Tie Rod Going Bad??

[pullerfan]

ok so when i bought my car a couple months ago i didnt really drive it til about a month ago, i drove it about 300 miles and everything was fine, but then i washed it and all of the sudden there was a noise from the front left wheel well, so first i thought it was the shock (pretty sure its not) and a buddy of mine told me it was the tie rod and just to spray some liquid silicon on it and it will cure the noise, well i did that, and it lasted about 2 days b4 it started up again, well i'm sick of listenin to it, i guess what i'm askin is
Has anyone else had this problem? Could it be something else? And if it is that, whats the best brand to replace them with?

i also read somewhere about a ball joint recall (could that be the noise?) , do i just call the dealership and see if it was taken care of on my car? or what?

 

[MrBoxx]

Have the tie rod end replaced. Factory parts are best, but aftermarket ones are all right to use if you do it yourself. You'll need an alignment after it's been replaced, though.

There was a recall for the ball joints. Your local Mitsu dealer should be able to tell you if the recall was performed, or if there are any outstanding recalls for anything on your car. If you choose to have a mechanic replace your tie rod end, have them do a full suspension inspection to see if any parts are failing. BTW, wheel bearings on these cars go out often, and make a tremendously horrible noise as well. You may want to have the wheel bearings inspected at the same time.

 

[ranger87]

I had the same problem on my wifes 97 talon. It was the lower ball joints and r/f outter tie rod end. It was weird ### it happened after we washed it to. I guess water+metal equals noise! My advise is replace it all ### if one is bad its not long before they all are.

 

[pullerfan]

ok thanks! i called the dealership today, they said no recall work has been done to it, so i'm gonna make the 60 mile trip down there in a couple of weeks to get the lower control arms replaced, so i guess we'll see if that cures it, if not i'm probably just gonna end up replacein the tie rods, ball joint, wheel bearing hub assembly, and maybe some new shocks and springs...

 

[knochgoon24]

They'll probably tell you if the tie rod ends are bad. If they have you in for a recall, they'd take the chance to get some money from you.