I still have the stock ones that have been on the car since 1990. What do I have to replace? I know I have to replace both sides too. What is confusing me is, there is an inner and outer. Someone help me out here. Thanks...

 

damn this **** is so confusing....tie rods for steering and tie rods for chassis...

sterring and alignment are perfect.....its the one for the chassis....any recommendations....

 

fyi, you can delete your own posts so whenever you bump a post, delete the previous bump. i hate coming into a thread where i have to scroll through 10+ bumps.

anyways, if you just need the normal tie rods that go from the knuckle to the steering rack, autozone/CAP/pepboys/NAPA all carry them.

 

thanks kiethv....i need more details on the tie rod thing...help me out....pmed ya...

 

i'm not sure what else you need to know. go to the store and tell them you need new tie rods. they will know what you mean.

 

whats the deal with inner and outer stuff then? I just called Autozone and they said $240 inner and outer....for both sides......

 

what do i have to check for to know that they are bad? i talked to the person i got the car from and he said, that he checked the car out himself and saw that the outer ones were bad for sure.....but he didnt get check the inner...kinda on a budget...so should i replace inner and outer? i will be upgrading suspension and all the stuff down there sooner or later...let me know what you think....

 

The inner are attached to the rack end of the tie rod (under the bellows). THe outer is at the pitman arm at the hub. If there is relative motion at the wheel end then the outers need to be replaced. If the motion is at the rack end then the inner needs to be repalced. The outers can be easily done with the rack in place however I am not sure if when replacing the inners if the rack needs to be removed from the car?

 

Thanks tpr....pmed u for some other questions i have.....

 

A visual inspection is the best way to isolate the problem. Jack the car up and have someone move the tire left and right to locate the worn part. It may also be a good time to check by pushing and pulling at the top and bottem of the tire to see what condition your ball joints or wheel bearing are in. The symptoms you describe are also similar to a worn ball joint.

 

It works better if you can get your hand around each joint to feel the motion as you rock the wheel back and forth. You can isolate the problem alot faster. Inner tierods can be replaced on the car no need to tear out the rack just spin wheel as far as you can in each direction. 90% of the time the inners are fine they receive alot less motion than the outers so they take longer to wear our. Be sure and count the turns on each outer tierod when removing them to make it alot easier when you reinstall.

 

thanks for that info...caleb v....would crx tie rods work on my civic? just want to know....

 

Yep Civic/CRX are the same
I have a steering rack made up of about 3 junkyard Civic/CRX steering racks that I pieced together for my beater Civic.

 

thanks for the great help dood....

 

the outer tie rods will be the ones that probably need replacing. the ball joints of them will get worn out and your steering will get slugish. they are fairly simple to replace and they cost about $40 for both at Autozone. you will need an alignment after you install them though.

 

my sterring is not sluggish...its just when i hit bumps and brake really hard that i hear the effect of the tie rods...or whatever it is....does it mean the ball joints are ok? since its not sluggish....its wierd because right now....the alignment straight as hell....

 

For the morning...

 

can someone answer the question(s) i had? plzzzzzzzzzzz.....

 

Just jack it up and put it on jack stands, then just push and pull on the suspension components unitil you find what is loose. The list would include ineer and outer tie rods, upper and lower ball joints and it may be a simple as loose brake components. The bottom line is we cannot tell you for sure with the limited information available. Go out and get greasy! Thats the only way to truely find what is causing the noise. GO LOOK!

 

fine...i will go and do it.....thanks tpr.....

 

damn...worse then i thought...its the rack and pinion and both axles...thanks for the help guys....it didnt seem that bad though when i drove it...ahh well....