Hi, All. Well, I am back in Massachusetts after an almost 3 year foray into Maryland. Well, the mandatory safety inspection of my S70 with 65K miles failed the vehicle for safety because of the bad right outer and left inner tie rod ends. I looked around in archives and found a lot of info on the subject, but there are still a few questions I have.

First of all, what exactly is an inner tie rod end? I suspect it is the actual tie rod itself. At least as far as FCP Groton is concerned as I could not find an inner tie rod end there, but rather the inner tie rod. Am I correct in this? So, if these things cost $19.50 per inner (according to the plate on the wheel well I ned the $19.50 one rather than $18 one) and $16 per outer, should I just replace all four pieces while I am at it? The shop quoted around $350 for the job (left inner, right outer and I assume an alignment). I want to save some money and can see that people have not had too much trouble doing the outers, but what about the inners? Am I asking for trouble? Should I let the pros handle it? I am pretty handy and do most things on the cars myself. I know there maybe a separating tool I need (a fork or a puller type), but what other words of caution? How do inner rods attach to the steering rack? Is it difficult to get them out? I figure if I can get it done myself for under $100 for parts and some of my time, plus another $70 for alignment, I am still ahead by at least a nice dinner out with my lovely wife and kids. What say you, gang?

Thanks in advance as usual!
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Vladimir. '98 S70 base, 5-speed manual - his, '93 945 (approaching 200K miles and rolling on...) - hers