99 Tacoma 2.7 - Tie Rod ball joint rubber has a tear. Need guidance

Hello all. I have a 99 prerunner 2.7. I was inspecting my suspension components the other day and i noticed that on the drivers side tie rod where it connects to the ball joint, the rubber has a tear in it. I checked the passenger side and there are no tears.

Is this something I should be worried about? I'm not too sure how long it's been like this to be honest and I haven't noticed anything different with steering.

Here are a few pics. Thanks.

 

Sub'd I'm learning about this, but I would for sure replace it when you can. I don't know exactly how important it is. Some might come in and say omg get it fixed now! But I do the same thing inspection wise. I always check them. But yeah it's something I would not let go for a long time.

 

Thanks for the reply Dhannah. I am still yet to change this part seems to ride fine. I'm just afraid it will break while freeway driving.

Has anyone else experienced this issue and know if it needs to be addressed right away?

Thanks!!

 

The torn boot does not automatically mean the tie rod is shot. If there is no play in the joint itself it is still perfectly fine. The boot being torn may however cause the joint to wear out a bit faster than normal as it now allows dirt etc. to get into the joint. I'd run it and just periodically check it for play. All the joints, i.e. tie rods and ball joints should be periodically checked for play any way.

 

Thanks for the reply. How do i check for play? Sorry for the newby question lol.

 

Jack it up and grab the tire at the front and rear and wiggle it, should be solid, if there's play you may need a helper to get under there and see where exactly the play is as there's a few possibilities

 

tierods are cheap to replace, other than the alignment needed after

lowrangeoffroad has always been my go to for tie rods.

the actual install is a piece of cake, just make sure you have a pitman puller for tierods. if you don't, ($20) i think you can "rent" one from autozone.

 

Steering is very important. Ditto what others have said about not being an immediate need for replacement unless there is play. However in my experience, I find maintenance cheaper and more manageable if I replace stuff as noticed by myself, rather than letting it all pile up.

 

I did this job myself a few months ago on my 04' 4x4 and it is pretty easy, this was my process:

Jack up/block front end
Pull the tire
mark placement of jam nut for reference
cut off the cotter pin/loose castle nut
loose the the jam nut
pull castle nut and use Pittman arm puller to pop the joint (or flip castle nut,re-thread, and beat w/ hammer)
unscrew entire outer tie rod from inner
reference mark and thread new rod end to the same depth
place rod end into LBJ knuckle and thread castle nut back on
Re-torque to 67 ft lbs on castle nut 41 ft lbs on jam nut (or 53/40 for 2wd)
Replace tire

Get an alignment ASAP!

Done!

I may have left out a step so take my instructions w/ salt