Did the front struts, Now I have tie rod end issues
 

Just finished installing front struts. Wow what a difference that makes. Not a very hard job thanks to this board and Waynes book. I was suprised at how hard I had to pull on the strut housing to clear the finder though.

Anyway, here is what I found. The boot around the right side, outer tie rod end was cracked and there was slack (if I grabed the rotor I could move it back and forth). Can you replace just one side tie rod end or do they have to be replaced in pairs (outer & outer or inner & inner)? Also was thinking the play could be from wheel bearing?

Does this sound like a good place to start?

As allways any tips will be greatly appreciated.

Jeff,

Sounds like you should replace both. Probably happened because of the rubber dry rotting over the years and in all likelyhood there's dirt in there. If there is any play I would definitely replace them and not fool around.

I just replaced mine for the same reason. Not really hard to do if you have the right tool, but you will need to do an alignment when your done.

Steve

Always replace tie rod ends in pairs! And if you measure the distance between the end of the rod where the tie rod threads in to the center point on the bottom of the tie rod and then screw in the new tie rod to the same distance your alignment will be close enough to drive the car, at least to some place you can get your car aligned. This would also be a good time to at least repack your wheel bearings.

I'm getting ready to change to turbo tierods using the 101 projects book. It didn't mention needin any special tools. Is this the case or do I need something before starting this?

CS

CS,

Yes, a special thin wrench is needed to install the turbo tie rods, or you can get a bargain-bin open end wrench and grind a 45° relief cut, like I did with a 4" hand grinder -- before the special wrenches were available!