Sorry I can't help you with that one Jarryd. Tie rods keep my wheels pointing in the right direction so I don't mess with those. I have always taken my vehicles to an alignment shop for tie rod replacement or wheel alignments.
I'm not even sure one can adjust tie rods. I always thought they were simply bolted together and when they became loose they needed to be replaced. I know that when replacing them you need to count how many turns the old tie rod takes to remove it and then turn the new one on the same amount. That should get you close enough to get to an alignment shop.

 

I had the death wobbles with my 4 inch rough country on my 93 f150. Ended up being all my steering components were going out in a domino effect. Last thing I need to change is radius arm bushings

 

We used to call this "shimmy", hit a bump, usually one wheel will shake back and forth. Slow down and the wheel will correct itself. Classic example of bad tie rods. Replacement parts, not rebuildable. Have a helper move the steering wheel back and forth, you will see the play in the rod ends.

In extreme cases the rod can seperate and cause loss of vehicle control. Happened to a brother of mine.

 

Do I need to replace the tie rods or just the ends?

 

First you need to verify what is loose. Check all the lift brackets to ensure they are tight and not moving. Check steering box is tight to the frame with no movement.

There are four points that have rod ends on our trucks. One at each wheel (standard tie rod end), one at the pitman arm (long bar connecting to passengers wheel), and one to connect the long bar to the driver side wheel (short bar).

Bigger tires will work all of these connections more than smaller tires. How many miles on the truck? The more miles = more wear. On my truck (160,000 miles) they were in need for replacement. But, then again, I replaced every replaceable item under there, including the pivot bushings. No regrets, truck steers almost as new (steering box still has play).

The long bar is the most expensive. Take it to an alignment shop, they will tell you what parts need replacing. Then decide if you want to replace them yourself or have them do it. Be prepared; with shop labor rate it could get pricey.

Or do as I did and replace everything, then take it to be aligned. Peace of mind is priceless.

 

I'll do the install myself. It's not that hard and know they'll charge far more in labor than the job is worth. I don't know if it's decent quality, but I saw a set with everything for about $70 on Amazon and then all the moog parts for about double that.

 

Bump. Should I spend the extra 100+on the moog parts or can I get away with the stuff on Amazon? I don't drive hard, only to and from work less than a mile and an occasional hunting or fishing trip. About 2000 miles a year.

 

I don't know about the comparative quality between the two, but on safety related stuff, of which front end parts definitely qualify, or difficult to change parts, I tend towards better quality. OTH, I don't know if Moog is still what they used to be. I used to think Echlin was good stuff, but not anymore. So who's to tell these days.

How's that for a totally waffling answer.