03 Gt Tie Rod Or Steering Rack Issue

just picked up a 03 GT today.i notice when I slowly accelerate,push in the clutch or let off the gas somewhat dramatically ,the car will sway .the higher the speed the more violent the swaying is.i jacked up the rear and had no movement.but I jacked up the front and noticed when I apply pressure at 9 and 3oclock right where the inner steering tie rod goes into the boot on the rack there's like an 8th inch or play.both wheels have play so I'm assuming the tires are going whichever direction slightly when I let off the gas,causing my swaying.but my question is,is that a inner tie rod issue? or a rack issue?the tie rods are definitely old .should I just take the boot off at the rack?will that give me a better idea? I'd hate to spend 100bucks on the tool just to have to buy a rack after.thanks everyone

wmburns said:

Recommend also checking the lower ball joints.

I have had a similar repair to perform on my 1996 GT. When looking at the total cost of the repair I decided it was a better buy to replace the entire steering rack with a re-man unit than to try and service the tie rod ends separately. The advantages this gave were:

• All parts included
• The amount of slop inside the old steering rack and just how much this was adding to the problem was unknown. So with a new steering rack an unknown variable is removed.
• New part warranty
• IMO greatest chance of doing the job right one time.
• It's really not that hard to remove the whole steering rack on a Mustang.

So in my case I elected to replace the entire steering rack with a re-man unit. Was happy with the repair afterwards.

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You're right I didn't realise how cheap and easy a rack install is.I went ahead and changed the tie rods because I had them shipped here already.it helped but it still flexes in the back now.when I hit the gas it pulls left.when I let off it pulls right.so I looked at the drivers side control arm,in the rear and the bushing pretty much fell it when I pryed on the control arm so I'm guessing that's it

Well I ended up ordering new rear control arms from Summit. After having to saw the old ones out with a sawzall spent my whole day at it, I got the control arms out and the bushings that connect to the body of the car were totally rotted.and bolts seized to the bushing.if u ever have to cut out a control arm bolt on this car I recommend the Diablo extreme metal 9inch blade from home depot.every blade sucked but that one ate right through in like 20sec. This fixed my problem in combination with checking tire tread size of each wheel in the rear and the psi.

I haven't messed with the ball joints yet but the new inner and,outer tie rods fixed the 3 and 9o'clock play in my from wheels