97 2wd tie rod replacement

[Tractor Dan]

Had the tire shop look at my alignment. Had it in for tire rotation and to get them balanced. They took me out to the rack and showed me exactly what is probably causing some slightly uneven wear on my tires and there is squeeze play in the tie rods. They got it to align pretty close to spec but told me if i want a project to wrench on couldn't hurt to do my tie rods. Guess they know i'm itching to get back to wrenching after surgery.

Anyways three questions here.

1. I have read where you count the turns as you back the tie rod end off the rod. How is this done? I would assume the simplest method would be take a paint pen and mark a line on the rod and end so each time that line on the end passes the corresponding one on the rod you would know the count? I have a life time alignment and the shop told me once i get it done and back together they can do the fine tuning for me.

2. While i was looking for parts i stumbled across kits on ebay where they give you the tie rods,ends,adjusting sleeves, and upper and lower ball joints in the kit. Do i really need to replace the ball joints? From what i can tell from visually inspecting them and driving they seem fine. Anyway to test them?

3. What brand do you guys suggest for parts? I usually buy from autozone and the only brand they sell for the tie rods and ends are their brand duralast. They have one valucraft. I like the lifetime warranty but at the same time i'm hesitant to buy duralast tie rods. Not to mention i pop in the other day to have them price them out and the guy tried to argue with me that rangers have no such thing as adjusting sleeves. Guess i should have taken him out to my truck and showed him but i just let it be and left.

Specs on the truck suspension and whatnot.
97
2wd
3.0
2 inch spacer lift under the coils
31 inch tires

Don't know you need that but figured i would toss it out just in case. I'm not planning on doing this right away. I gotta see if the condo will have a fit if i do the tie rods in our parking lot.

 

[RangerSVT]

Tie rods are pretty easy. Go with the duralast, they are new parts, valuecraft are remans. Duralast are fine, I use AZ for almost all of my parts. First you need to hold the new TRE up to the old one before taking it off. If they both are the same length, and the stud is in the same spot (stud being the piece that goes through the knuckle), then all you have to do is barely loosen the jam nut, then spin off the TRE and spin the new one on. To count how many turns it is (for reference), one turn equals 360* of rotation, so whatever position the stud is in, rotate it one turn (on or off, its the same for both directions) and when you get back to the position it was originally in, that makes one complete turn. 1/2 and quarter turns are usually all that is used and if you are one turn off, its usually close enough to get it to the alignment shop. But don't drive on it for a week then go to the shop, make it your only trip after install
Testing balljoints usually involve jacking up the vehicle and pushing and pulling back and forth on the top and bottom of the tire, checking for any movement. If any movement, even slightly, the balljoints are needing replaced.
The best parts are OEM replacement, moog is well known for quality suspension parts. Depending on where I'm at depends on what I get, which is OEM, moog, or duralast. I have a 99.5% satisfaction rate with AZ parts, and I've been shopping there for over 20 years, so I have a looooooong history list in my warranty...



SVT

 

[brokemechanic3000]

Most suspension and steering parts are made by moog and are just put in differently labeled boxes.

and why did a shop try to align a vehicle with bad parts that was a waste of time and money because you should align it after the new parts are put in.

as for getting it close yourself knock the joint loose from the knuckle and measure the total length with a tape measure and screw the new tie rod on until it measures the same length.

 

[Tractor Dan]

Thanks for the input. They tried aligning it and got it to align. The parts aren't shot to the point they won't align it they just showed me that the parts are reaching the end of their life span soon. Also it was a waste of their time and money. I paid them in 09 for the life time alignment if they wanna waste an hour playing around with it fine by me. I had nothing better to do and it beat being at home.

 

[4x4junkie]

Most suspension and steering parts are made by moog and are just put in differently labeled boxes.

Spicer is OE for TTB/TIB trucks (not sure on A-arm trucks).

In my experiences their ball joints (also sold under the "Raybestos Professional Grade" label) are far superior quality to Moog (tierods too, though the tierod quality differences aren't as dramatic). I'd make a good effort to get genuine Spicer Pro-Grade stuff for a TTB or TIB truck (such as the OP's).
Napa's "Premium" line I think contains the Spicers also (you'll know a Spicer Pro-Grade ball joint by it's bright gold-zinc colored body w/circular numeric stamping on the bottom, often with a bright stainless stud. Black, gray or silver body = not Spicer Pro-Grade or OE).


Rockauto.com has the Raybestos-labeled ones I mentioned.

Spicer tierod parts I think are typically painted black (the OE ones all were anyway).

 

[Tractor Dan]

Thanks for the info on Spicer. I'll look into it.

Well just looked on RockAuto. More then what i'm wanting to spend. I don't wanna put junk on but i also don't wanna go for parts that are $40 each. Might try to find something middle of the road if i don't go with Autozone.