I just put a rough country level and rear spacer on my truck and then went to get an alignment like you are supposed to after doing so. The mechanic said my left tie rod end is wearing out and that it would be a waste of money for him to do the alignment without replacing it. The estimate he gave me was $255 for replacing the tie rod end and doing the alignment.

$70 for alignment
$100 for part (MOOG ES80574 in case you wanted to know what they were going to put on)
and the rest labor and tax

This seems like A LOT and want to know if there is another brand to buy and if its worth just doing myself then taking it for the alignment or maybe gettin and second opinion?

Thanks

 

That part is $40 on amazon, $53 at advance auto, etc, not to mention it's super easy to put on. I live in a smaller town so $70 for an alignment is even a little high if you ask me.

I would get the $40 tie rod end, try to get it on close enough. Then call around to see if you can get a cheaper alignment. If not then go back to same place I guess.

 

I got a coupon in the mail for a discounted inspection and emission at Firestone. My truck had 28k on it. I figured why not. Nothing could be wrong. They said I needed a tie rod and an alignment. In they end they got me for like 340 dollars I think. Ill never do that again. Buy the part yourself. Its easy to install. Find a cheaper alignment.

 

First of all, I'd do BOTH tie rod ends and do them yourself, they are threaded on the tie rod, you turn the old one off and turn the new one on. All you need to do is thread it close, the alignment guy will dial it in.

If one is shot, the other non-greasable POS one is on its way and when it goes you'll have to pay for an alignment all over again.

Make sure you get a GREASABLE one, Moog makes both, an economy OEM that is not and one that is - for a lousy $8 more retail.

The quote is stupid high, he's getting you for about double for the $50 tie rod end and gouging you for a half hours work. The alignment is on the higher end of average as most places are between $60 and $75...

 

I am definitely going to do it myself. I put on my RC kit with my brother last weekend and had to deal with the tie rod during that so I know what I need to do to change it out. I was kinda thinking it may be a good idea to just do both while I'm doing it. Also, as far as the greaseable one goes, will they grease it for me? I am pretty sure I don't have access to a grease gun.

Thanks for the input

 

I'm curious what your mileage is on your '07. I have a '03 and haven't had to replace mine yet but am going in for an alignment tomorrow.

 

Just over 56k miles on my '07. I'm not sure what a normal wear time period is for tie rod ends but I guess when it wears out it wears it.

 

After looking around at a couple stores online I found two things I am curious about. O'Reilly has the part ES80574 that's a MOOG tie rod end listed at $55 and then I searched the same part number on Autozone's site and it came up as "Duralast/tie rod end" at $28. Is this the same part or are they different? The difference in prices would assume different?

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...er=964291_0_0_

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...eyword=es80574

 

I went to AutoZone to check this out. When I went to pick up the parts at the counter the two boxes they brought were different. One was made in China the other in Taiwan. Same part number, different boxes. The metal is finished differently than Moog telling me that they were not treated the same as the Moog (BTW, Moog are made in the U.S.A.). I left them at AutoZone and ordered the Moogs.

 

most moogs are made in the usa, some of their parts are made overseas now, hence you hear horror stories about them sometimes. I think I remember someone saying that there is a stamp on the made in the usa ones, but you never know usually when ordering. I would still go moog or raybesots probably, but it kinda sucks that they don't manufacture 100% in the US now.