After the passenger side tie rod dropped off during my parking attempt in the airport lot (not on the road!) enroute to a 3 week overseas job, on return home yesterday I can report:
1) a feeling of being really really lucky--I was running about 75 mph for the hour before the tie rod fell off (!), and
2) new front end stuff: tie rods left & right, seals, ball joints, hub seals, orings and dust guards and an alignment.
Parts ran $800, labor was $160 for the tie rods and all 4 ball joints (with grease fittings!) ran $570, at LFD nearby. Tow was $100, and I made my flight somehow, and enough to pay this too.
Service manager also reported the shocks were loose, and wanted to replace, but instead I ordered two re-replacement Rancho 9000 shocks and installed them today (3rd pair on truck since I've owned it 11 years ago, lifetime warranty). The driver side was shot but not at all loose, and the passenger side shock seemed fine except that it was indeed loose, and the lower hole was sorta oblong (there's a metal tube/insert on the bottom that the bolt runs thru). These have been on the truck about 3, maybe 4, years.
The shocks snugged up nicely but I notice that each has the slightest amount of twisting freeplay, that is, I can rotate the lower part of the shock ever so slightly back and forth in its mount -- it's just not quite totally snugged up. The bolts for the bottom mounts are an oddball combination, with a locking tab on the nut that keeps it from backing off. Since they're original I was thinking I should replace them, and the nut/washer/absorber combo thingy on top too (whatever it is called...). The play seems to be a mismatch in the length of the metal insert in the shock, compared to the width of the mounting arm bracket. But it's a very small rotation.
1. Thoughts on the slight rotation/play?
2. Can anyone recommend where to find these bolts/nuts (and the top ones too)? I've searched the web for about 30 minutes and am not having any luck...
3. Do I need to redo an alignment after replacing shocks?
thanks!
PS: those are some weird socket size combinations: an 18 mm for the top nut/washer, 13/16 for the bottom nut/lock stud combo and a sloppy 15 mm on the bottom bolt head.
1) a feeling of being really really lucky--I was running about 75 mph for the hour before the tie rod fell off (!), and
2) new front end stuff: tie rods left & right, seals, ball joints, hub seals, orings and dust guards and an alignment.
Parts ran $800, labor was $160 for the tie rods and all 4 ball joints (with grease fittings!) ran $570, at LFD nearby. Tow was $100, and I made my flight somehow, and enough to pay this too.
Service manager also reported the shocks were loose, and wanted to replace, but instead I ordered two re-replacement Rancho 9000 shocks and installed them today (3rd pair on truck since I've owned it 11 years ago, lifetime warranty). The driver side was shot but not at all loose, and the passenger side shock seemed fine except that it was indeed loose, and the lower hole was sorta oblong (there's a metal tube/insert on the bottom that the bolt runs thru). These have been on the truck about 3, maybe 4, years.
The shocks snugged up nicely but I notice that each has the slightest amount of twisting freeplay, that is, I can rotate the lower part of the shock ever so slightly back and forth in its mount -- it's just not quite totally snugged up. The bolts for the bottom mounts are an oddball combination, with a locking tab on the nut that keeps it from backing off. Since they're original I was thinking I should replace them, and the nut/washer/absorber combo thingy on top too (whatever it is called...). The play seems to be a mismatch in the length of the metal insert in the shock, compared to the width of the mounting arm bracket. But it's a very small rotation.
1. Thoughts on the slight rotation/play?
2. Can anyone recommend where to find these bolts/nuts (and the top ones too)? I've searched the web for about 30 minutes and am not having any luck...
3. Do I need to redo an alignment after replacing shocks?
thanks!
PS: those are some weird socket size combinations: an 18 mm for the top nut/washer, 13/16 for the bottom nut/lock stud combo and a sloppy 15 mm on the bottom bolt head.
