Do I need an alignment if replacing a tie rod end with OEM end?

[mp223]

I just had it aligned a couple of months ago (and its good) but I'm just trying to save some money. My left tie rod is banging around a bit, assuming the mold of the new tie rod end matches the mold of the old tie rod end, do I need to get an alignment if I can just count the threads and mark the locking nut?

 

[corkey]

make a mark on some masking tape on the rod that comes out of the steering rack and measure from there to the middle of the pin that goes into the spindle,,

after the new tie rod end is threaded on, make that distance the same on the new rod end,,
and
you should be very very close,,

 

[mp223]

Right corkey, I'm familiar with the technique of changing a tie rod end and getting it "close enough" but more poignantly, could replacing a tie rod with slop in the bearing cause the alignment to differ to a degree that it effects tire wear/steering?

 

[FordGT55]

How long ago was the alignment? If the tie rod was bad when aligned then yes you should get it re aligned. Now if you are just doing the outer tie rod I wouldn't worry too much about getting it realigned as not much will change. But if you are doing the inner tie rod and outter I would recommend getting an alignment even if you think you got it pretty close.

 

[mp223]

I'm just replacing 1 outer tie rod. The alignment was 6-7 months ago and was aligned with the bad rod, but the truck drives straight as an arrow.

 

[FordGT55]

If it's just the outter I wouldn't worry about it too much then.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

I'm just replacing 1 outer tie rod. The alignment was 6-7 months ago and was aligned with the bad rod, but the truck drives straight as an arrow.

If the end was bad, they would have had to set extra toe in to make up for the slop. When you get the new end in place, you will loose that extra movement and wind up with an off alignment.

Getting it back to "close" using measurements of the tie rod is simply a guess and being off by as little as 1/16 inch on the tie can translate into a couple degrees out of alignment. You might not notice a lot of pull one way or another but your tires will pay the price. I would suggest set it by the tie rod measurements as best you can then take a tape measure and check the distances from left to right side of the truck for the front and back of the tires. If they are the same then the tires are parallel and you are good to go.

There are write-ups and videos on this sight and youtube that show you how to check the alignment with either the tape measure or string methods. Personally I prefer to use the all-wheel string method to set the front end parallel to the rear axel, but you should not need this since you are only replacing one side.