hi everyone,

so, i took it in for an alignment and the shop says it needs new inner tie rods. i am considering doing it myself. they want $450.00 99 each for the tie rods, 150 for the labor, and 81 for the alignment.

how can i tell if they are bad, the inner tie rods? and how difficult are they to replace? i shook the outer tie rods and they seemed solid.

thanks for any suggestions


p.s. I had some stalling awhile back and after searching the forum a bit i replACED THE FUEL PUMP RELAY AND IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM!! THANKS

Thats a HUGE price to pay.

Aside from visual inspection and looking for the damaged bushing?

Well, you can lift/jack the tyre up, and put your hands at 3 & 9 oclock, and try to shake the tyre. If the tyre can move, then its not 100%.

If i remember it right, if you shake position 6 and 12 oclock, and it moves, the end-links/drop-links need attending.

+1

thanks,

i'll jack it up and give it a shakin. the inner tie rods don't look easy to access.
anybody have any experience and / or tips for replacing them?

I have done the tie-rods before, and its quite straight forward. Definitely need jacking.Maybe just keep a prybar or crowbar handy.

Actually, now that i read it again, what do you mean by INNER tie-rod? The ball-end?

Yeah, what he said ^

I'm confused too. I wasn't aware this car even had inner tie rods. Steering rack, with outer tie rod ends, right? I think someone is trying to hose you good. Find a new shop.

Hey Rosso,

Lets see if we can second-guess what he meant by the INNER tie rod:-

1) Ball end on the steering rack
2)
3)
4)

I was thinking something got lost in the translation from the shop to the OP, then from the OP to us here. My thought was maybe a steering rack, which would be about the price he mentioned, but he said they quoted him that price "each". As far as I know, there aren't two steering racks.

Beyond that, I'm not too familiar with Volvo's specific layout, so I couldn't really hazard a guess. I'll be crawling under one of mine today to satisfy my curiosity. Really though, I can't imagine what would need to be replaced that there would be at least two of, and cost $450 each. It doesn't make sense.

My guess is that it's just a bad shop. I had a guy at an alignment shop tell me just a couple months ago that I needed all the bushings in the rear suspension replaced, and that was why my car was getting loose in corners. Turns out both front ball joints were bad. Obviously that guy was either incompetent or a crook. They're out there still....

OK, i'll try to dig something up from Vadis on the picture of the steering rack.

OK, found one.

After looking at the pic you posted, I guess they could mean that, but I can't imagine a shop doing that, no matter how horrible they were. That would be sorta like replacing the main shaft in an axle assembly but keeping the used CV joints. You wouldn't do that....you'd just replace the entire axle assembly. Same here. You'd just replace the rack.

I'd get a second opinion.

O.K. so, they said the inner tie rod. i searched for the parts first @ rock auto and they run 15-30 $. I checked the "outer" tie rod w/ ball joint and they feel tight - the ball joint is secure and doesn't clunk when shaken.

I do experience vibration around 60mph and the outer front tires are wearing unevenly. the inner tie rod is the baffler for me too. I would feel confident replacing the the outer tie rod end. they are accessible and pretty straight forward, right? take off the nut on the ball joint, bang it out with a pickle fork or balljoint puller and unscrew being careful to measure the threads to maintain about the same alignment, then screww them on and get it aligned.

in the picture you posted I think it is #7, the inner tie rod. the attachment to the rack is what concerns me and accessibility to the rack seems like it could be an issue.

thanks for talkin this one out while i was away. i don't get to check and reply as frequently as i would like as i'm a busy father of a two year old and have a crazy schedule :thumbsup:

:thumbsup: the shop is Les schwab and they gave me a printed quote
parts says tie rod end 2 @ 99.13 each seems pricey
and labor says tierod end inner on rack and pinion - installation 2@ 75.00 each

and four wheel alignment 81.00

total quote 444.63

to me i guess the parts seem expensive and the labor resonable what do you think?


thanks for you input

dude, you can do the work. if thats what you need. then take it in for the alignment. how is the top hats on the struts? your bushings on the total system?
shops will bait you in with the printed quotes then will hit you with the saftey list must do's. beware, volvos are expensive and shops know it, ive found that even here locally the shops beg to work on it. No Way, i do it myself. good luck
dealer here is 95.00 an hour..... rediculous. :lol:

OK, now I get it. In your first post, I got screwed up with the prices. I thought it was just a typo and I read it as "$450.99 each for the tie rods."


I've never been a fan of Les Schwab. Just personal opinion...lots of people love 'em. I don't. Every shop makes money on the parts, but they seem to do it excessively well. And the labor is only reasonable if you actually need what they're selling you.

I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I can't imagine that inner rod wearing out, ever. All it really does is sit in that cup and push or pull the outer tie rod in or out when you turn the wheel. It's range of motion as it pivots up and down with suspension travel is minimal too, so how does something like that wear out? I'd still get a second opinion, even if you just take it to WalMart. The kids they hire there are generally smart enough to find a worn tie rod end, but haven't been doing it long enough that they know how to rip you off yet.

And does this car even need a 4 wheel alignment? I don't recall there being any adjustments on the rear, but I could be wrong.


In addition to my Volvo sickness, I have 2 Diamante's. I was at the Mitsu dealer and they told me they were charging between $95 and $118 per hour depending on what the repair was. Electrical was $118. That was three years ago. I haven't been back since.

Err, actually, the steering ball-end IS sold separately. And of the years i've owned by Volvo, i've already changed them, at least once.