Front end work???

Howdy,
Hope you all are having a good weekend?
I took my 90 down to the tire shop to have my tires rotated, and they notice that the tie rod end to pitman arm is loose. They also notice that the track arm has some play too.

I crawled under at the shop, had the guy turn the wheel, and noticed the play in the tie rod end, but did not really notice it in the track arm. I need to replace the tie rod to pitman arm.

So, they gave me a price of $285 to replace the track bar, tie rod end and do a alignment. Is that resonable or should I do it my self? I don't have a way to do the alignment, but have done ball joints and tie rod ends on other vechiles ( read smaller import), but not one of my favorite jobs! Is there anything else that should be done while I am there? Since I have had this Jeep, never done anything to the front end, except tires, and the POA did shocks. Tires are wearing fine, and it drives straight with no wobbles to speak of.

The jeep is used for skiing and light off road, it is a '90 with stock suspension, 264,000 miles, 4.0, AW4. Thought about taking it to the local Jeep dealer, but don't really have a issue with the Goodyear Tire Center doing the work.

Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
Bob

Replace them yourself. And you only need the joint not the hole links. You could buy all 5 ends for less than a $100 and then have them align for you.

Do it yourself. Tie rod to pitman arm is called a "drag link". Last one I got was about $30. The track bar is also one whole piece and should cost about $60. Then the tie rod ends are anywhere from $15 to $30 each. You will need a pickle fork and a BFH to take it all apart.
If you search, you will find how to align everything once you are done.

Replace the TRE and the track bar yourself. Do a driveway alignment and drive it to the alignment shop.

So,

It sounds like this is no big deal. I guess I should just go knock off the tie rod end to the pitman arm ( drag link) and replace that. I have a couple of other questions:

1. Do I just use a fork tie rod tool or a C type remover?
2. How do I test the track rod tie rods for wear?

Thanks for the input!!!

Bob:speepin:

easy removal, lossen castle nut till it just clears the threads, with a gentle wack or 2 with a good size hammer it will pop out. I have the fork, and find it more of a pia to use than just a good wack. Then just remove the nut.

X2 on DYS on replacing and doing aliegn then take to shop. 2 things you want is make sure your steering wheel ends up straigt when done, and I believe that the mesurement for the aliegnment is 1/8". distance from front of tire to front of tire should be 1/8" wider than the same distance on back side of wheel. Meaning the centerline of the axle, front of that (edge of tire facing front of vehicle) should be 1/8 more then same mesurement on back side of cinterline of axle (edge of tire facing rear of vehicle) it points your tires out when driving and causes equal force one side to other making vehicle drive straight when you release the wheel.

Is there a quality difference on the part? as in, use a NAPA part over a Auto Zone, Kragen, etc......???????????:cheers:

Funny. Last time I went in for an alignment they told me the same thing. I did it all myself--no big deal except the center link stud was really cranked on there---I ended up using a puller. Also, be aware of your torque settings. If you torque down the center link stud too much you will notice it with the steering.