Checking the tie rod ends is fairly straightforward. With the car on the ground and the parking brake on, grab a front wheel at 3 O'clock and 9 O'clock and try to move it "back and forth." Observe, or have someone else observe, the tie rod ends for looseness. What you would see is one side of the joint moving but the other side not moving. There are inner tie rod ends and outer ones. One or the other or both could be worn. The wear is usually the same on each side (R and L). Sometimes they are replaceable individually and sometimes you have to get the whole assembly (drag link). For example, on my car I can replace the outers, but for the inners I had to get the whole drag link/steering link.

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra