1991 Chevy Corsica Tie Rod PLEASE HELP

Tiny
MANNMACHINE
  • MEMBER
  • 1991 CHEVROLET CORSICA
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 186,000 MILES
My Corsica's front driver side wheel woobles so bad people pull up next to me to warn me. I took it to have them balanced and rotated but he told me that the rubber bushing on the tie rod was gone.

Can I replace the rubber with out replacing the whole thing? If so, Would it be cheaper to do it this way?
Sunday, June 20th, 2010 AT 11:21 PM

6 Replies

Tiny
MHPAUTOS
  • MECHANIC
  • 31,937 POSTS
The tie rod end will have to be replaced as a unit, the rubber is just a dust boot.

Mark (mhpautos)
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Sunday, June 20th, 2010 AT 11:29 PM
Tiny
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Thank you for your help. The rod itself is fine. Can I just replace the dust boot or is that part of the unit?
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Sunday, June 20th, 2010 AT 11:47 PM
Tiny
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You can just do the boot if you like, but a tie rod end is quite cheap to replace as well.

Mark,

P.S. What was the cause of the wheel wobble?
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Monday, June 21st, 2010 AT 12:12 AM
Tiny
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The wheel wobbles because of the boot being gone. The entire rod ( which I can access from under the hood) moves. I can grab it and wiggle it. Im not sure exactly how bad the tire wobbles cos I cant see it when I'm driving. However the steering wheel, dash and everything shakes pretty bad. I'm afraid of the whole wheel flying off.
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Monday, June 21st, 2010 AT 2:06 AM
Tiny
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This will not just be the rubber boot, as I said that is just a dust boot, sever steering vibration may be due to the actual tie rod end being worn, you run the risk of total steering failure if this is not rectified, I strongly recommend having the steering & suspension checked over by a qualified mechanic, who ever told you that the cause of the problem with the steering was the rubber boot is a fool.

Mark (mhpautos)
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Monday, June 21st, 2010 AT 3:00 AM
Tiny
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Well it IS highly likely that the rod is worn. The rod is sturdy at the wheels end. It is loose at the center link, which is the thing I can grab and wiggle. It doesnt seem very worn though, the rubber is just missing which causes the wheel tho wobble and the car to shake. When I get it up over 60mph or below 20mph it rides smoothly. Thats why I wanted to just replace the bushing. Aside from the fact that while a tie rod is pretty cheap, I will also need an alignment. I cannot afford all of that at this time. Labor charges are insane and since I'm a girl mechanics usually try to swindle me. There are also other issues Im having with the radiator hose and the air filter.
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Monday, June 21st, 2010 AT 3:27 AM

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