Tie end rod

What is the question? What are you trying to solve?

This is typical of a car that has not been inspected regularly. This is not as as big a deal on GM cars as it is with some other brands, but I suspect there are other worn parts that have not been identified yet.

The CV joint boot keeps dirt and water out, and as it goes around, it continually squeezes grease back into that joint. It used to be a common repair to replace those boots, but today, the cost of the complete rebuilt half shaft is so extremely low, it is less expensive to just pop in a new shaft. You will pay a little more for parts but a lot less for labor. Replacing just one half shaft takes about an hour for most mechanics, and as little as a half hour for those of us who specialize in suspension and alignment.

For the tie rod end, you have to know if it is the inner or outer. Inners with rack and pinion steering gears generally take an hour or two and require special tools. Your car uses an inner that does not wear out unless a bushing fails. It is just a long shaft. The outers vary a lot by car brand. I used to replace dozens of them every week on Ford Escorts years ago. I got so good, I could do two in five minutes! The typical outer tie rod end takes about fifteen minutes, but there is one design in the world that is extremely miserable and few shops will charge according to "flat rate" time. That is the design on your car. By the time the car was a year old, your tie rod ends were rusted tight. Besides being difficult to remove, access is limited, so even making tiny adjustments during an alignment can be very frustrating and time-consuming. If you were quoted an hour to replace an outer tie rod end, I think I would not complain.

The reason I think there is going to be other worn parts is with a torn CV joint boot, once water and dirt get into the joint, it takes a good year or two before that joint starts making noise, and then it is a clicking noise when turning and typically when backing up. Except for a few extremely rare instances, that will not cause a vibration. The same is true of the tie rod ends. They cannot cause a vibration, however, their job is to hold the wheel in the exact direction the steering wheel dictates they are supposed to go. When a tie rod end is sloppy, it can allow the wheel to vibrate, but only once that is caused by something else. Most commonly that is a warped disc brake rotor which you would feel when braking. If that agrees with your observations, it is a pretty common service to machine brake rotors to solve the brake pedal pulsation, but today new rotors are so horribly inexpensive, it is usually a better deal for you when your mechanic suggests just replacing them. The labor time and the shop's cost of consumables to run the brake lathe are higher than the cost of new rotors, and you get a better repair.

Once a tie rod end is replaced, or any other part that holds the wheels in proper alignment, the car will need to be aligned. All we do today is four-wheel alignments. Given the age of your car, it is almost a certainty your rear wheels have been aligned or at least checked previously. With the type of rear axle on your car, readjustment is not needed very often, so it is likely only your front wheels will need to be adjusted. Regardless, we still always do four-wheel alignments because that insures the steering wheel will be straight the first time. Most shops have a set charge for alignments. I have seen them as high as a hundred dollars, but when I was the suspension and alignment specialist at a very nice Chrysler dealership in the 1990's, we charged $49.00, and an additional 0.3 hours if a shim needed to be installed in a rear wheel. Your car uses the same type of rear axle as the older Chrysler's did, but as I mentioned, it is likely you will not need to have anything done on the rear.

You can buy just the bushing for the inner tie rod end, but that is not a good value or the best way to do the job. The bushings come in a set and are relatively expensive. The inner tie rod end is uncommonly inexpensive to the point it can cost less than just the bushing. Plus, you have to add in the labor cost to remove the tie rod end and press in the new bushing. You can remove and reinstall the old rusty tie rod end with a new bushing pressed in, or you can spend less and remove and discard the rusty tie rod and install a new one with the bushing already in it.

The issue is the double-ended threaded insert that connects the inner and outer tie rod ends. That is the final alignment adjustment on each side and is what becomes very rusty and difficult to rotate. With new parts, your mechanic is going to grease those parts to reduce the chance of the adjustment rusting tight. Given the fact the cost of these parts is so much lower than I expected, I would let the mechanic decide how he wants to handle the repair. He is going to choose the fastest way to get the job done which should result in the lowest cost to you.

As for the alignment, a car needs to be aligned any time a part is replaced or removed/reinstalled that affects how the wheel is leaning in and out on top or which way that wheel is steering. Tie rod ends affect the direction each wheel is steering. That adjustment is called "toe", and must be set very precisely for proper tire wear patterns and good handling. On the other hand, an alignment cannot be done when any part that holds the wheel in position is sloppy or worn. In the case of a worn tie rod end, (or bushing, in this case), you can turn the wheel left and right by hand a little. During an alignment, it would be impossible to hold the wheel in alignment if you can wiggle it side to side by hand, so there is no way to set the adjustment and expect it to stay there. No conscientious mechanic will take your money for an alignment or try to perform one when he knows the wheels will not stay where they are set. This is why a steering and suspension system inspection is always done before an alignment is done.

The outer tie rod end has a grease fitting. Greasing them is a standard part of an oil change, but it is also part of installing a new end. I do not know why the mechanic did not grease it when he installed it, but they do come with a film of grease to prevent the parts from rusting before they are installed. You can grease it yourself if you have a grease gun. The type of grease is not critical. Wheel bearing grease is fine.