I have some serious play in my front wheels (grabbing at 3 and 9, they move in and out about 1/4"). My car also walks all over the road at certain speeds under certain road conditions. I replaced my outer tie rod ends hoping it was those, but, alas, I can still move the wheel and I can see it is the inner tie rods moving. Question is, is it better to replace the whole rack at this point (with 185k on the clock)? I can get a new rack pretty cheap, looks pretty straight forward to replace as long as I can get a wrench on the mounting bolt nuts which are on top of the cross brace under the engine. I have read replacing the inner tie rods is a royal PIA. So I'm thinking, why not just replace the whole thing? Issues? Ideas? Experiences?

 

I did my whole rack in about 1.5 hours. Very straight forward. Unbolt the tie rod ends, unbolt the rack, pop off the lines, remove and install in reverse order. Then bleed your system by moving your steering wheel lock to lock while filling with fluid until full and no longer squealing. Simple job. You should be able to pick up a used rack for $50-$75. I paid $60 for mine at the local pick and pull.

 

You can get a reman AC Delco r&p unit from rockauto for $115 plus a returnable $75 core charge. And don't forget our 5% discount: https://camaroforums.com/forum/vendo...-2012-a-70576/
Is it worth saving 40 bucks or less getting a junk yard dog, not knowing how long it's gonna last? Not to me it's not.

 

I'm thinking a reman on. Thanks for the rock auto discount link.

 

While I was replacing the rack, I noticed this on the lower control arm. It does not look like a ball joint, its the back mounting point. I'm not sure what you call it, but having it exposed like this can't be good. Is it a bushing or do I need to replace the lower control arms? (both sides are the same way)