Tie Rod installation

[kingo486]

Im not a great mechanic or anything, but I do the work that I know I can do myself. ie; brake pads, oil changes, spark plugs... etc.

I took my car to get an alignment and was told I need new tie rods and that it would cost like $550.

I can get all 4 tie rods at AAP for $250. Should I buy and try to attempt doing it myself, or suck it up and pay $ that I dont want to? Is it difficult?

[The_Jerbel]

4 tie rods??? There are only 2 tie rods in your car. Are you referring to the tie rod ends? Why do they want to replace the entire tie rod? Is the inner joint worn? Usually you just need to replace the outer tie rod end, which is pretty easy. You'll need an alignment afterwards though.

[kingo486]

4 tie rods??? There are only 2 tie rods in your car. Are you referring to the tie rod ends? Why do they want to replace the entire tie rod? Is the inner joint worn? Usually you just need to replace the outer tie rod end, which is pretty easy. You'll need an alignment afterwards though.

Well my logic is to do both sides so I dont run into the same problem later. Pardon my wording, what I meant to say was that I plan on getting both the Inner & Outer tie rod ends for both sides of the car. Should I order on of the kits from ECS Tuning? If so, which kit should I get?

http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/...l=&engine=2.7T

[The_Jerbel]

Well my logic is to do both sides so I dont run into the same problem later. Pardon my wording, what I meant to say was that I plan on getting both the Inner & Outer tie rod ends for both sides of the car. Should I order on of the kits from ECS Tuning? If so, which kit should I get?

http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/...l=&engine=2.7T

The inners are a lot more work than the outers to replace. I would suggest just replacing the outer TRE's and saving the inners for later. Cross that bridge when you come to it.

[RolledMySTi]

Just replace the outer tie rod end. If you remove your wheel you should see that the rubber is cracked if it needs replacement. The inner tie rod should be fine and replacing it is just extra time and money. I did mine a few months ago. It's not that hard, yet plan on swearing often.