As a preface, I live in an apartment complex which forbids people from working on their cars. I have a 2014 chevy express AWD van 8 cylinder. Walmart said that I had a tire with a broken belt. I replaced that, and they recommended that I get an alignment. I took it to a goodyear shop, and they said that I needed to replace the inner and outer tie rod on the passenger side. They quoted me a total of $512.51 including $295.52 in parts. I found the parts online from rock auto for less than $40, and those were for the heavy duty top of the line parts. I declined to have that work done. I called up a supposed honest repairman Bill. but he is so busy that he hasn't got back with me for a quote. I am anxious to get this done, so I then called tiresplus which was recommended by a tech at walmart. Their quote was $662, and that was with some "discounts" that they gave me. I live in a college town where there are a lot of students who could be easily taken advantage of. So are these bids reasonable or are they trying to rip me off? I have watched some youtube videos on doing this and it seems that it can be done in less than 15 minutes. For $500 I could buy a jack and some jack stands, but have no where to work on this.
I think the greater robbery is occurring wherever you are purchasing a jack and two stands for $500. 😯 Probably you meant to say, $50?
So you do not have a friend or family member whose driveway you could use? Replacing the inner and outer tie rod should not cause too much of a mess. Once when I was visiting my then fiancee out-of-state I wanted to wax her car but her driveway was fully in the sun so I drove around and found a nearby public park with some nice shade trees bordering the parking lot and worked on her car there.
Then to have it aligned following your tie rod replacement, I would advise finding an independent shop that specializes in front end work and alignments rather than the Goodyear store.
I was at harbor freight and the jacks are at least $100. But I did not mean $500 exactly; I could buy them and have money left over. I could buy the top of the line "racing" jacks. I found a review of the jacks on youtube. The guy tested them all and checked to see how pounds it would take to tip them over.
Must have been Project Farm {black}:cool:
I called up a supposed honest repairman Bill. but he is so busy that he hasn't got back with me for a quote.
That's the kind of guy you want. The good ones usually are very busy.
Except if you have to wait weeks or months for an appointment, that kinda sucks.
Yes you're being robbed by the industry. That's just the way they operate. Good Luck!
Maybe what is needed is an anti-trust investigation. The prices for the parts seem to be rigged if you buy them through a repair shop. It is a wake up call when they charge you 10 times what you as an individual can buy them for.
If you got the estimate in writing then do the following:
1. Verify you have the correct parts
2. Present them with the estimate, the parts and have them scratch off the parts and recalculate the estimate
3. If the new estimate is affordable get the work done. If not drive it as is for now
OK thanks. I just ordered the parts from rock auto, both top of the line heavy duty for about $50-$60.00.. The goodyear store lied to me when I asked them about their quote, trying to cover themselves, I suppose. So I won't deal with them. We will see what happens when I get the parts, maybe Bill will call, hah!
I have been on vacation. I never heard from Bill, but maybe I don't need to.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eDUVOLJYk_o
I don't have any symptoms of needing an alignment.
I got some jack stands, a floor jack, and a place to work on it. I did raised up one wheel. I could move it some from side to side.
So that indicates it has a problem with the tie rod or what it is attached to. I took off the outer tie rod; needed a fork tool to get it off.
I could not get off the inner tie rod. I was trying to use an adjustable wrench. I wonder if those special tools would help. So I put the inner tie rods cover and rubber seal back on. Then put the outer tie rod on. After I put it all back together, I noticed that the wobble had decreased if not gone. So it really was bad. But on the estimate they wrote it up for the wrong side! If I find that a special tool would help then I may go back and replace the inner tie rod also.
I don't have any symptoms of needing an alignment.
When you change any suspension or steering parts (ie tie rod ends), you MUST have an alignment done.
I was trying to use an adjustable wrench
Avoid using them if possible. adjustable wrenches are kind of a last resort as they tend to round nuts that are really stuck on, and just cause more struggle.
I don't have any symptoms of needing an alignment.
again you must get an alignment. No two parts are exactly the same, so the alignment will be off. It's not something you can pick up with the naked eye. You'll notice 12,000 miles down the road when you're ruined your tires and bearings.
I think that I stopped before I ruined it with the adjustable wrench. Do I need that special tool sold at harbor freight? Or just a crescent wrench. I couldn't determine from the pictures of the special wrench how it could help me? It had some different size adapters. It also said that it wasn't for a certain type of tie rod system. I have watched several youtube videos on this and it is not clear to me about this. Thanks for your advice.
the job is a lot easier to with the correct tools:
- tie rod puller
- crows foot wrench
- torque wrench
Some parts stores do offer loaners, so inquire to find out.
I went to tirediscounters today, and got an alignment. Previously I read the owners manual which implied that alignments were not needed as often as in the past. My current alignment was not that far off. The camber caster toe for left and right were:
.1 2.8 -0.14 , -0.4 3.4 -0.28 current
.1 2.8 .10 , -0.4 3.4 .008 after alignment
They said that the it is good for a year. If I get new tires or something similar, I can come back and get it aligned again without any additional charge.
nice
I have considered just parking somewhere but things could go wrong. I might not have the tool that I need. The nut may not come off easily.
the clip may fly off and disappear etc. Then I would be stranded and my car would probably get towed after a while.
No I don't know anyone here. I was forced to move here a while back or lose my job.
You could drive to Bill’s shop, meet him in person, check out his garage and him, and get an estimate.
Yes That is an option. He said twice that he would do the quote himself and call me back. But he hasn't.
I'd definitely go over there, he may be able to give you quote on the spot.
I drove right buy his workplace this morning. I did not see a parking spot and he had cars parked on his lawn. I guess that is why he hasn't answered me when he said that he would.
I saw a youtube video on this and it took him about 5 minutes to replace the inner and outer tie rods. Remove nut from outer tie rod, it then dropped right out; didn't need any hammering. counted the turns for the other tie rod. Removed the nut from the inner tie rod; removed it and replaced it. Did not see any rubber protections on this one. Have seen others with a c type clamp n it. replaced the inner tie rod. threaded the outer tie rod on the inner tie rod using the count when it was removed. used anti-seizing lube. put the nut back on the outer tie rod. both were torqued to specifications. Tempting but things don't always go according to plans.
I suggest going where you can leave it if something goes wrong. Tie ends can seize and I've had to cut it off and replace the entire tie rod and not the end.
Be prepared to do more than just tie rod ends. I.e ball joints etc.
I found a few youtube videos.
https://youtu.be/eggGK_NGR6w?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/dHVv0nVbPvg?feature=shared
I got one tool that was similar to a crow foot, but it was like a ramp from each end.
You pushed or hammered it in. The farther you hammered it in the greater distance it separated pieces.
Here is an example of one( https://www.harborfreight.com/16-in-tie-rod-separator-63519.html?_br_psugg_q=tie+rod+tool ).
it's called a pickle fork. It does not replace a crows foot