outer tie rod on '93 Ford Taurus

[Ryan_V]

Are these easily replaced, or should I have it done at the shop? I brought the old beater in for an alignment, rotate, balance and was told the outer tie rod was loose and needs to be replaced. this is our junker that gets used to save on other vehicles, so I don't want to pour tons of $$ in it, but I need it to be safe as well because my wife and kids are in it daily on the highway. just wondering if I sould tackle it or not with limited knowledge of such things!??

[Northlander]

Get it fixed, its not a part you want bad when your family drives the car. The labor is what kills ya so if you or a friend can do the labor you will save a bunch.

[Scott K]

An outer tie rod end is easy to do it yourself, but it is also a low dollar labor repair. It should be about .5 hours to install. But whether you do it, or they do it, it will need to be aligned when you are done!

[Jeremy airjer W]

You'll need a 19mm socket to remove the tire, a side cutter to remove the cotter pin, 21mm wrench to loosen the jam nut, 18mm socket to remove the nut on the end of the tie rod, and a big hammer to whack it loose from the knuckle. Count the number of turns to take off the old one and thread the new one on with the same number of turns, reinstall in the knuckle, tighten the castellated nut, install new cotter pin, Grease, and have it aligned!

[deadeye]

amen!