Looking at the picture CV axle looks good. But your inner and outer tie rod needs to be replaced.Inner tie rod bushing busted. So you basically need both side inner and outer tie rod.

 

Can you tell us exactly what kind of problem issue you were having while driving the car?

 

Tie rod and axle joint two different parts. Looking at the picture it looks like that you need axle rod, there is no leak in the tie rod but it might be bad if there is any play. Sometimes visual inspection is not enough. Parts might look nromal but inside it wears out.

You certainly need axle since grease is coming out of it. But tie rod looks ok but may be bad.

 

I used to take my car when I knew nothing about car that much. At a point I was so frustrated spending money and not getting the job done correcting that I started to learn about car and started working on car.

My advice do not trust any mechanic unless they earn your trust. Nowadays you can very easily check if the mechanic is telling you the truth or not by watching youtube video. You you are convinced that your car has that issue and you are not comfortable to do the job , just take it to a mechanic that you trust. It not not a wise thing to take the car to same mechanic if you find out that the problem/issue was not solved. If the mechanic gives you warranty than you can go back to fix the issue for free., otherwise go to a different shop. Do not repeat the same mistake.

There is a saying "learn from your mistake"

 

Only get Stop Leak if you plan on stopping everything.

 

"Are you referring to Stop Leak? If so, I've seen several people on here highly advise this stuff not be put into the system?"
Stop leak in cooling system probably last resort but regarding Lucas power steering additive I have used in my 05 Camry to help stop slow leak in rack seals.
Better than having to replace steering rack on older vehicle.

 

Stop leak is for cooling systems, problem is it may stop up what you don't want to stop up, like your heater core.

 

If it does not leak the boot will last. When the boot gets full of fluid and you turn in the direction of the side that is leaking the boot will compress and the fluid will blow it apart again. I guess it could be a slow leak that does not hydraulically blow out the boot. In that case put a wire tie on it to hold it in place and when it blows up like a balloon pop the wire tie off and drain it.

 

Add some Lucas PS fluid after the flush may help prolong rack seals.

 

Are you referring to Stop Leak? If so, I've seen several people on here highly advise this stuff not be put into the system?

 

Yea, I know it's leaking but I just don't want to spend the $ on a new rack and labor (I would not fix something like that myself). It must be a slow leak because I've never had to add to my PS reservoir in 6 years, and I'm in the process of flushing out the old fluid over the course of 2 weeks or so in the hopes that this might help prolong its life.

 

The boot is a symptom the rack leaking is the problem. Replace the boot it blows out shortly after=wasted money.

 

Well...good thing I checked this morning before I headed out on the road. The bellow boot that I was going to 'let be' just decided it had seen enough...this is what it looks like now. Hopefully this did not cause any type of internal damage - it must have happened the last time I drove as it looked 'normal' just 2 days ago. Will be replacing this boot, as well as the one on the driver's side, later this afternoon.

 

Well...final update after bringing it back to the shop today. After trying to beat around the bush, I finally got them to admit they installed tie-rod ends that did not fit my '06 Solara, and this was causing them to rub. Also admitted they placed an incorrect bolt(?)/plug on my tranny after they replaced the fluid, which explains why it was leaking so much after I got the car back. I got the correct tie-rods put on, and requested and received a partial refund as well as a free alignment. Case closed here I guess. Will not be going back to that shop again. ✌

 

(A) Take the car somewhere else, and have them look at the tie rod & rubber boot.
The question you're asking them is "Has either of these been replaced?"
Depending on the answer, you either go back to the original shop and raise HeII,
or if work looks done properly, ask the 2nd shop to figure out why the new noise.

Have shop #2 give you an itemized bill, with notes on what appears to have been done, or obviously not done.

(B) If the original shop cheated you, by either (1) not performing the work they were paid to do, or (2) doing the work in a substandard way (as in: good practice to change rubber boot, but did not, though authorized to do it), then they need to either do the work correctly, or refund 100% of your money.

If it were me, would not trust them: Yell and scream, especially in front of other customers, be an a-hole & insist on a refund. BTW.... You say they didn't warranty their work -nonsense- they have a licensed business?, they have to make good, there's an implicit warranty, judge in small claims court would say they're liable.

