I'm bout to change out my inner/outer tie rod ends and lower ball joint on the passenger side tonight. I most likely will not be able to get an alignment till Saturday though and still have to drive to work tomorrow. Grant it, everything is direct bolt but I think general rule of thumb is to get an alignment afterwards. What's the risk here?

nothing really if you do the work right, make note of how many threads in the old tie rod was and mark it, try to match the new set as close as possible, mark it all! that should put you pretty close back to original aliment specs.. you should be ok to drive a single day to work and back.


the risks are pulling,increased tire wear and bad control on off-camber/cambered bit of the freeways, it tends to want to shoot you out into the next lane over......i've done this a number of times and have been fine, it's just not comfortable to drive and you need to really be in control the whole time, no putting on make up or txting, lol ... if i thought you were a girly man i'd just say to wait but i'm pretty sure you're competent enough to make it a day with things a bit wonky.

I replaced all that you are about to and I didn't have an alignment until 4 days after. All it's gonna do is wear unevenly on your tires and pull a bit to the right or left. Not a big deal.

I'm not too worried bout bumpsteer.. The whole reason I'm changing everything is cus my ITR on the passenger side is worn out and causing some wobbling, and yes the steering does wander around. I've been driving on that for a couple weeks, so it can't be much worse. I know it shouldn't have any horrible effects after replacing everything and no alignment immediately, just wanted to make sure the general consensus is that it'll be ok. I like reassurance haha

yep, no worries, figured that was the case, i always like to double and triple check to before i start the work just to make sure i don't fubar myself...been there done that far to many times!

You will be fine, just make sure you measure the tie rod end and not just count threads. My old and new units were both Toyota, but had different thread counts. I painted my old one before pulling it off, that made it easier to measure and get the new one perfect, it also makes using the old one as a spare nice and easy.

how do you check/diagnose inner tie rod wear?

Jack your front end up where the tire is off the ground. Grab the tire, If it wobbles side to side it's most likely inner tie rod. If it wobbles up and down then it's most likely the lower ball joint.

Changed everything out tonight and went for a test drive. Steering wheel is a little off (it always has been) but everything is feeling pretty solid. I'm really looking forward to doing the other side, just gotta save up another 300 bucks lol.

I did the LBJ and tierod ends and counted to threads to try to keep it in the ball park. My alignment was pretty far off afterwards, but It is fine to drive it like that. It will be a bit squirrley (especially in wet weather) and wear out your tires, but if you aren't going far the damage to your tires won't matter much. I drove mine for over a month before the tread wear became noticeable including a 400 mile trip. I was planning on getting new tires anyway so I didn't care about the tread wear.

You can also measure the distance from the center of one tire to the center of the other. Make these measurements the same for the front of the tire (near the front bumper) and the rear of the tire (near the front door). That should get you pretty close on the toe adjustment.

Hope you know about the firestone lifetime (unlimited) wheel alignment plan for about $175.

perfect, thanks!

Undo the tie rod from the steering knuckle. If the tie rod stays up by itself. it is fine. If it is very loose and won't stay into any position but wherever gravity places it, it is worn out.