Do you have loose steering?

[FORDification]

Got this shot today at the shop of a tierod that was actually on a truck. It was completely dried out and had been for some time, because it was so worn that I could rattle this thing around 1/4" in all directions, including in and out!
In the first pic I'm pushing up, in the second pic I'm pushing down:



You can also see how it was wearing a groove around the bottom part of the tie-rod stud. Man, this was an accident waiting to happen!

Just thought it was a good visual, and might get some of you with loose steering to go out and check your steering linkage. And this might also serve to show you why a front-end lube is something that should always be part of a regular maintenance schedule.

[trukcrazy]

Great piece of information Keith. That's why people in the know come here. No fluff, just straightforword solid information. This is the top spot for 67-72 specific information with most of it applicable to any vehicle, this being a good example. This piece of information along with the pictures can be useful to anyone on any vehicle, but especially of interest to us. Thanks Keith. How's that for suckin' up?

[fordman]

that is junk. but yes thats what maintaince is all about keeping all moving parts taken care of. just something off the side though dad had a machine shop rebuild a tie rod end one time that was wore out the spindle was good so the ground the end cap off and made a new bushing out of brass to go in the socket to tighten up the tie rod end then they welded the cap back on it. it worked especially since the parts were unavalible at the time.

[boots]

Keith, that is exactly how one of my old tie rods I just replaced was like. I was shocked when I saw that I could move it around by barley touching it.

[390Nut]

The sad thing is most newer cars have "sealed" tie rods and bushings. they can't be greased, and once they wear out, you have to replace them. My `88 toyota GT-S is a prime example, and the main reason it's parked now. It's over $600 for all the bushings/tie rods and such, and they are all on the way out, or just plain shot now. I replaced one, and then within a few months another one was shot. Just not worth it to replace them one at a time, and not sure I want to replace the entire suspension (struts are going, and the CV's are junk too).

Sure feels nice to climb under the truck with a grease gun, let me tell ya. I do it twice a year, every spring and every fall, regardless of miles put on, and I make sure the zerks are clean before I start pushing grease in, too.

[binder56jd]

that's what i call "gettin' the goodie outta it"- wow! jd

[flyboy2610]

I came out of Menards once and saw a car sitting at the end of the parking lot row with it's left front tire pointed WAY out to the left.
The right front tire was still straight ahead. I'm guessing he broke a tie rod end. He was stuck since there was no way to drive the car. Forunately he wasn't blocking anybody in, but he sure looked embarrasssed,
I hate to think what could have happened had he been going down the highway!

[rjewkes]

5 years back that was trhe first thing i had to fix on my girl and the passenger draglink was so bad as i walked into autozone with it the joints fell apart.

[xxxtina63]

Didn't know how bad mine were until I replaced them. Probably about as bad as in the pic!!

[mikeyboy]

when i first read this topic, i thought it was a joke. yep, adding tie rods to my list. actually i'm replacing plenty on the front end, so this is just another domino that needs to fall.

The sad thing is most newer cars have "sealed" tie rods and bushings. they can't be greased, and once they wear out, you have to replace them.

are you kidding? i had a bushing go bad in one of the control arms in the rear suspension of my 2001 ford focus, the solution is - replace the whole control arm. nobody bothers pushing bushings in anymore. (and the whole LCA costs about $60 anyway).

it's weird. oh well, i'll try and drop the old parts at a scrapyard or something so they get recycled. it's a different world from what i remember... and i'm only 32.

[fordhombre]

I learned about greasing the front end after replacing my kingpins, now they will receive regularly scheduled greasings.

But how to do grease a tie rod? I never found a fitting anywhere to shoot grease in, do you just rub it down with something like wheel bearing grease?

[flyboy2610]

There should be a Zerk fitting on the bottom.
There is on all my tie rod ends!

[fordhombre]

okay....found it....

[FORDification]

There's no set answer for that one. If your steering is loose, you'll know it. The truck will wander, especially when you hit a bump, and you'll have excessive steering wheel travel before the truck starts to turn. I can't really tell you what 'excessive' is, but basically I'd think if you can turn the wheel more than about 10-15 degrees before the linkage starts to move, than you probably need to start checking things out, starting with the steering linkage and rag joint.

If you asked the question, that means you're probably experiencing some of these symptoms. Can you tell us what your truck's doing?