boost4life1

i noticed my tie rod boot was torn today. i was wondering if this could be the cause for my shaking wheel at high speeds or the extremely loud creaking my car makes when turning?

minilogoguy18

Why don't you find out? Lift the car up, grab the front wheels at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock position and see if there is any play, if so then the outer tie rods are bad. After replacement you will need an alignment.

boost4life1

I thought that was how u tested for a bad wheel bearing.

minilogoguy18

A wheel bearing can move in any direction, outer tie rod will only make the wheel wobbly on the y axis. If you wait long enough for the wheel to wobble from a bearing then you're letting it go for too long and risking it completely coming apart while driving, it will make a lot of noise before it gets to that point but that's another topic. You should be able to look through the spokes of the wheel at the outer tie rod as you're doing this and see the joint moving inside the knuckle. Hope you didn't wallow out the hole in the knuckle and ruin it.

Hawkze_2.3

The torn boot doesn't necessarily mean anything, but if has been torn long enough and let enough dirt in there, then the ball joint could be bad. I would just go ahead and replace it and get an alignment like milanogoguy18 said.

boost4life1

Would this be what is causing my shaky wheel and pulling to the left?

Hawkze_2.3

Yes, most likely...as long as everything else under there is OK.