CarQuest - EV257 Inner Tie-rod Review

OH NO!! My car failed its annual safety inspection due to worn inner tie-rods. There are two types of tie-rods on most cars (inner and outer), and the inspecting mechanic said that the inner tie-rods on my 1995 Subaru Legacy were shot. He actually showed me the looseness of the tie-rods.

Since I do almost all my own car work, I went to a CarQuest auto-parts store and bought replacement tie-rods. The tie-rods were surprisingly cheap, costing only about $25 each. The rubber boots protecting the tie-rods on my car were cracked and failing, but I had bought those previously and had planned to replace them before. Good thing I didn't replace the boots, as it turned out to be a lot of work to replace the tie-rods, and the boots get replaced when the tie-rods are replaced. My 1995 Subaru used CarQust part number EV257.

What it is

Take a look at the pictures to the above right. (Just click on a thumbnail.) An inner tie-rod is a long straight steel rod that connects the car's steering rack to the outer tie-rod. The outer tie-rod then makes the wheel turn, so that the car can be steered. The fat part at one end of the tie-rod can swivel, so that the steering doesn't bind up.

Almost immediately, I had a problem with the CarQuest EV257. The label on the box says that the part is made in the USA -- that's good. However, the actual tie-rod was enclosed in a plastic bag that had a label saying "Made in China." That's bad. Now I'm not really sure where the CarQuest EV257 was made, but they looked to me like they were made in China. I would have paid more to get US-made parts.

Installation

Despite looking like they were made in China, the CarQuest EV257 tie-rods looked sturdy and like they were an exact fit, so I proceded with the installation. The inner tie-rods fit into rather cramped spaces on my car and it was tricky replacing them. It was also strenuous to get the old ones removed, and that wasn't helped by the cramped location. The first one took about an hour to get replaced, but the second went much faster.

I actually spent a fair amount of time trying to slide the rubber boot over the tie-rod prior to installation. It took quite a bit of effort to slide the boot in place on the first tie-rod, but I learned from that and the second one was much easier. Before installing the new tie-rods, I tried to line them up with the old tie-rods and get the length about equal. This is necessary to prevent major wheel alignment problems, although I planned to get a wheel alignment once the car was back on the road.

The tie-rods came with bendable washers that lock the big end of the tie-rod in place at the end of the steering rack. This washer was not easy to bend in the cramped space, but I eventually got it with a chisel and hammer.

In use

Once the CarQuest EV257 tie-rods were installed, I drove to an alignment shop for a full wheel alignment. I had gotten the tie-rods fairly close to the correct length but they still needed to be adjusted to get the alignment within spec. Driving the car, the steering felt completely normal and the car has been running fine for a month now.

Summary

The CarQuest EV257 inner tie-rods fit my car perfectly. I'd like to see the manufacturer make it a little easier to install the rubber boot and to come up with a simpler way to lock the inside end of the tie-rod to the steering rack. Otherwise, the CarQuest EV257 was the exact fit for my car.

The biggest problem I have with the CarQuest EV257 was the ambiguous country of origin labeling. I was pleased to get parts that were made in the US, only to be seriously disappointed when the inner label said they were made in China. I'd rather they were made just about anywhere other than China, and would be willing to pay more for US-manufactured parts.

Otherwise, the CarQuest EV257 inner tie-rods fit my car fine and work well. I recommend them.