Matt64341 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 I brought the Millenia in for an inspection today and was told I need to replace both tie rods. They wanted $470, so I wanted to look around first. I found the parts for $80 each and went home to replace them. It was very easy and only took about an hour. When I went back to get my inspection sticker, they told me that it was the inner tie rods that needed to be replaced, not the outer... I had screwed up pretty badly. So far, I had paid $35 for the inspection, and $160 for the parts, and still hadn't solved anything. I also can't return the outer tie rod ends because I hammered the old ones out and the pins were damaged. I went back home to look into the inner tie rods, which are about $110 each, and it didn't look like something I could replace myself. I went to autozone to rent the "inner tie rod removal tool" and was told that it probably wouldnt work for my car and that I would have to remove the boot to be sure. I didn't want to screw anything up more than I already had, so I went back to the original place and scheduled an appointment for Wednesday. I am now going to be out a total of about $665... Has anyone replaced the inner tie rods themselves? or would I be smart to just keep the appointment for Wednesday and pay the $470? If I was confident that I could do it myself without needing special tools then I would save a couple hundred dollars, but I don't want to figure out halfway through that I took on too big of a job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginph Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Wow is that a state inspection or a dealer checkup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted December 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 State inspection. I only have 10 days into January before its not legal on the road anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latinopikachu Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 how can you tell if hte tie rods are bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted December 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 I don't know exactly how they inspect it for the state inspection, but if you lift up the front end of the car, put your hands on either side of the wheel (at 9 and 3) and wiggle the wheel to see if it feels loose. That should give an idea on if the tie rods are bad, but then there are the outer and inner that could be the problem after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renboy Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 When you wiggle the wheel you have to be watching what's moving, if it's only the steering knuckle that's moving then the outer rods are damaged, if the knuckle and rod assembly are moving then it's the inner rods. Change them yourself, a universal remover will work. Unclip the strap holding the boot to the outer rod and pull it off the rod (away from the rack). Then get the right size remover (there's different sizes, they look like crow's foot wrenches) and start unscrewing it. It's easiest to do with the outer tie rod end already removed (that way you can remove the boot entirely). Put everything back and go get an alignment. Note: your knuckles will be bleeding, this is a pain in the ass. When putting the boot back getting something around it to hold it in place is especially nice. I was lucky and had some locking spring clips from the milly's intercoolers that fit perfectly. If you have a spare set, those would be the best solution. If needed I would remove them from the intercooler pipes and put normal screw clamps in their place and put the locking ones on the boot/rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted January 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Today I brought it in and got them replaced, it totaled $483.26 which is about what the estimate was. I would have tried changing them myself, but I only had a short amount of time to get it fixed. At least it's been taken care of now, and I have my inspection sticker for the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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