Adrian410225

Howhard is it to replace tie rod ends? One of the 97 A8 122k mi left tie rod is torn and needing replacement. Is it safe to drive for a while?

PaulW

What do you mean? The inner tie rod end boot is torn?

They are not hard to replace (the outer tie rods) if they are not frozen to the inner tie rods. If they are, it's a real bear to get them off.

I would just bring it to a mechanic and have them do it, they will charge you an hour or less and then you will need an alignment.

CaseyH

had to get those replaced, they are going to be a pain in the neck to get out. I just did it on my 97 and used rust dissolver. It helped. Make sure you measure the old tie rods before you take them off.

Adrian410225

Yeah. It is frozenin good I heard. This is based on the pre-purchase inspection from Audi dealer in Georgia.
I am going to bring to my mechanic to get it replaced.
Do I need to bring to some special place for alignment?

PaulW

First off, you have a 97, so you might want to consider replacing the inner tie rod too. Here's a picture of the inner, which attaches to the steering rack and the outer, which is on the inner!

<img src="http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/susp_whls_brake_steer/tr9.JPG">

The inner has a nylon bushing around the inner joint.

If your outer is frozen, you'll probably torque the hell out of it trying to get it off, then if you heat it up like I tried, you'll tear the boot easily....then replace the outer and you'll find that the inner now needs to be replaced because you torqued the heck out of it.

<img src="http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/susp_whls_brake_steer/tr2.JPG">

Buy a complete tie rod assembly and install on the car. They are about $110 each. Then you'll only have to do it once. Bring it to a dealer to have it aligned afterwards, there are almost no shops out there that can do it correctly.

Just use tie wraps to secure the boot over the inner tie rod.

pw