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Inner tie rods?...

Hi all. How do I check the inner tie rods on my '84 240? Last summer my mechanic said the tie rods/ball joints were shot. This was no suprise to me, the car wanders like a stray dog at a picnic. I had planned on replacing them, as well as front bushings, steering rack boots (torn to shreds)and A-arm bushings. So since there's outer and inner tie rods, is there a way to figure out if it's the outers that cause play on my steering or the inners? Outers are cheap and easy, inners are a bit more change...and that's money I could put into shocks and tires. the car has at least 250,000 miles on it, it had 155,000 when my friend bought it in '92, and it was his daily until he sold it to me ten years later. Also any recomendations in prices? I would much rather invest in things like oem parts and poly bushings for my gt, and even tho the '84 is my daily, i live close to everything and don't put much more than a few hundred miles on it each month. Thanks, and merry Christmas!
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*Jakob Lunden* 1984 242 DL, transitioning from beater to classic, 1979 242 GT improving with age, 1968 Saab 96, impulse purchase








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    Inner tie rods?...

    car parked, engine off, steering locked right or left.

    wheels turned to hard right.

    Have someone move (force) the right tire back and forth front to back while you look @ the outter tie rod end. The wheel will move the amount of slack that's worn. If you see all of that movement in the outer, it's just the outer. If the slack moves farther than what you see on the outer, then the inner is bad.

    The same is true for seeing no slack on the outer, then the outer is good, but the inner is bad. In this case, you should see the tie rod moving back and forth, but no slack from the outer it's self.

    Then wheels turned to hard left, steering locked.
    Same routine for the left front.

    the ball joints can also be checked simularly, but not as reliable. (this assumes that the wheel bearings are good) Put your foot on top of the suspect tire and force inward harshly, repetedly. (watch the ball joint if minor slack) if major and you are certain it's only moving the top in and out and not side to side, then the ball joint needs replaced as well. THIS IS NOT A PERFECT TEST, A BAD BALL JOINT CAN SHOW GOOD IN THIS TEST ON OCCASION.







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