Tie rod end replacement (good tire, best, truck, driver)

[xlabel]

I replaced one of my outer tie rod ends and it solved my wobble problem. The new aftermarket end was about a 1/4" shorter than the old factory one so I tried to account for that when i threaded it back on. The car goes down the road fine, but has a very slight pull to the left when I let go of the wheel. My steering wheel is not perfectly straight when the wheels are either, maybe a 1/2" off to the right.

Is this the result of too much toe-out? Do tie rod ends affect just toe-in and out or camber or both? I'm thinking if it slightly pulls to the left I need to back off the lock nut and give the outer tie rod end another couple of turns (loosening it) thus bringing more of the inside of the tire in contact with the road. I really don't want to spend the money on an alignment right now, anyone performed a home alignment out there?

[Bydand]

Here is a couple web sites that show you how to check it. These will get you darn close, probably not as accurate as a machine, but enough you are not going to kill off a set of tires fast. I used the first way on a Jeep I had after changing tie-rod ends and never did go into a shop and it was good for a long time without wearing the tires.

Wheel Alignment - How to Align Your Car, Truck or Vehicle Tires

At-Home Alignment Made Easy

[usafracer]

Take it in and get an alignment done. It will keep you from tearing up tires.

[Steve Bagu]

When I was young and stupid...changed a tie rod end and never had the front end checked.

What I did was to use a tape measure from a point on the good tire to a point on the tire which had the end replaced. Then I checked the measurement at the inside/backside of the tire to see the difference. Based upon the difference I would adjust the wheel in or out untill I had the same measurement on the front and backside of the tire. Of course I centered the steering wheel first.

Was lucky and never had any bad tire wear. It was our 2nd back up car and not driven too much but still the tires wore evenly. Would NOT recommend this as a steady thing...then like I said when your young and stupid a person with little money will do many unusual things.

Steve

[sunsprit]

As a "quick and dirty" way to set-up a car with a replaced tie rod end in our shop, we'd jack up the front end and use a scriber (an old screwdriver) to scratch a line on the center of each tire by rotating the tire.

Then, on a level section of shop floor, we'd set the car back down and roll it by hand back and forth a couple of times a few feet to allow the suspension to settle, and stop when it was rolling forward. Then take a tape measure and measure the distance between the two lines as high up as you can on the tires, as close to level front and back as possible. The toe-in is the difference between the back minus the front measurement. With only one tie rod replaced, it should be easy to get the car back into approximately good toe set.

For awhile, I had a tech who had one of those measuring bars for doing this; it was spring loaded and you set it between the front tires and rolled the car on the floor. But these techniques only give you the total toe-in dimension and don't tell you where it's at in relationship to the centerline of the car. It's still best to put the car on an alignment rack and get the suspension dialed in properly.

[(901)]

Originally Posted by xlabel

I replaced one of my outer tie rod ends and it solved my wobble problem. The new aftermarket end was about a 1/4" shorter than the old factory one so I tried to account for that when i threaded it back on. The car goes down the road fine, but has a very slight pull to the left when I let go of the wheel. My steering wheel is not perfectly straight when the wheels are either, maybe a 1/2" off to the right.

Is this the result of too much toe-out? Do tie rod ends affect just toe-in and out or camber or both? I'm thinking if it slightly pulls to the left I need to back off the lock nut and give the outer tie rod end another couple of turns (loosening it) thus bringing more of the inside of the tire in contact with the road. I really don't want to spend the money on an alignment right now, anyone performed a home alignment out there?

This is timely ^^^^^ I'm waiting for my wheel to flop off

Originally Posted by Bydand

Here is a couple web sites that show you how to check it. These will get you darn close, probably not as accurate as a machine, but enough you are not going to kill off a set of tires fast. I used the first way on a Jeep I had after changing tie-rod ends and never did go into a shop and it was good for a long time without wearing the tires.

Wheel Alignment - How to Align Your Car, Truck or Vehicle Tires

At-Home Alignment Made Easy

Being the cheapskate that I am. This ^^^^^ looks very intresting.......

Originally Posted by usafracer

Take it in and get an alignment done. It will keep you from tearing up tires.

Awe, c'mon lets live dangerisouly

Originally Posted by Steve Bagu

When I was young and stupid...changed a tie rod end and never had the front end checked.

What I did was to use a tape measure from a point on the good tire to a point on the tire which had the end replaced. Then I checked the measurement at the inside/backside of the tire to see the difference. Based upon the difference I would adjust the wheel in or out untill I had the same measurement on the front and backside of the tire. Of course I centered the steering wheel first.

Was lucky and never had any bad tire wear. It was our 2nd back up car and not driven too much but still the tires wore evenly. Would NOT recommend this as a steady thing...then like I said when your young and stupid a person with little money will do many unusual things.

Steve

Well, I'm Old and Stupid....What will that get me

Originally Posted by sunsprit

As a "quick and dirty" way to set-up a car with a replaced tie rod end in our shop, we'd jack up the front end and use a scriber (an old screwdriver) to scratch a line on the center of each tire by rotating the tire.

Then, on a level section of shop floor, we'd set the car back down and roll it by hand back and forth a couple of times a few feet to allow the suspension to settle, and stop when it was rolling forward. Then take a tape measure and measure the distance between the two lines as high up as you can on the tires, as close to level front and back as possible. The toe-in is the difference between the back minus the front measurement. With only one tie rod replaced, it should be easy to get the car back into approximately good toe set.

For awhile, I had a tech who had one of those measuring bars for doing this; it was spring loaded and you set it between the front tires and rolled the car on the floor. But these techniques only give you the total toe-in dimension and don't tell you where it's at in relationship to the centerline of the car. It's still best to put the car on an alignment rack and get the suspension dialed in properly.

Quick-n-Dirty.......Just like I like my Women

[M3 Mitch]

Eastwood sells a toe-in tool that will do good work if you are careful in your measurements.

If the car is pulling to one side, though, that's not toe-in, you have some other issue, probably should go to a shop, try to find a good independent alignment shop, the chain tire stores are the worst.