Had to get the car towed.. Inner tie rod?

[islandboy57]

My mom and I took her car last night to go to the store, drove fine for her to/from work earlier and for me to the store. When we were leaving, I reversed and it felt like there was a big lump on one of the tires. I got out to check the tires and they were all fine. I started moving again and it really didn't feel right - I parked again and called AAA for a tow. The car maneuvered fine but you could really feel that bump..bump...bump when you're rolling slowly and turning.

Doing some Googling and looking in the Hayne's manual, it looks like the inner tie rod.



^ That rubber cover that goes over the inner tie rod on the right front was scrunched up so something must have broke. The front left side looks normal.

Any advice? I'm curious how much it should cost as far as parts and labor. We got it towed to a service station near home. We've used them before but they've expanded and they seem to be harder on the upsell. Rather than my mom dealing with them, I am -- as I don't want them to recommend doing every possible "preventative maintenance" service known to man. I don't want them to do an oil change either as I'm going to do it this weekend. Someone at the Toyota dealership hooked me up with discounted Toyota OEM oil filters..cheaper than what I pay for aftermarket stuff.

On a related note, I think the car needs new struts. The ride is a lot more rough than I remember from a few years ago. I guess I've gotten used to it over the years but the difference is big when you get into my car. Another reason why I think it needs new struts is because the car leans quite a bit when cornering and it dips quite a bit when you brake hard.

Thanks for any info.. It's sad to see the car in the shop but hopefully it'll be home again before the weekend.

[toyomoho]

Unless the rack or its housing was damaged this should be an easy and straightforward job now that the parts are off. An aftermarket inner joint (the rod and joint are one unit) costs between $15-70 dollars depending on brand, outer tie rod end $15-20. Maybe an hour to install.

As replacement of this part may cause the front wheel alignment to now be off might have it checked.

As to shocks you can do this yourself and save some money. You’ll need to buy or rent a spring compressor. Check past TN posts for shock recommendations and other parts that may need inspection when replacing the shocks.

If the rod itself broke (and not the joint) this is unusual as such would try to detemine how this happened, did the car hit something, etc.

If you want to save some money shop around for aftermarket parts, Toyota sells very good parts but often they are 2-3 times the cost of an equivalent aftermarket part.