Downside of taking the car to the shop
 

The mechanic finds other things wrong that need to be fixed.

The upside - I took the wagon into the shop to get a block heater installed. I also had them look into the thumping noise the the car has been making while turning right, as seen in my previous posts. Got that figured out. The tie rod end on the driver side it the wrong one and it is too long. So when I turn it rubs on the wheel wieght. The weight has been pushed 180 degrees off from where it should be.

The downside - They tell me there is a vibration at high speeds. And it turns out it could be the drive shaft being out of balance or the cv joint going bad, and it is going to cost me like $500 to get it fixed. I'll have to fork over the cash and have them do it soon.

So now I need to decide if I want to change the tie rod end. I've never done one. Are they difficult?

If you have a nifty little separator, the tie rods are fairly easy. Measure them very closely so you don't wear out your tires on the way to the alignment shop.

How do they know that the vibration isn't from a flex disc or the carrier bearing? It's not like you went baja-ing with it, is it??

uh oh ever since i change my original wheels to the 8 spoke 16in. wheels from a 93 or so s-class i had that thump when i made u turns. i guess its the same problem that you had! how can i fix it?? anyone have pics?

It was suggested to me to put the wheel weight on the outside of the rim instead of the inside. or use some of that weighted tape they have. Then the tie rod end won't hit the wheel weight. But in my case it has the wrong rod end and they don't even cost $10 so I will probably change it.


It could be the carrier bearing or a flex disc. I didn't go bajaing, but I did just recently sort out all my hard shifting and vacuum problems. The tranny was clunking pretty good for quite awhile.