fchriss

My 1997 Altima (148K mi, manual transmission) just failed inspection. The tech said that the steering felt loose and thought I might need new tie rod ends. How much should I expect to pay to have the tie rod ends replaced? Parts themselves don't look too expensive ($24 plus ship). Is this likely to be the source of the problem or is something else more likely?

LONDONDERRY

Thought you might need... get a second opinion! Don't give them the job, they could throw lots of parts into the front end suspension which will cost you lots of cash.
Tie rod ends are really easy to do, so why not replace them yourself, just a few basic tools and a puller. Just make sure you get a front end alignment.

Frank

fchriss

Thanks for the advice on the 2nd opinion. I'd hate to do work I didn't need. Is it easy for me to know if I need tie rod ends (jack the car up, wiggle the wheels or something)? Haven't read over the Haynes book yet.

fchriss

So, this is what I notice on the car:

With engine off, key in ignition with steering unlocked, I get sort of a clunk sound when I rotate the steering wheel an inch or two in either direction. Could be play in steering mechanism.

Jacked up the car on each side and tried to move each front wheel by hand. Wheels didn't seem to have any play vertically (push top sidewall, pull bottom for example) but had some play horizontally (try to move each wheel left/right as in normal steering motion).

So, I'm thinking its tie rod ends as indicated by the tech and not ball joint issues.

Any comments?