JKJeremy

Changing out rotors and brakes i noticed that one of my front passenger side tie rod boots is cracked. Everything is still stock. Tie rod still appears to be fine, has rotational front to back movement, but no up and down or left right movement. Is it possible to just replace the boot and regrease it, or do you have to replace the whole end? How difficult would this be to do? There doesn't appear to be a grease port so can you even pack it with grease if you just replace the boot? At any rate, any advice would be helpful, this is new territory for me, but I'd just as soon do it myself if possible.

karls10jk

The stock unit is a "sealed" system. You can just keep an eye on it until you're ready to replace the unit. If you venture into the sand then you can expect to replace it sooner.

You can call the dealers and see if anyone has a takeoff unit but normally they just adjust them unless they're secretly bent....so there probably won't be many, or any, available. They don't pop up on CL frequently either.

JKJeremy

Well darn. So how hard is it to replace the Tie Rod End, and if you do that then would I need to go have a front end alignment done?

karls10jk

The stock tie rod is not pretty to replace. One end is crimped (not easily replaceable) and the other has a plastic adjuster sleeve. You can buy the assembly from any auto parts store and replace the whole unit.

I opted to 'upgrade' since the price was competitive for a bar with replaceable ends. As far as the alignment- I just measured the stock one in place and then set the new one to the same length. Install then measure again and it was dead on.