2g gs outer lower tie rod qu's

[dcboyz4eva]

so i went to the dealership yesterday for my yearly inspection and such and after an hour i find out it failed, one because my back up lights dont work(yea i walked right out and got in my car turned the key and put it in reverse and wow they lit up) and the good part both my lower outer tie rods are bad. now has anyone installed theese themselves, i guess what i want to know is how hard is it, and how long dose it take. i have 6 days now till my inspection runs out so i need to get this done. also they want to charge me 90$ a peice for them and about two hours of work so the total is around 330$, is there anywhere to buy better ones for less or could i even use used ones? thanks

 

[blackGSX2g]

Outer tie rods are a very simple and cheap replacement. I did both of mine for less than $20 each from Autozone/Advance Auto Parts and it took me about 5 minutes on each side start to finish. Get a jack, jack stands and you could get it done in a day no problem for under $50. Good luck!

 

[98undapressure]

becarefull when you put the new tie rods on and count the threads on the nut on the old one if you dont the tires will be unalligned

 

[doug]

Ooh, good timing on this thread. I was just told that my tie rod ends were shot as well, but I think the guy said inner tie rod ends. Are those just as easy to replace as the outers?

 

[dcboyz4eva]

thanks for the info so far guys im going to talk with some friends and see what i can do haha hopefully wont be spending that 330$ at the dealership

 

[wret]

becarefull when you put the new tie rods on and count the threads on the nut on the old one if you dont the tires will be unalligned

You will want to get it aligned soon after anyway. Counting the turns is a good idea and will help make sure you can get it safely to the alignment shop, but the chances of swapping tie rod ends and coming out with good alignment are pretty small.

 

[blackGSX2g]

Ooh, good timing on this thread. I was just told that my tie rod ends were shot as well, but I think the guy said inner tie rod ends. Are those just as easy to replace as the outers?

I thought so. I got the inners for about the same price as the outers and it took maybe 10-15 minutes. I had to cut the clamp that clamped the boot to the steering rack, so I replaced it with a worm clamp. Make sure you've got another clamp to put on there.

 

[dcboyz4eva]

yeah i have to go back to pass the inspection anyway so i would get it alligned properly then, and thatnks again for everyones input so far

 

[doug]

Make sure you've got another clamp to put on there.

OK, cool-- thanks. Yeah, clamps I got.

 

[dcboyz4eva]

just wanted to let everyone know the install and such went great. it was real easy and fast you just have to hit the old rods out with a hammer pretty hard, and total cost was about 30 mins of my time and 54$ instead of 330 from the mitsu dealer. thanks to everyone who helped convince me to do it myself.