1st Gen tie rod replacement

So it’s time to replace my left inner tie rod on my 2002 rig. Just seeing if any have input on
1. Do I replace both of the inners and outer rods.
2. Should I try to stick with OEM $$$
3. If not OEM any suggestions on decent after market companies.

thanks in advance for any help.

 

How many miles since last done?

 

They are original 145k miles

 

me thinks I'm in the same boat shortly, mine are original 168k and I have a little movement that wasn't there last year. I've already done the OTRE

honestly @REP I would go with OEM, they lasted this long, a little more $$ for guaranteed another 145k+ is good investment

 

I replaced my inner and outer tie rods over summer, I got OEM outer tie rods and 555 brand inner tie rods from Low Range Offroad.

I am normally all about staying OEM on critical suspension parts but OEM inner tie rods are ridiculously expensive compared to the 555 ones, and the 555s inner tie rods have a great reputation from what I've read. I've had no trouble with them so far, been about 3 months since I installed them.

 

I go with OEM but that's just me. Well, wait - that is not entirely true. When I did my front suspension, I chose to go with OEM outer tie rods and aftermarket inners to save a bit of cash. While I have had zero issues, if I had to do it over again, I would stick with OEM.

For the most part, this is a correct walk-thru. I would NOT hammer the steering knuckle to break the outer tie free. Rent or pick up a puller. Also, when removing the castle nut, flip it over and thread it back on so its flush with the top of the post. This way, when you pop it free with the puller (or the BFH lol), it won't go flying downward. For the inner tie, I ended up using a pipe wrench on it unless you have a monster crescent.

https://youtu.be/AVQHgcXEhpE

 

lol, you beat me to it. hahaha

 

it's nuts how expensive the OEM inners are, like a few hundred dollars if I remember right. Compared to what, $40 for the 555s?

 

exactly. at the time, I just could not justify it. Crazy price difference.

I just looked it up @ camelback and its $142 now. Low Range is $30.

 

what kind of movement?
like noticeable steering movement?

 

What convinced me to do my tie rods (even though mine only had 80k miles on them, but lots of offroad miles) was a looser than usual feeling in the steering wheel especially when I would hit bumps on the freeway going 75mph. Started to feel more sketchy than usual (always feels kind of sketchy in a lifted truck with no sway bar). Also I could grab my inner tie rod by hand and get a little movement in it with the truck's wheels on the ground.

When I pulled the inner tie rods off they were loose/floppy as hell, not sure if that's normal or not. The new ones were very stiff. Makes the steering feel better.

 

when I had my front driver's side up last time I had a "little/ 1/8 inch" play in the left/right, not top/bottom when grabbing the wheel

 

I installed 555 outers about 2 years ago, and they've been totally fine, although I haven't put a ton of miles on them as it's not my daily driver. I didn't do the inners at that time. Only thing is they have a fine sheen of surface corrosion (hesitate to even call it "rust" lol) on them.

555's are totally fine, IMO even for the lower ball joits. They're certainly much nicer than the Moogs that I had put on 7ish years ago, and those were more than fine when I ended up replacing them (was doing, shocks, UCAs etc... at the same time).

I have a balljoint rant if you care to read it on my build thread linked in my sig...