FORANA

If I need to have both inner and outer tie rods changed in my 97 4wd 4runner how much should I expect to pay? I am having a mechanic do it. I hear it is expensive.....

How much have you guys paid? Thanks!

snap-on

oh about $35 a piece and an hr of my time.

914runner

I am pretty sure you only have outter TRE's, since you have a R&P.

Crux

It's about $40-60 for each outer tie rod and $100-140 for each inner tie rod (which are actually called the 'rack ends').

So $280-400 for parts. (The cheaper number is how much it costs from www.1sttoyotaparts.com if you buy it yourself. The larger number is how much the dealer will probably charge you for the parts).

Shouldn't take more than an hour for an experienced mechanic.

FORANA

cool thanks guys. Ack its gonna cost then huh?......

FORANA

Plus I live in Hawaii and parts cost a bit more..

midiwall

What symptoms are you having that's making you change the TRE's?

bflooks

on my 98, i just did the autozone specials (not so special, but lifetime) and for all 4, it was about $180, and i learned how to do them on my own in about 1.5 hours start to finish for both sides, inner and outers. just make sure you have the right size wrenches for removal of the inners.

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

I'm curious about this also?

FORANA

Tire shake when hitting bumps, steering drifts, steering has a lot of play. Stuff like that.
Also when the front end is jacked up the tires have lateral play.

midiwall

'k... could be the TRE's (my passenger side TRE was sloppy), but could also be... hub(s), steering rack, A arm bushings...

You need to do some more diagnosis to figure out just what's wiggling. The last thing you want to do is to reaplce the TRE's only to find out that you shoulda' replaced the rack.

FORANA

My mechanic said that it is the TREs. He's a trusted friend. He also said it might be both, the TREs and the rack. But he said that everythings pretty tight except the TREs.

Keep you guys updated on what happens

midiwall

cool.

Just so you know, changing out the TREs is pretty easy. Like Snap-on said, it's about an hour with a lot of that time getting the truck in the air and the wheels off.

Now, if it's the RACK, that can be a lot of "fun". It depends on how rusted the bolts are, and the hydraulic fittings have been known to give people FITS. Also, a rack is MUCH more expensive than a set of TREs.

The point being... if you have the truck in the air, the wheels off and the TREs disconnected, then with air tools, it's _usually_ a short distance to get the rack off as well. Save the labor charges and see if the rack needs replacing before you turn the truck over to someone. If you do end up replacing the rack, you'll want to swap in a new set of bushings as well. Go with ES, they make a kit of the 3 pieces you'll need.


This is a great thread about checking things out down there, the fun of pulling the rack and where to get bushings:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/steering-rack-movement-sound-can-you-help-me-out-46028/

FORANA

Thanks a lot. Thats the theory behind changing the TREs first. If that helps then we're not going to change the rack since its expensive. If it still has problems then we'll change the rack also.

Thanks for the suggestions. It does make sense to change it all at once. I'll talk to my mechanic and see how sure he is about the TREs.

k dens

midiwall

We're all here to help man.. Many of us have been through this the long & hard way, so we try to point folks down a learned path as we find 'em.

Keep us in the loop!

ttus

How do you reinstall the boots on the rack, after you change the inter-ends?

Thanks

Crux

https://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech...boot/jowie.htm

ttus

Crux Thanks for the link on Boots.