Front end suspension.....

[87'GTstang]

I was told my inner tie rods were bad. Since my specialty is in engine and tranny servicing I have little knowledge on suspension indications. How does one know if the inner tie rod is bad, or even the outer for that fact? What happens when they are deemed "worn out" and what makes them do what they do? Also, when the wheel bearings go bad (I also noticed a little freeplay in the vertical axis as well), how do you know and what do you check?

Sorry about all the questions. I know the procedures for replacing the tie rods and some knowledge on repacking the bearings but I would greatly appreciate any answers to the questions. My new mustang has almost 300k and I know crap is going to go wrong with it and would like to know some warning signs - thanks in advance!

 

[warmdye]

Tie rod ends go bad because they develop play. They will eventually develop enough play that the alignment will not stay accurate. Tie rod ends are just ball joints. After years of friction they will loosen up. I doubt you will be able to tell if they are bad while still installed on the car.

About the wheel bearings. To check for bad wheel bearings vertical play should be considered but this can be cured by simply repacking them and adjusting the torque on them. They should spin smooth when installed and adjusted. You dont' want any gritty feeling. The only way to be sure is to take them out and inspect them.

 

[87'GTstang]

Thanks warmdye,
I finally got to the point of inspection after months of work on the car and the guy jacked up the car one side at a time and wiggled the wheels and they obviously had play on them and said he wouldn't pass it until the inner tie rod ends were replaced. I respect the guy's opinion because he works with a lot of mustangs as he's known as "they guy" to see. So I don't know how he kne it was the inner tie rods. I can say when you lift up the car, the wheels have a little play vertically and quite a bit horizontally. So would that be both bearings and the inner tie rods?

*Keep in mind this car has 270k miles and a LOT of original stuff.

 

[89rdgt]

IF the innner tie rod end has lots of play it would be hard to tell if the bearing also had play. Once you get the inner tie rod done you can recheck your bearings but i would just repack them any way.

 

[bgjohnson]

the wobble check is an alright method but is not the greatest checking method because when you wobble it vertically you are testing the balljoint, wheel bearings, when you do it vertically you test wheels bears, tie rods, steering rack bushings, and control arm bushings and I think there are some things I'm leaving out but you can see why i couldn't tell you exactly what the problem is just by that test. you might have to take components off to test them if they are good or not.

 

[87'GTstang]

Well what I can say is there is play all around. When it's pushed horizontally, the movement point is inside the boot of the rack and pinion at the tie rod and I think that's it for that. Would that indicate the bad inner tie rod, is that the normal wear point for them??? Sorry for trying to narrow it down but I hate buying things to find out I didn't need them or it was the wroing fix for a given situation.

 

[trbkrb]

The inner tie rods are the ones that usually go out. Mine have been replaced twice by the dealer, once under extended warranty (around 50,000 miles) and again under the lifetime service guarantee (around (130,000 or so). I replaced my rack since it was leaking bad last year, and the rebuilt $120 rack included new inner tie rods, so I'm on my third set. Mine were worn to the point of the rack clunking when the wheels were moved both times they were replaced. The dealer said that if they are not clunking, they would not replace them.

I went ahead and replaced everything in my front end at about 225,000 miles, and it is a lot tighter. It's amazing what you get used to over time. Although I didn't do the rack bushings since the replacements wouldn't fit, so I still need to do that.

Good luck!