Recently I hit a good size pot hole which in turn threw off my alignment some. When I went into the Mazda dealer they told me my tie rods were bad (too much play) therefore they could not do my alignment. Does anyone know if these usually go bad with mileage and if it is expensive to replace them?

 

why dont you try to find them used... i dont htink its something that usually breaks...



or maybe get aftermarket ones

 

Yes they wear with time, to replace it should take 15mins or so then another 30min or an hour to do an alignment. Mazda dealer is going to charge you for it!! Bring the KY... I assume threy are just replacing the outers???

 

rear toe links?

 

No, actually the front end. Also I have been noticing a strange sound coming from my front suspension, almost sounds like something is rolling or loose underneath. Somewhat like a worn bushing. Would the worn tie rods be causing this?

 

worn outer tie rods normally make a clunk, mainly when turning, sometimes when hitting bumps.



they go out all the time, i prefer the tie rod ends by moog because normally they have a grease fitting which as long as you grease it makes it last a lot longer.



dunno how much dealers charge but normally i get about .5 hours, alignment, and the price of the tie-rod ends... i have no clue as to the price of the tie rod ends for an fd, check mazdatrix. in all honesty you can do the tie-rod ends yourself and then bring it to them to align.



kevin.

 

Haven't changed them on my FD, but on other older cars they can be a minor PITA. It really helps to have a air chisel with a pickel-fork attachment. I also second the MOOG brand or any name brand that has a grease fitting. Count threads on each tie-rod and get them close, but you'll still need an alignment.

Can you describe the sound in more detail from your front end? On some cars, the upper 'A' arm bushings can slide about a 1/4 inch or so, fore and aft. You generally feel it at low speed when stopping. If it's quiet enough, maybe a dull thud sound. Looking closely at the bushings you can usually see a small shiny area where they've slipped. Easy fix if that's it.

 

Well I never hear any noise when I'm turning the wheel, only when going over bumps. It's not too loud so when I'm actually driving at average speeds the noise is drowned out. However going slowly over bumps (speedbumps, etc.) you can really hear it. It's definitely not a bushing clunk noise like you would hear from the rear. it basically sounds like something is moving however it's not just one noise, it sounds more like something is flexing, that's the best I can describe it.

 

in my 3 years of being a "professional" mechanic, and my 6 or so years of doing automotive stuff i've never had to do more then just hit the knuckle with a hammer a few times to pop out a tie rod end. maybe im just lucky? (believe me ive worked on some crappy old cars, trucks, work vans, diesel trucks, diesel vans etc)



kevin.

 

Kevin,

If this is a quibble with my comment I didn't mean to start controversy. But in my 35 plus years of amateur wrench turning (yes, I'm a fossil), I've had a few that have been stuck. The cone shaped spindle gets rust welded into the socket and tough to get out. As I indicated, this is probably not an issue with an FD. But just a week or so ago I helped a friend with his daughter's Probe and it was just such a case, despite a good soaking in PB and application of an air chisel/pickel fork combo. Maybe why I was a little negative on the job, as it was a PITA.