We had 35's on it now run 33's while that may have had something to do with the inner tie rod end wearing early or not the few frontal collisions might have or could they?

What?

 

Do these factor in to inner tie rods wearing?

A

 

i can't decipher most of your post, BUT, yes, inner tie rod ends can and do wear out.

 

X2

Do these factor in to inner tie rods wearing?

A

especially with the use of oversized or above stock size tires. or front end collisions.

 

yep tierods could definitely be it.. if you jack up the front of the truck and try to shake the tire at 3 and 9, you shouldnt feel any play.. if you do, its the tie rods..

 

@@ The inner tie-rod ends are the component in the steering that wears out the quickest. @ As others said, oversized tires speed up the wear. @@ @

 

Where is the inner tie rod? I have the same problem with my truck. I swapped tires around with no luck fixing the problem. I know there are inner and outer tie rods, with the outer tie rods attached to the wheel assy. My maint book only seems to show the outer ones as well. Do the outer tie rod ends wear out like the inner ones? Thanks for any help.

 

inner TR

outer

http://www.tacomaterritory.com/~ccorley/Misc Pics/SR boot replace/

see the FSM for the full breakdown of the steering system

 

Thank you. I was expecting it to be something else. That does not look like it will be that difficult to change.

 

not hard at all...just common tools are needed once you pick up a ball joint press. I used the $6 one from HF

 

ball joint press for...? popping the outer out of the knuckle? i used a BFH for nearly every single outer i changed and never had any problems doing it that way.

 

BFH is a great way to mushroom the head of the tapered shaft. Use the right tool. A TRE or ball joint puller aren't that expensive and take only a minute or two to pop loose the end. At least you aren't using a pickle fork. That is totally the wrong tool.

 

Nah, he's probably talking about smacking the steering knuckle where the TRE installs. That's what I do every time without failure.

 

yep. i even hand install the nut after i zip it off with an impact, just in case i miss the knuckle, which rarely happens.

 

sorry...wrong term...'puller', not 'press'...duh...

 

Should I replace both inner and outer tie rods at the same time. I will be replacing both left and right sides of the inner. Thanks.

 

if your outers are in good shape, it's not necessary. however, they're coming off anyway so you can get to the inners and you're going to need to have the truck aligned either way. if you do the outers later, you'll need another alignment. if they're questionable, i'd replace them.

if they're nice and tight, then i'd leave them.

 

Not sure about the newer tacomas, but the 95.5 to 04 tacomas, the ITR's can be changed without disconnecting the outers.

 

hmm, i suppose yes, that is possible. however, an alignment is still required.

 

I figured an alignment would be required. I am ordering new tires this week and was planning to replace the tie rods put tires on then get it aligned. Thanks again for the advice. I am getting the Goodyear Duratrac 285/75 16's.

 

So . . . anybody here actually break a stock TR and have to do a trailside fix? The replacement doesn't concern me in my garage, but trailsides always worse. I'm tring to figure out whether I just got with carrying a full set (shaft, inner, boot, two outers -- L and R) or go with the Allpro HD TRs.

Any experience here with the Allpro HD TRs? They are beefy, but I hear that they have annoying torquing needs and the joints tend to wear faster than stock? See this discussion: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/120691-tie-rod-2.html

In a PM Skinum from the TW thread also mentioned he knew 2 people who had had rack damage from leakage on the boots of the HDs.

I'm actually less concerned about trail breakage than trail induced stress and cracks in that narrow inner throat. I do a lot of my wheeling a 500 to 1000 miles from home (eg, Valley, SE Utah, etc) and often with no other vehicle. I like the idea of the HD rods from that perspective and not worrying that they'll let go halfway home on the highway, which is waaaay worse.

 

Does anyone know what comes with the inner tie rod? My boots look good, as long as I do not mess them up they should be fine. Thanks.

 

Inner tie-rod end and the washer is what you get. You have to flatten the sides of the washer once the inner TRE is installed. This keeps it from coming loose.

 

Question for you guys in the know. On the 05 tacoma, if I want to carry a spare, is the left side different from the right side?

thanks