Houbill

I would like to hear from those that have replaced an inner tie rod. I have about an inch of play on the passenger side wheel when I move the wheel with my hands at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. The shop manual shows the replacement with the rack removed from the car. I would have the car on a lift. It appears the pin will be the problem to remove. Any suggestions, advice on how best to procede. This is on a 1993 5.0 LX. There is no shimmy, vibration, etc on the road. The car steers straight. So is this amount of play significant?

ponyponer

we have the same car. i replaced all 4 tie rod ends over 5 years ago on mine. i busted my outer on the left from speeding through a massive pothole the size of a crater. my wheel was straight, but one wheel was going one way, the other going the other. i was able to drive to my buddies driveway where i would do the work. i replaced all 4, and it sucked because i hate front end work. it wasn't too complicated, but i would rather pull, and drop motors all day. i removed the whole rack for it. from what you say it doesn't sound like a big deal yet. then again mine were fine before the spill. i kept them greased every oil change, but they were completely destroyed after 50k miles. this was in 2002. i had bought the car in 2000 at a dealership. it was 7 years old, and only had shy of 28k miles on it. i did get a carfax though, and it turns out the previous owner, and only other owner had the car worked on at a goodyear service center for a new radiator at 22k miles. well i guess they thought the guy was stupid, and the crooks charged him for a new radiator, tune up, and a whole new front end[tie rod ends, control arms/ball joints, etc] big surprise from goodyear. turns out the guy got scammed cause none of the stuff was replaced, and the only thing they did was patch the radiator which eventually came out when i had it what an experience, and fix the left fender from it being hit[the radiator damage was from the accident obviously] the radiator was never changed like said, neither were any of the front end stuff. all the front end stuff is still original other than the tie rod ends i replaced. yeah sorry for turning the thread into a rant, but do your own work or have someone you trust if you don't wanna get screwed. i think to be safe get under there and check your tie rod ends for cracks, or wear.

Houbill

You mentioned lubrication. Are the inner tie rods lubricated, and where? My shop manual shows only the outer tie rod on the spindle.