1993 Z28....Noticed my drivers side front tire was wearing a little on the outside...so I jacked up the car and was able to whiggle my wheel/tire with ease....in other words...lots of play. Looked down at the tie rod...it looked worn out and the boot actually looked like it was broken or something. I still have steering, and it doesnt really feel all that bad driving...

My question is...I've never changed a tie rod...how difficult is it on these cars? I know I would need to re-align, but I've done that.

Also...how unsafe is it to continue to drive given the condition for a few days?

Thoughts would be great

Cory

 

Its an easy job, you need a pickle fork or a tie rod puller to get the old one off just to make things easy. Count how many turns it takes to get the old one off and put te new one on by the same amount, or measure the distance between steering knuckles and make sure it matches when your done. hour job for both sides.

 

have someone in the car with the steering wheel unlocked, engine off, and have them slightly turn the wheel a tad left a tad right, while they keep doing this, crawl under the car enough to grab ahold of the tire rod, feel for a popping/movement at the outer end, and then compare it to the inner end(rack side), this determines which part of the tierod is bad. if there is no pop feel then you most likely have a good tierod.

also, the ball joint in the outer tie rod shouldnt just pop out even if its bad.
my factory ones were staked in place on both side of the joint.