will broken tie rod boots cause any problems?
- Thread starter Stang|ess
- Start date
BennyBlown2v
New Member
Yea, go buy some new boots from your dealer, or make some, or just tape them up. Mostly they are there to keep lubrication in, and dirt out. If you get alot of dirt in there tey will wear out fast.
.ya, mine tore on my rack about a month after i bought it. i really stopped caring because the rack i have now is so bad, i am just waiting until i get a new k-member to put a new rack in. i made the mistake of buying a reman one from a local supplier and it has way too much play.
but having it torn will destroy the inners. the inners are super easy to replace, it takes me about 10 minutes from the time the tire comes off to the time the tire goes back on.
but having it torn will destroy the inners. the inners are super easy to replace, it takes me about 10 minutes from the time the tire comes off to the time the tire goes back on.
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BlackenedSVT
Active Member
Kilgore Trout said:
Both my tie rod ball joints have been busted open for about 6 months now...i haven't gotten around to fixing it. I dont see how OUTER tie rod ball joints could cause a need for a whole new steering rack
But anyway yeah i'd recommend fixing them, but I have lubricated the joints in the past when i was too broke and/or lazy to replace them. Hopefully i'll be doing that fix soon...
what boots are torn.. the inner tie rod boots that attaches to the steering rack or the outer tie rod boots that are between the steering knuckle and the outer tie rod joint.
I would get new boots if it's the inners and you will not need to put lube in there. if it's the outers just replace the tie rod ends themselfs
The reason it takes me and BDcardinal 10 minutes becuase we do this for a living so we know exactly what we are doing.
I would get new boots if it's the inners and you will not need to put lube in there. if it's the outers just replace the tie rod ends themselfs
The reason it takes me and BDcardinal 10 minutes becuase we do this for a living so we know exactly what we are doing.
BlackenedSVT
Active Member
svttech76 said:
you need to replace the whole tie-rod ends? Like the whole shaft with ball joints? You can't just replaced the ball joints? How do the tie rods even come out of the rack? just screw in?i would say about a half hour of labor a side, plus an alignment would be a decent labor charge. so like maybe $150 plus parts.
btw for a set of inners i use tools on this page http://www.matcotools.com/Catalog/toolcatalog.jsp?cattype=T&cat=2354&select=&page=3
i have the top kit and the bottom tool. makes like a lot easier.
OT: SVTTech, i remember u said u used chassis ears during diag. i just got the MATCO Wireless Chassis ears and havent had a chance to really use them. how do you like yours and whcih kit did u get.
btw for a set of inners i use tools on this page http://www.matcotools.com/Catalog/toolcatalog.jsp?cattype=T&cat=2354&select=&page=3
i have the top kit and the bottom tool. makes like a lot easier.
OT: SVTTech, i remember u said u used chassis ears during diag. i just got the MATCO Wireless Chassis ears and havent had a chance to really use them. how do you like yours and whcih kit did u get.
Mike, when i was gettin a alignment the other day i shook my wheel and there was play in the tie rod i believe, does that sound about right? The guy told me i would need some new tie rods sometime down the road. I know something in the front aint right because the car feels somewhat jittery and bumpy compared on the road, almost a bit loose in the front end. Would i be needing to replace just the outer tie rods or EVERYTHING and how much does that usually run? THanks for the infosvttech76 said:
SteedaGTJ22 said:
outers screw onto the inners and are held in place by a jam nut. the inners screw into the rack, its easy to see with the boots off. the inners are held in place with either a rivot or a hex screw, or sometimes a roll pin.
SteedaGTJ22 said:
there is two different tie rods a inner that attches to the rack and the outer that has one end screw onto the inner tie rod and the other end is attached to the steering knucle with a joint like a ball joint, but the ball joint and tie rod end are two seperate parts that do two seperate things but they both use a similar ball in socket joint.
The reason I suggest new tie rod ends if THE OUTER TIE ROD END BOOTS ARE TORN, NOT THE INNER BOOT THATS ON THE RACK I MEAN THE LITTLE BOOTS THAT COVER THE BALL AND SOCKET PART OF THE OUTER TIE ROD is that the outer tie rod ball and socket part is sensitive to dirt and will wear out much faster and can be a safety concern if it fails suddenly.
BlackenedSVT
Active Member
svttech76 said:
Yes i know all about the 1st paragraph, and in reguards to the 2nd paragraph my OUTER tie rod ball joints (both) are broken open and have been for months now (must be a common mustang thing)...anyway, why not just replace the ball joints? Thats what I was going to do. I think it was like $80 and I was just going to throw new ball joints on there
HoustonGT said:
see where the play is. you can hold into the joint on the inner while the wheel is turned back and forth to see fi it was bad. generally the best way to check is during a dry park check. if i was replaceing inners, i would get outers too. but thats if everything was stock. but advice from a technician is always swayed. we generally can get our parts for much cheaper than non techs can and we dont pay for labor.
TO Steeda: its common for those boots to tear on every car. rubber only last so long on a suspension, especially in an environment that isnt ideal. where i am its common to have outers last for 20+ years.
SteedaGTJ22 said:Yes i know all about the 1st paragraph, and in reguards to the 2nd paragraph my OUTER tie rod ball joints (both) are broken open and have been for months now (must be a common mustang thing)...anyway, why not just replace the ball joints? Thats what I was going to do. I think it was like $80 and I was just going to throw new ball joints on there
When I say repalc ethe outer tie rod ends that is the entire part, and includes a new boot.
Why replace perfectly good lower ball joints when only the tie rod end ball and socket joint boot is damaged, all you need to replace is the outer tie rod end.
There is two ball and socket joints that allow movement of the steering knucle.. the one that is attached to the inner tie rod and steering rack is called a outer tie rod.
the other ball and socket joint is called a lower ball joint or just ball joint on these cars that do not have a upper ball joint. it is mounted between the lower control arm and the steering knucle.
HoustonGT said:
outer tie rods are very common to go on our cars, I had a ton of play in mine at 45k miles.
to check them yourself jack the front of the car off the ground and have somebody shake the wheel side to side while holding in the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position. you can feel and watch to see if the movement is in the outer tie rod end where it connects to the knucle or in the inner tie rod ( the rod the extends from the rack to the outer tie rods
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