MrMojoRisin921

My mechanic is giving my 2000 C5 the once over and found my tie rod ends on the left side of the car (front and back) are bad but that the right side are fine. Anyone ever have this happen and why would one side go bad? Also, my mechanic couldn't find the rear tie rod that didn't cost an arm and a leg, what's the best place to order one short of the dealership?

Thanks

11sec_C5Z51

how is your car riding with a bad tie rod end? does it feel like the rear is mis-aligned?

MrMojoRisin921

To be honest, I have hardly driven the car because shortly after I got it the pulleys started screaming and it was too obnoxious to drive. But when I did drive it, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, like it wasn't pulling to any side. I asked the mechanic to check the front end because I heard a clicking noise when turing the wheels in a staionary position.

thanks

kasper-pA-

I'm redoing my tie rods (ends) in my 00' , found em for ~64$ at autozone.com




Ryan

Bill Curlee

Contact Gene Culley www,gmpartshouse.com. He will have the best GM price PERIOD! If your AutoZone or Advance doesnt have them (They should) Gene will

If there bad,,,just replace them. If it were me,,,I would do all four.

Bill

whiteboy572ci

I had a l/r tie rod link go bad and picked up one from gm at employee cost for around $65. Had 65,000 on my c5z, but the othert 3 were fine.

MrMojoRisin921

Thanks all

Its_Go_Time

Sounds like a perfect time to install a bump-steer kit...just thinking out loud...

Bill Curlee

So,,,,just why would someone need to install a bump-steer kit...???????

Pros & Cons & Price???????????????????????

BC

Its_Go_Time

Bill,

When I lowered my car, I noticed it would sometimes dart to one side or the other when I went over bumps with one wheel and not the other. There was one place in particular on my way home from work that would always send the car towards the center median. It never did that before i slammed it.

When you lower a car, the outer tie rod ends move up in relation to the rack (actually, they stay put and the rack drops with the car), resulting in tie rods that aren't horizontal anymore. The further out of horizontal they are, the more in-out motion the ends experience as they arc over bumps. in-out tie rod end motions is what steers the car.

Bump steer kits allow you to LOWER the rod ends and re-establish the proper geometry. You can't do this with an oem joint because they lock into position with a taper.

Pros:
-Precision spherical rod ends.
-no more wandering around on rough roads

Cons:
-Precision spherical rod ends (you gotta keep em clean and protected, or they will die.
-to do it properly, you need to remove the spring and cycle the suspension and actually measure the resulting toe changes. Adjust and measure again until you get it to a minimum.

Price: I paid about $120 for both sides. I installed them myself. Labour might make this into a con as well

I can post a few pics, if you like...

dhirocz

I've noticed mine does too. I checked my tierods tonight (have the rear torn apart for a new differential, girdle and tranny mount) and the left side has some slack). I was planning on a new set of bushings, springs, struts, shocks, hubs, axles, brake hoses, new rack and all the balljoints and tierods considering the car has 185k on it. I wonder if they sell these for the rear too...?

Bill Curlee

They say you learn something new everyday,,,,,well damn it, that was my new information for the day.

Yea, for my benifit and maybe someone else that doesnt know what they are, post a pic or two.

Thanks for all the great info!!

BC

Its_Go_Time

Here are some pics of what it looks like, as well as the measuring apparatus I used to check the toe changes. I believe that 1/8 spacers is what I ended up using. The actual curves depend on the interplay between the control arm arcs and the tie rod arcs. If all arcs are the same, the toe doesnt change. Its hard to know where to position the rod end without actually doing some trial and error. In my crazy head, its worth it!

P.s. That vertical line in the chart is the resting position of the suspension. From the factory, it would probably be close to the middle. The more you lower, the further to the left it moves. I theoretically only have 1.5 inches bump travel left, and 4.5 inches of droop. no wonder the ride sucks!

Bill Curlee

Very well done! Now I understand!

Thanks

BC

ericdwong

I have the Baer bump steer kit and my car is mildy lowered. I may go back to the OEM tie rods. My car is daily driven, even in the snow and it's too much of a pain to attempt to clean those exposed heim joints. Just like the exposed heim joints of my Hotchkiss sway bars, they started getting noisy. I'm getting some clunking in my suspension and I think they are the cause What kit do you have? I see yours has the rubber boots for the joints.

And also- most alignment shops don't even know how to *properly* set the bump steer kit. I see you're tool that you have, and wish I had something similar. Then again from the pictures of your car, looks like it's never driven in the rain!!

Its_Go_Time

The seals didnt come with the bump steer kit, unfortunately. Rod ends are more of a race car kinda thing, where they get replaced more than greased. I found a place that sells cup seals as well as those baloon style rubber boots designed for sealing rod ends. I can try and find the web site if ur intrerested. I've had mine on for two years without any issues. I don't drive the car during the winter because of all the salt they use up here, but its my daily driver rain or shine during the summer, with at least one long road trip every summer. so bottom line: prescision rod ends are awsome on the street, just seal em up tight.

ericdwong

Where did you get that tool to measure the change in toe? Or did you make it yourself?

And yes, I'd be interested if you can find where those boots came from.

Its_Go_Time

The site is :
http://www.sealsit.com/rodendboots.asp

I used the RERS 3 boots, and they fit like a glove.

I made that tool myself at work, but I'm sure Summit Racing sells something inexpensive that will do the job just as well.

TEXHAWK0

If you are replacing tie rod ends, I would get some that already have grease fittings.