I tried to get an alienment but the guy said i had bad inner tie rods, so i jack my truck up and see that one of the out tie rods has some play in it, but i cant see when i push on the wheel that the inner is moving, if i push hard enuff i can make the steering wheel turn. But my question is how do i know if i need inner tie rods? i do have play in my steering, and i get a vibration which i thought was the driveshaft but isnt. How do i properly check the inner tie rods and outer? Id appreciate any help i can get!

 

Really only way is to grab them with your hand and try to feel if theres any play. Look at it when you do it also. If you have to replace one, might as well do all 4 (2 inner and 2 outers). I found the best way is to use ramps. Take one tie rod assembly off, measure the length and when you put the new ends on the tie rod, shorten or lengthen it to what the original was. That will get you real close to the setting it was at before you removed it. Then go get an alignment.

 

You'll also get play in your steering wheel. Turn the steering wheel left or right till you feel it start to turn the wheels, then go back the other way, if there there is more then say and inch of play before it starts to turn the wheels the other way, it could very well be tie rod ends.

 

i deffinitly get more then an inch, i just order all 4, i hope this fixes my problem

 

with 172K on your truck, it would be a good idea. Seen a truck go 200K on the OE set, seemed fine and then one completely let go.

 

you might not be able to move the ball joint a lot just by hand. theres a lot more force on it when you are tuning the wheel. you dont have to use ramps if you dont have them. just jack up one side at a time and count how many threads are showing on the tie rod before you take it off and make sure thats how far you screw it on when you replace it and you'll be almost exactly aligned where you were in the first place. if you have a hard time getting them off either use a balljoint fork, which messes up the boots real bad, or turn the castle nut upside down and re-screw it on and then hit on it with a hammer and the balljoint will pop right out. good luck.

 

Ok thanks for the help, i decided to change both inner and both outer. Parts are going to run me about $120, but i really hope this gets ride of my vibration problem ive been getting around 55mph. After this i will have replaced almost all the front end parts, and i should be good to go. Now im just hopeing nothing else goes wrong lol. What would likely be the next thing to go??

 

might need to balance the tires. i don't think loose tie rods would cause a vibration at a certain speed.

 

Your right i found the vibration problem to be that at the u-joint where the driveshaft connects to the differential it wasnt centerd right so i took the shaft off and put it back on and its fine now. But i still need new tie rods lol