Has anyone had any experience with these tie rod ends. When I went to get my front end aligned at only 34k, the guy told me that because of the type of t.r.e. these later vans had, (rubber on rubber) it wouldn't hold and that he didn't want to do it. He said that GM also used them, but they just don't hold up. Not knowing any better, I went ahead and bought metal ones and put them on. Rubber on rubber was a cheaper option at the parts store. BTW, it cost me $45 for both and took only half an hour to put both on. A far cry from the $150 the shop wanted to charge me. My question is; are these parts that inferrior that they only last 35k miles, or was he just trying to sell me parts/labor? Thank you.

 

I had pretty much the whole front end replaced under warranty a few years ago. At the time the truck only had 40K miles on it. It had been making some unhealthy noises and the dealership replaced it all no questions asked. It has almost 80K miles on it now and no front end problems since.

1994 Aerostar Extended 4WD Eddie Bauer 4.0l Auto

1992 F150 Supercab SB 4x4 302 AOD 3.55 31x10.5 All Terrain on Ford 15x8 Ralleys

 

My 92 AWD front end was sloppy. The mechanic showed me the rubber ended tie rods (this at 98,000 miles) WE replaced them with grease type. So far so good!