Stand up for yourself and what's right.
If you don't, and you've been cheated, you pave the way for these con men to cheat the next guy.
If you don't stand up for yourself, who is going to? You could hire me, but I'm probably too far away.
/

 

(A) Take the car somewhere else, and have them look at the tie rod & rubber boot.
The question you're asking them is "Has either of these been replaced?"
Depending on the answer, you either go back to the original shop and raise HeII,
or if work looks done properly, ask the 2nd shop to figure out why the new noise.

Have shop #2 give you an itemized bill, with notes on what appears to have been done, or obviously not done.

(B) If the original shop cheated you, by either (1) not performing the work they were paid to do, or (2) doing the work in a substandard way (as in: good practice to change rubber boot, but did not, though authorized to do it), then they need to either do the work correctly, or refund 100% of your money.

If it were me, would not trust them: Yell and scream, especially in front of other customers, be an a-hole & insist on a refund. BTW.... You say they didn't warranty their work -nonsense- they have a licensed business?, they have to make good, there's an implicit warranty, judge in small claims court would say they're liable.

Stand up for yourself and what's right.
If you don't, and you've been cheated, you pave the way for these con men to cheat the next guy.
If you don't stand up for yourself, who is going to? You could hire me, but I'm probably too far away.
/

So the repair shop is one designed to provide labor only, with the customer providing all of the parts. That said, I fully understand they cannot entirely waive liability on the labor aspect of that, although they attempted to do so as part of their typed-in description on the bill they had me sign. My greater concern with option B up until recently has been the thought of relying on someone to fully and adequately 'make good' on the work after having havoc wreaked on them, by myself. That said, I did call them up today and made all of these points very clear...and laid it out in legal terms that they can and should understand (i.e. that the implied warranty to repair in a workmanlike manner cannot be waived in TX). I also made it clear that should they not make things right, I will see it through to ensure that one way or another, they will have no option but to. I'm an attorney myself, so I can appreciate and relate to everything you've said. I'll be dropping the car off tomorrow AM so I guess we'll see how things transpire from there.

 

This is the reason I am a mechanic I don’t trust anyone to work on my stuff I don’t even trust half the people I work with especially the one that is known for leaving drain plugs loose and having oil leak out

 

Could also be the toe is way off due to the incompetent shop and you are hearing the tires scrubbing. An alignment after replacing tie rods is important.

At the very least you could mark a spot at about 4 o'clock on each of the two front tires, measure the distance between the spots, then roll the car so the marks are at 8 o'clock and compare. The measurements should be within 1/8" of each other.

 

Tie-rods don't have a break-in period. You have other problems.
Chance that they're not adjusted properly and when cranked to the stops they rub up against something like the brake dust/backing plate. Take a look at the end of the tie-rods and see if their shinny or if they were painted, see if there is damage to the paint.
Ya don't need a lift to take a look. Maybe a flashlight.

 

Can't learn if you don't look. The part is either fixed or it is not fixed. Easier to get told it is normal than to constantly worry about it.

 

I do not own a lift of any type, and I'm fully aware that I can take it somewhere else. All I was asking was whether anyone had an idea what this could be in light of what was replaced. If for some reason it was the new tie-rod ends just being "broken in," or something similar, obviously, I am not going to take it to a shop to have them tell me this.

 

Take it somewhere else or lift up your vehicle and take a look.

 

I can't - they did not warrant the work and I have no interest in leaving my car with them again.

 

Take it back!

 

Take it back to the shop.

 

So ever since I got the car back from the shop (~4 days ago), I've been getting a "grinding" noise whenever I'm making a turn and have the wheel either all the way to the right or left. But no issues/sounds when it's not 100% turned left/right. Any way this might somehow just be the new tie-rod ends starting to "break in"? Besides changing the oil/trans fluid, the tie-rod ends is all that replaced and didn't have this issue before.

Or...any way it could be related to the fact they did not do (and did not ask if I wanted) an alignment after they replaced them, and getting an alignment could fix this? (I will be having this done very soon anyways)

 

Thanks guys - really appreciate all of the insight.