Tie rod question

[JohnSWA]

Hi guys!

I have recently changed just about everything under the hood except for the motor. I changed the transmission, shocks, rack and pinion boots and lastly the tie rod ends. My question is regarding the tie rod ends.

The new tie rod ends were a little shorter than the oem tie rod ends. I marked the original rod ends, but I installed the new rod ends at the same marked area. I know that I should have measured the difference between the two before installation, but I failed to do so, which probably answers my own question.

I haven't taken it off of the jacks yet, so I can still correct the problem fairly easily, but now my steering wheel is off my 90 degrees! Should I align the wheels to where they are perfectly straight (eyeball it) to make my steering wheel correct? I know that I need to take it in for an alignment. Should I just wait to take it in before fiddling with it? What would you do!

Thanks for your help!!!!

[ShawnM]

You already changed the tie rods, so I would just eyeball it. Straighten the steering wheel then adjust both sides till the wheels look pretty straight. Then drive it immediatly to the nearst alignment shop, or you will mess up your front tires.

[freakinbox]

I would eye the tires and see if I noticed extreem toe in or out, if I didn't I would drop it off the stands and drive to an alignmentshop before anything else

[JohnSWA]

Thanks, guys! Actually, I'm a knucklehead. I thought the steering wheel was 90 out, but after I checked the steering wheel again while turning it one more turn, it was set correctly and the wheels are perfectly straight!

I guess that kind of thing can happen after you spend two days working on your car in the drive way int 115 degree heat!

Thanks again for your help! This site rocks!!!

[retiredat44]

I had a Dodge dealer replace the tie rods on my Custom Dodge van a few years back... I left on a trip to Nevada the next evening. I did not know it, until I got 200 miles away and found they left the tie rod bolt collars completely untightened and flopping in the wind. I was out in the middle of nowhere and it was 12:00 am in the desert. The front wheels had crossed on me (completely towed-in severely). My wife was with me so I had a witness. I took a wrench and a flashlight and fixed it myself. Both tie rods. When I got back home, I went back to the dealer. I tried to reason with the a-hole manager and got nowhere. I exploded in a rage.

I left though before anything bad happened. I took it to small claims court and got the labor money back in a settlement.

By the way, they told me I did a perfect job when I aligned my front wheels, out in the desert on my back with a monkey wrench and a flashlight.

I have many stories to tell about car repairs, car dealers, new car purchases going bad. It doesn't matter who you deal with, it's a jungle full of good and bad services out there. If you are poor or of little means they will screw you and try to get away with it.

[JohnSWA]

Originally Posted by retiredat44

I had a Dodge dealer replace the tie rods on my Custom Dodge van a few years back... I left on a trip to Nevada the next evening. I did not know it, until I got 200 miles away and found they left the tie rod bolt collars completely untightened and flopping in the wind. I was out in the middle of nowhere and it was 12:00 am in the desert. The front wheels had crossed on me (completely towed-in severely). My wife was with me so I had a witness. I took a wrench and a flashlight and fixed it myself. Both tie rods. When I got back home, I went back to the dealer. I tried to reason with the a-hole manager and got nowhere. I exploded in a rage.

I left though before anything bad happened. I took it to small claims court and got the labor money back in a settlement.

By the way, they told me I did a perfect job when I aligned my front wheels, out in the desert on my back with a monkey wrench and a flashlight.

I have many stories to tell about car repairs, car dealers, new car purchases going bad. It doesn't matter who you deal with, it's a jungle full of good and bad services out there. If you are poor or of little means they will screw you and try to get away with it.

LOL! I didn't know squat about cars until I bought a brand new 88 Jeep (heep) wrangler. I brought it into the shop several times to fix problems and they would come out with several more! I even had to point out to the mechanic where the exhaust leak was when they removed it to work on something else! It's not hard when there are bolts on the floor under your vehicle when they tell you it's fixed and running fine! It's even easier when it soundl's like you've bought one of those throaty exhaust pipes or punched a hole in your muffler! Funny thing was the bolts were what held the exhaust maifold! Not to hard to point out!

That old jeep taught me many things about working on vehicles! One thing it taught me for sure is to stick with Japanese vehicles! Cheap and easy to repair and the parts are always available!

Thanks for your awesome story!

[meicalnissyen]

get a 18 inch laser level, beats strings all to hell.

pull the wheel and remount it.

it gets you to an unused part of the rack and helps with the funny wiggle feel