heh k well im still learning my suspension stuff, but i jus got some new tires (nokian) and they couldnt adjust my alignment cuz they said my tie rods are broken.. ive been tryin to search but i cant find a good place to explain to me what the tie rods exactly are/look like/do and where i can get new ones or fix them... they wont give me my 50k mile warranty on the tires till i have adjustable camber and can set it to normal, so i hafta buy a camber kit, but all this is worthless till i find out about the tie rods

 

your lower control arms, most likely.

I really dont see how those can be broken without affecting the ride and control of your vehicle.

Just get a Ingalls camber kit for the rear or take it to another shop. You should be fine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by P1mpSlap &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your lower control arms, most likely. </TD></TR></TABLE>

what exactly do u mean by that?? my rear camber is fine, and if not, i think ill just do the washer trick to fix that. im looking to get a skunk2 camber kit for the front, but i still am not sure on this whole tie rod thing??? got any sites that would explain it to me? ive tried searching. thanks.

 

the shop is most likely refering to your lower control arms. 99% chance there is NOTHING wrong with your car. lol They are just too lazy to alighn it b/c it's lowered and it takes a little more effort.

The LCA is the area where the rear lower part of the shock meets the suspension. If you can imagine what I'm saying. It's an arm that connects to the hub.

 

The tie rods come out from the steering rack, they have a ball/socket joint where they attach to the steering knuckle. #13 or 16 in this picture.


Here's the steering knuckle (#2 or 3). The lower ball joint is #4. The upper is attached to #6 or 7.


Each of these ball joints has to be able to twist & swivel without any looseness. Any of them can be loose, then nobody can do a proper alignment of the suspension.

 

thanks for the pic and info, ive been studyin it and still can't grasp everythin yet, im tryin to understand what turns and where everything connects.. would i be able to replace/fix the tie rod (with the help of some friends) or would i have to bring it in?

 

The common part that goes bad is the tie-rod end, which has the balljoint on the end of it. #13 and 16 in that top diagram is the tie-rod ends. It connects to the hub in the bottom pic, right below the number 18 (look at the number 18 and look below that). The tie-rod ends make the spindles turn left or right when you turn the steering wheel. They are also used to adjust toe-in when the car is aligned.