Stranded in FL!!!! Isolating inner/outer tie rod problem
I'm only asking, because I'm in kind of a pickle with my '89. My dad's flying down to take one of my vehicles, and I'm heading from mid-Florida back to WI on wednesday or thursday next week, and still haven't taken care of the 'wandering' problem the car has; it's really not a lot of fun on the interstate currently, and aside from it getting a bit spooky going over a crown in the road switching lanes, etc., I want to take care of it if my dad's driving that instead of my work truck.
Just curious if there's a way to isolate a ball-joint/outer tie rod problem v.s. and inner tie-rod? Wiggling the wheel with the car on the ground at 3 and 9 o'clock will give you a 'clunk' on both sides with some effort; nothing at 6 or 12 o'clock, so I doubt a wheel bearing issue. You can feel a good clunk turning the steering wheel from left to right as well. I'm not nearly as well equipped with tools here as back home; only have a set of basic handtools (do have pickle forks), the factory jack (no jack stands), and the parking lot at my apartment complex to work in, so if it ended up being an inner tie rod where I'd want to replace the rack, there's no way I could do it with what I have down here; would just bite the bullet and nurse it home. If it's an outer tie rod, or even ball joint I should be able to handle it. Thanks for any advice.
I'm only asking, because I'm in kind of a pickle with my '89. My dad's flying down to take one of my vehicles, and I'm heading from mid-Florida back to WI on wednesday or thursday next week, and still haven't taken care of the 'wandering' problem the car has; it's really not a lot of fun on the interstate currently, and aside from it getting a bit spooky going over a crown in the road switching lanes, etc., I want to take care of it if my dad's driving that instead of my work truck.
Just curious if there's a way to isolate a ball-joint/outer tie rod problem v.s. and inner tie-rod? Wiggling the wheel with the car on the ground at 3 and 9 o'clock will give you a 'clunk' on both sides with some effort; nothing at 6 or 12 o'clock, so I doubt a wheel bearing issue. You can feel a good clunk turning the steering wheel from left to right as well. I'm not nearly as well equipped with tools here as back home; only have a set of basic handtools (do have pickle forks), the factory jack (no jack stands), and the parking lot at my apartment complex to work in, so if it ended up being an inner tie rod where I'd want to replace the rack, there's no way I could do it with what I have down here; would just bite the bullet and nurse it home. If it's an outer tie rod, or even ball joint I should be able to handle it. Thanks for any advice.