closely at it. If you have to replace your inner tie rod (or even the tie rod end), you need to get an alignment.
 

blaketeg

I <3 Boost
alright well my neighbor looked at it (he was a car mechanic for 20 some years) and he said the bushing on my passenger side lca was bad, can i replace just the bushing or do i need a whole new lca?

and he said he was 99% sure my drivers side inner tie rod is bad.
 
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j13

Keep It Clean
You canr buy the bushing I'm sure. I don't know if it need to be pressed in.

Buy anew tie-rod and get an alignment.

Look for anything else that is worn/bad so you can save, and you could buy everything at once.

FWD cars take a beating in the front. Just so much going on, up there...that's why most people say RWD for the win.
 

kleenkreativ

New Member
So, speaking of tie rods - both of my outers are bad. Anyone know if they're difficult to replace? I've never done any work with tie rods at all.
 
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