may be a dumb question to most of you, but i'm new at this, so....


what do balljoints and tie rods exactly do? i went to the mechanic today and they said my left inner tie rod and one of my balljoints are going bad, but i don't really know what that means, and i'm gonna go tomorrow to have them replaced

 

your tie rods are the connectors between your steering and the steering wheel. the ball joints support the car at critical points. ( upper and lower on both sides).
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high performance car parts

 

ooh, for some reason i always thought they were both right by the wheels, where they turn at

 

so is it bad to drive for very long with a tie rod and a balljoint going bad on one side of my car? i won't **** anything up by waiting a few days will i?

 

Ball joint and tie rod ends are the points on your suspension to allow your wheels to pivot, steer and articulate.

How long can you drive on faulty ball joints. That depends on how bad they are. A few thou of slop and it may last years before it breaks off the car.

If it's rusty and it's the joint is loaded outwards. It can fail in a short time, often with little warning.

In your particular case. Some slop in a tie rod end is not the end of the world. Bottom ball joints on cars like Mustangs should not be neglected. It's an odd design where the weight of the car is trying to pull the joint OUT of it's socket. A rusted or worn joint here will leave the tire sitting sideways up in the fender is no time.

On a car as old as yours. I'd replace stuff in pairs. In fact on a high miler I'd just rip every joint and all the bushings off. Replace with name brand stuff like TRW, or Federal Mogul or OEM. The advantage to most aftermarket stuff is it's greaseable. Align it and it's good for another 15 years.

 

well i went today and had a mechanic change it all out, ended up costing me about 700 bucks to do it too but i got a lifetime alignment, so when i get some camber/caster plates put in, i won't have to worry bout paying for any more alignments...since i don't have the know-how or tools to do it myself

 

Well you should buy a Hanes manual and start collecting tools, man cause for 7oo bones you could have bought all that and done it yourself.

 

well i want to get tools and do everything myself so i can learn more, but i don't exactly have the space for it, i live in a dinky little condo and there's hardly any space on the parking lot for anything, and it's been too cold lately to just do it outside

 

Understandable, make some friends with garages!!

 

what do ball joints, and tie rod ends do exactly? they give me a headache cause no matter how much i grease them, and keep em off extreme roads i always wind up wearing them out.