tie rods dont get worn out. ball joints do. im the 3rd owner of my notchback. theres over 170,000 miles on the body and suspension. rack and ball joints and tie rods never touched and still no problems.
Lucky for you, I'm an engineer, and I had one good inner tierod end, and one bad inner tierod end sitting around the house. I also had a digital camera with video capability sitting around the house...
Notice the slop in the joint. It clicks when I move it in and out, and you can see the ball moving out of the socket...
I could actually hear rattling in the front end with the old inner tierod ends installed... I've owned the car since 1999, and it's always rattled over rough roads. I replace the a-arm bushings, the balljoints, the camber plates, struts, outer tierods ends... Hell, everything I could think of... When I replaced the inner tierod ends, the rattling stopped... And ONLY the inner tierod end that was OBVIOUSLY bad...
Ok, the uploading is done... enjoy... Those are both inner tierod ends. The new one is a TRW suspension component, and the old one is the stock 1993 Ford unit. I hope this proves the point that inner tierod ends DO wear out...
I really don't understand who, in their right mind, would believe that they don't wear out... Oh well...
I would suggest you do the ball joints yourself. You will obviously need a good socket set, a heavy duty jack, and some stands.. as well as the ball joint tool that your roomate has. I did mine and i thought it was a good, fun experience. It was fairly easy as well, just took my time.
I replaced my outter tie rod ends with a D&D bump steer kit, which cost me just as much as two quality moog tie rod ends. You may want to look into a bump steer kit!
Not sure on the inner tie rod ends, i've never done them. Sounds like an easy job for a mechanic though, with the right tools. Sometimes a few bucks is a better way out, compared to hours of swearing and wrecking parts.
I own 2 fox bodies... Maybe you're lucky?... My 2.3 has suspension problems from Hades... My 5.0 is rock solid... Don't automatically discount peoples' technical knowledge...
I personally replaced the entire rack when one of my inners was bad, I compared the prices of 2 inners compared to the rack and decided to go the rack route. Thanks ponycar17 for the video, I'm sure it helps others understand what you are saying.