Front end Questions

[stangg01]

I went in for a wheel alignment today and the mechanic found the following problems on my 65,000 mile GT:

1) Left Inner tie-rod end had excessive play.
2) Rack & pinion mounting bushings were worn.

Questions:
1) How much play is acceptable for the inner tie-rod ends? There has to be some play. How subjective is it?

2) How much play is acceptable for the rack & pinion bushings? They do seem to move a lot when the steering wheel is shaken. This is an easy fix, but I don't have time to replace them right now.

If I replace the Rack & pinion bushings, should I get the off-set ones. I lowered my car with Eiback Pro-kit. (1.2"front 1.0" rear)

 

[Mustang5L5]

Tie rods aren't supposed to have any play really. Play would equal side to side movement of the wheel.


Same goes for the bushings. Yes, replace with offset rack bushings. Those are an easy fix, you can do it yourself. Should be done before having the car aligned though

 

[stangg01]

Thanks Mustang5L5.

 

[bdcardinal]

ya no play is allowed on almost all Ford front ends. GM allows some movement. i would strongly suggest doing both inners and outers, on both sides. the whole job takes maybe 20 mintues a side. the rack bushings are super easy on a mustang. if you dont feel confident doing it, have the shop thats aligning the car do it. if you do it yourself, count how many turns the outer takes to pull off. when you reinstall it put it back same amount of turns, this will keep your toe setting close.

 

[BennyBlown2v]

Tie rods aren't supposed to have any play really. Play would equal side to side movement of the wheel.


Same goes for the bushings. Yes, replace with offset rack bushings. Those are an easy fix, you can do it yourself. Should be done before having the car aligned though

No. Offset rack bushings improperly locate the steering rack in relation to the spindles causing an INCREASE In bumpsteer, exactly the opposite of what they are "supposed" to do. The only time you should use offset rack bushings is if you are running a modified geometry K-member that relocates the rack. Center-drilled rack bushings should be sufficient for your application. Aluminum bushings would be my reccomendation as urethane is just slightly softer and transfers nearly as much vibration (which very little NVH is transmitted through the steering linkage, period).

Another downside to offset rack bushings is that they have a tendancy to rotate in the rack housing, and also its nearly impossible to get both the front and rear bushing inserts to "line up" for the offset to be correctly located (taking the rack ENTIRELY off the car is really the only way to do so...but still you have the risk of the bushings rotating and effecting your toe setting).