DU machanics: ? about tie rods

[WI_DEM]

I have to have both the right and left tie rods on my car replaced. I have noticed that the steering wheel has felt kind of weird of late, and when I turn there is a loud sound. So I'm having it done tomorrow. How common is it for tie rods to go? my car is a '91 Pontiac Grand Prix.

[short bus president]

1. yeah, and while yer at it... struts

My 97 camry needs new struts. Any recommendations for acquiring the parts cheap? And any idea about how much I should expect to pay for install?

;-)

[wideopen]

2. not uncommon

Also have them check ball joints, tie rod ends are the parts that wear out. You may also have to have an alignment when they do this.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Just Happened To Me

The left tie rod finally gave up the ghost. My car is a '95 and i've got 161k miles on it. I figure things like that wear out with time and use, so i wasn't surprised.

Tie rods are fairly fragile. You can ruin them hitting a curb too hard, and they are moving parts so they just wear out. It's a fairly common repair for an older or high mileage car.

Another poster mentioned struts. Bad struts can put additional strain on tie rods. (I'm no mechanic, but that's pretty simple physics. The struts stabilize the whole front end so there's less side stress on all the other moving parts.) If you've got bad struts, the tie rods won't last as long and you might want to consider the other poster's advice.
The Professor

[DancingBear]

4. Is it the tie rods, or the tie rod bushings?

When the tie rods go, they usually break - trust me, you'd know if that happened. :)

Replacing the bushings on a car of that age makes sense, but I don't know about the rods themselves. Perhaps that is an issue with GM cars of that vintage (corrosion, etc.) - I don't know.

[Ready4Change]

5. Not too surprising for a car that age.

Wear rates would be increased if you frequently drive rough road surfaces (like logging roads,) or operate with poor alignment or misbalanced tires. They can last longer if the cars maintenance is meticulous.

Regardless, good tie rods are essential for safe operation. If you're feeling steering effects due to them being worn they are well past due for replacement. Also worthwhile is checking the whole suspension system to be sure something else isn't causing the tie rods to wear out, or hasn't in turn been damaged by the worn out tie rods.

(edited to correct typoes)

[WI_DEM]

6. Thank you all

[BigMcLargehuge]

7. it's not uncommon at all for a car of that age

[sam sarrha]

8. actually i just replaced the ball joint ends and took it for alignment.

saved a bunch.. there is a special wrench for the slot on the rod, really easy. get a $14 repair manual at Auto Zone.

measure the distance between inside back of tires and inside front of tires , to get a decent toe-in to drive it to a nearby alignment shop.. cost me about $125 or $135 for parts and alinment...