I just replaced the Tie Rod Ends on my 99 A4 (130K miles) because there was a lot of play in my steering. But there is still play in the tie rods, even felt by moving the steering wheel slightly back and forth. Is this play due to the other half of the tie rod (inner), or could it be something else in the steering. I tugged on the inner tie rods when I had the old outer tie rods off, and I couldn't budge it.

My question is, do the inner tie rods wear and if so how would I get them off. They have a nut on the end, but it just spins freely without threading off the inner tie rod. Looks like I need a special huge long socket on there.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Ocassionally the inners go bad, but they arent common. To remove the inners you turn the wheel all the way to the side you are going to replace. Remove the boot and use a large pair of chanel locks to turn the inner tie rod.

Since you couldnt move them they probably arent the issue. Put the front end in the air and turn the wheels from side to side by hand at the wheel and feel for looseness. If theres looseness at the wheel you have either bad inners or a bad rack. If its inners the large "nut" on the inners wont move while outer tie rod is rocked back and forth. If everything is tight on the wheel side, check inside the vehicle. There is a u joint at the firewall that can get loose. There is also the possiblity of something in the collum being loose.

 

sweet, thanks man. I'll look into it.