A friend and I had my '60 TR-3A up on jacks last week so we could
adjust the shocks and check the stiff steering. We heard a clicking sound
as we moved the steering wheel back and forth. He then noticed that the
nyloc nut securing the right inner tie rod end was loose and that the stem
of the tie rod end was loose within its socket. At first he was unable to
tighten the nut because the stem would just rotate inside the socket, but
succeeded when I turned the steering wheel in a direction that put a little
friction on the stem and socket.
Some questions:
1. Is the stem of the tie rod supposed to rotate within the socket?
2. Does the loose and rotating stem indicate that the tie rod end is
trashed? (I think it does).
3. Things seem tight, now, but should I assume the tie rod end is unsafe to
drive with?
4. Could the nyloc nut have worked itself out? I was standing by when the
tie rods were initially installed this time last year and had the mechanic
check each of the ends. We both agreed they were tight. The only other
time anyone was near the tie rod ends was shortly thereafter when I had the
front end aligned. I suppose the tech could have unscrewed the nut, but I
don't know why he would have. I had also asked him to check if everything
was secure and he said it was, although I was not able to watch. I've put
about 1000 miles on the car since then.
5. Does this sound like I got a bad tie rod end from TRF?
Further note: Some time ago I posted a question about dealing with an
annoying shimmy just above 50 MPH. I never fully solved the problem, but
it had diminished to the point where I could ignore it - until we tightened
up the tie rod end last week. Now it's worse than ever. Interestingly,
the shimmy began just after I had the front end aligned.
Any insights or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks.
John Cowan
Forward this review to a friend. To subscribe, send email to:
jfcowan@pacbell.net. Check out previous reviews at:
http://home.pacbell.net/jfcowan
|