I brought my truck to the dealer a few months back for an alignment. They sent it to an off-site shop that they use who told me the tie rods were seized. I did not have the work done to fix the alignment after they told me that.

I just got back from the Tire store and the guy is telling me if my tie rods are seized then I would be having trouble turning or hearing noises from my power steering pump because the pump would be doing all the work.

Before I head to a different dealer for a second opinion, what are your thoughts on the subject. The truck runs and sounds fine with the exception of it pulling to the right (and wearing my tires). I just drove over 2000 miles with it in this condition but I would like to get it fixed before I head back.

Also, should I take it to a Toyota dealer or find a local shop???

It's a 99 4Runner Limited 4x4 V6

Thanks in advance for your opinion!

 

I am no expert-but I think you have an odd description being used, and an incorrect meaning applied to it.

Your tie rod inners may need replaced at some point. I believe they directly connect to the tie rod outer, with use of a 'crown nut'.

This nut can become "seized" or frozen-meaning locked into place. A torch may be necessary-and even then it can be a nightmare to try to separate these two pieces from one another.

So what happened for me is it was necessary to replace the outer and inner on the passenger side. It was quite costly to have "Tires Plus" supply the parts and labor to do this-around $550.

You should be able to prepare ahead by having all the pieces you might potentially need-be sure they are returnable if you don't need all of them.

Other items to be inspected include the ball joints, steering rack and its bushings. Any competent alignment shop should be able to advise you if this is contributing to your right pull situation.

You may want to try just rotating the tires as well so as to minimize the tendency of your fronts to continue that pattern. Establish a good relationship with a tire shop for regular rotations and free repairs.

I use Firestone for their advice and lifetime alignments, I don't always have them do the work but they see a lot more front end suspensions each day than I ever will.

 

Hmmm... so maybe I should bring it to a shop or dealer and just have them take a look and tell me exactly what the problem is.