steering rack?

[michael b]

I tried to have my Trac aligned today & they told me that both of my outer tie rod ends are shot. I got under the truck today & had someone move the steering wheel back & forth & I didnt really see any slack in the tie rods but I did hear a loud clunking coming from the steering rack----Anyone ever replace one of these? Are they expensive? BTW the sound was coming from where the rod with the rubber boot goes into the rack on the drivers side on my 2wd trac.

 

[Todd Z]

Pretty sad that they told you the outers where bad and the inner is shot... You can just replace the inner tie rods rather than the whole rack....

The rack is not that hard to change at all, Just centering it can be a pain and getting to the lines can be tough, but I think it is easy on the St.

Todd Z

 

[michael b]

Inner tie rods? Is that where the rod connects to the rack? BTW When I started the truck up & tested for slack it didnt seem as bad:huh:

I still cant find any slack in the outer tie rods though. I just dont get it---These guys specialize in front end alignments and they diagnosed it in like 5 minutes. I watched them as they shook the tires etc. and could see it seemed loose. The kicker is that these guys dont do front end "work" like tie rods etc. so they had nothing to gain by misleading me. As a matter of fact they lost out on the cost of the alignment because of the repairs I need.

 

[Todd Z]

The outer tie rod threads on to the inner tie rod which goes through the rubber boot and attaches inside the rack....



to truly test the outer you need to have the steering lock off, so the key turned on, and place your hand in a cup over the outer tie rod end and the trucks spindle, then using your other hand or some one else move the tire back and fourth. You will feel the movement..



They may be good in doing alignments, but may not be good in diagnosing issues.

Also I know here that sometimes shops see modified vehicles and they come up with something so they don't have to do the work..

Todd Z

 

[michael b]

Thanks Todd.