I finally decided to jack up my 96 Accord after avoiding a slight clicking sound when turning all through winter. I figured it was a cv axle and I understood that you could go a while before they would becoming a major issue to driving.

All my axles and boots appeared to be in good condition and undamaged. My inner and outer tie rods, however, looked all fubar. The bellows boot on both inner rod was ruptured and grease was leaking. The middle section of the boot had completely separated from the clamped ends on the passenger inner tie rod, basically serving no purpose whatsoever.

Also, there is a lot of what looks like oil on the under body of my car. I took pictures to share below and see if you gurus could give some insight into what and how many issues I might have on my hands here.

Here's one picture and an imgur link so the post isn't a mile long, full of pictures: http://imgur.com/a/bZZAl

Thanks in advance!

 

Bumping this post, I just ordered new inner tie-rods to replace the ones with the torn boots, but now that the money is spent, I'm second guessing my decision.

Can someone clarify for me if bad tie-rods can cause clicking in turns? I'm worried that the clicking sound I am hearing is the axle like I originally thought despite them having healthy boots.

Thanks!

 

If the boots are cracked and leaking grease, they need to be replaced anyways.

I just picked up lower balljoints and outer tie rods myself.

Usually when CV joints are bad, they click when you are turning.