Hey guys,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I have a quick question regarding the front-end of my Durango. It's a '99, 172,XXX miles, 4x4, 318. Over the weekend a buddy and I replaced the inner and outer tie rod ends on both sides of the vehicle. I took the truck in for an alignment and tire rotation this afternoon. The truck handles like a dream; it flies straight down the highway

I noticed two issues on the ride home, though. One, it seems that the vehicle is very sensitive. If I have the steering wheel slightly to the left or to the right, the vehicle wants to go off in either direction. Is this common with new tie rod ends? The second issue I noticed is that if I cut the steering wheel too sharply, I hear a grinding noise from the front end. I had my buddy look at it and he says it's the new outer tie rod ends rubbing against the rims. Both sides are doing it, and I saw some metal shavings and scratches in the rim. My truck didn't do this previously, but the old tie rod ends were shot and there was quite a bit of play in them. Would new tie rod ends cause this to happen as well?

 

the sensitivity is most likely because the tie rods are new and not worn out. older, worn out tie rods can cause your steering to have some play and not react as well. not sure as to why they would rub on your wheels. i know the tie rods have a curved side and a straight side on the outer end. make sure that curved side is facing out. if not you have them on the wrong side of your truck. its possible you have them adjusted incorrectly as well.

 

I'll check that when I get home, it's possible they are installed on the wrong side. Would I be able to get away with simply swapping the parts around or would I have to get another alignment?

Also, I read on a few other auto forums that I could grind the ends down slightly. Would that be advisable or should I stick with the original plan and reinstall the parts on the correct sides?

I don't think I mentioned it previously, but I'm on the stock rims running 235/75R15.

 

personally id make sure theyre on the correct sides. your supposed to get an allignment after anything with suspension or steering is messed with so it would be up o you. just use your best judgment.

 

I tried to get a nice clear shot of the tie rod ends. This is a picture of the passenger side tie rod end. I really didn't notice a curved end to the part itself.

 

Compare the new tie rods to the old ones (if you still have them) and make sure they're the same. I don't recall mine being curved either, but I swapped them one for one right from the box so I wouldn't have been able to mix them up. I used Moog parts when I did it and they were identical, it's possible that the ones you have are slightly different castings causing them to hit.

The other thing to look at is the alignment. If the toe-out is set wrong it'll cause the front end to wander or the tires to "scrub" the inside / outside edges, depending on which way it's off. The tires may have also worn to the "old" alignment and are riding differently now causing the different feel.

I'd check over the rest of your front suspension first to make sure it's all up to snuff (ball joints & control arm bushings especially) and then have the same shop check the alignment for you. I had to chase mine for three alignment "checks" before I finally found someone who cared what they were doing enough to really go thru it and set things straight. After that the truck was a joy to drive. A plus was that my tire wear improved dramatically, and my gas mileage went up as well.

Bob

 

It's interesting that you should mention the control arms, because I did notice that the bushings looked a little worn. I know for sure that my truck needs new shocks all the way around, and I replaced the ball joints about a year ago. At this point money is a bit tight to do further work on the front-end, with that in mind I was going to shop around for new tires in the spring and ideally would like to do the rest of my front-end work then (unless I can scrounge up the funds to do it sooner).

 

Sounds like you have a plan! Suspension is one of those things that any little bit of wear is cumulative, and unless it's all fixed at the same time it'll never be perfect. Fortunately bushings are inexpensive, but a pain to replace. Buy the best shocks you can afford as they will make a difference. Everyone has their opinions, my personal favorites are Bilsteins, but ANY shock is better than a worn out one!

Choose tires carefully based on how and where you drive. Monster tread mudders look cool as hell but you're going to hate the noise and wear if you do mostly highway driving!

Plan on doing one more alignment after the bushings. Also ask around at different shops and see if they have a lifetime alignment available. This way you pay once and bring it back for periodic checks. Make sure they check and adjust the ride height too, it affects the alignment.

Good luck!

Bob

 

Thanks for the write up on the tie rod ends! I was getting ready to make a post on the same thing. My question is for anyone that has RWD with rack and pinion steering. As you all know I recently rebuilt the whole front end except tie rod ends. My question is with the rack and pinion is there an outer and inner tie rod end? I have not done alignment yet until I do tie rod ends. My D is a 2001 SLT,RWD,4.7 There is a rubber accordion boot on the inner portion of tie rods.

 

Also 318dd99 I recently rebuilt my front end and there is a post by Shusterjo that shows how to rebuild all of your front suspension. I posted a parts list with part numbers but I don't think it will apply to you because I have 2wd not 4wd. Shusterjo has 4wd so check it out. Very good write up if I say so myself!! Only use Moog parts. Other parts are cheaper but probably not last as long. All Moog parts come with grease zerks. I did use Energy Suspension control arm bushings that came as a complete kit to do left/right,upper/lower control arm. You can also check out my post for some tips if they apply! Good Luck!