I had noticed the right tie rod boot was shredded on my 2006 Toyota after hearing clunks when turning. Tie rods seemed to be what was needed, and after researching the difficulty, figured this was a task I could handle easily. Ordered new inner and outer tie rods for both sides from RockAuto. Beck/Arnley for all, which turned out to be re boxed Sakei 555. Got a hold of a tie Rod removal tool as well. Figured I was all set.
Well, easy it was not as my first problem was dealing with heavily rusted stuck parts. Ended up having to cut each inner tie Rod off, and so lost some degree of accuracy for the number of turns. Had to track down jam nuts as the replacement tie rods lacked them.
So all was finally done, and I did a test drive.
All low speed so far as I cut the test short. Straight ahead seems just fine. Sharp left or right and I hear what sounds like tires scrubbing. And very hard left or right, and the steering wheel wants to continue all the way left or right instead of returning to centre.
Is this just stuff that will go away after an alignment? Or did I likely mess up majorly without realizing? My first tie rod replacement ever, but I'm not a stranger to doing mechanical work.
Can I drive the vehicle safely until the alignment can get done?
Well, easy it was not as my first problem was dealing with heavily rusted stuck parts. Ended up having to cut each inner tie Rod off, and so lost some degree of accuracy for the number of turns. Had to track down jam nuts as the replacement tie rods lacked them.
So all was finally done, and I did a test drive.
All low speed so far as I cut the test short. Straight ahead seems just fine. Sharp left or right and I hear what sounds like tires scrubbing. And very hard left or right, and the steering wheel wants to continue all the way left or right instead of returning to centre.
Is this just stuff that will go away after an alignment? Or did I likely mess up majorly without realizing? My first tie rod replacement ever, but I'm not a stranger to doing mechanical work.
Can I drive the vehicle safely until the alignment can get done?