97 Accord Tie Rods
#1
04-08-2010, 03:19 PM
97 Accord Tie Rods
Good day all.
My 97 Accord needs an inner and outer tie rod replaced. I got a quote for 380.00 which includes the 2 rods, alignment, and labor so not sure if that is a good price or not.
I do a lot of my own maintenance on my car, but have never done tie rods and was wondering if it is difficult, and should try doing myself to save a few bucks. Also the shop did not say which side needed replacement, so how do you check which ones are bad and need replacing?
Any help would be appreciated.
My 97 Accord needs an inner and outer tie rod replaced. I got a quote for 380.00 which includes the 2 rods, alignment, and labor so not sure if that is a good price or not.
I do a lot of my own maintenance on my car, but have never done tie rods and was wondering if it is difficult, and should try doing myself to save a few bucks. Also the shop did not say which side needed replacement, so how do you check which ones are bad and need replacing?
Any help would be appreciated.
#2
04-08-2010, 04:39 PM
Have someone in the driver's seat to help you. This can be done with the car on the ground on it's own 4 tires.
Reach around a front wheel & grab the outer end of the tie rod. There's a small balljoint where it attaches to the steering knuckle. You want to grab that in a way that you can feel both the body of the balljoint along with the arm of the knuckle.
Have your helper saw the steering wheel back & forth. Don't have to go far, just enough so the tires actually wiggle some. You should be able to feel if that balljoint on the tie-rod has any play. It shouldn't.
Inner tie-rods are more tricky, because they're INSIDE that big rubber bellows. Maybe you can tell with small motions of the steering wheel, one side WILL move (good side) and one side WON'T move (bad side). I have a feeling that'll be harder to tell for sure.
Outer tie-rods are easy, but you'll want an alignment. If you trust the new vs/ old tie-rod ends are EXACTLY the same length, you can mark them & install the same number of turns as when you removed the old ones. I'd prefer not to trust that completely, so it's a good excuse for an alignment which you might have needed anyway.
Reach around a front wheel & grab the outer end of the tie rod. There's a small balljoint where it attaches to the steering knuckle. You want to grab that in a way that you can feel both the body of the balljoint along with the arm of the knuckle.
Have your helper saw the steering wheel back & forth. Don't have to go far, just enough so the tires actually wiggle some. You should be able to feel if that balljoint on the tie-rod has any play. It shouldn't.
Inner tie-rods are more tricky, because they're INSIDE that big rubber bellows. Maybe you can tell with small motions of the steering wheel, one side WILL move (good side) and one side WON'T move (bad side). I have a feeling that'll be harder to tell for sure.
Outer tie-rods are easy, but you'll want an alignment. If you trust the new vs/ old tie-rod ends are EXACTLY the same length, you can mark them & install the same number of turns as when you removed the old ones. I'd prefer not to trust that completely, so it's a good excuse for an alignment which you might have needed anyway.
#3
04-08-2010, 04:40 PM
If you are going the DIY route, I would suggest replacing the inner and outer tie rods on both sides. It isn't too bad of a DIY job, but I would drop the rack to make access to unbolting the inner ones easier.
Figure out what you will pay for parts + the cost of an alignment. Then determine if you want the shop to do the work, or if you want to DIY.
Figure out what you will pay for parts + the cost of an alignment. Then determine if you want the shop to do the work, or if you want to DIY.
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