Get greasable tie rod ends!

[Homerexplorer]

I've done quite a bit of work on the front end of my Explorer over the last year - upper/lower ball joints, tie rod end on both sides, shocks, both bearing assemblies, stabalizer links, etc. With all of this I was very surprised to hear a front end clunk when I hit bumps. I finally jacked it up last night and found the problem - BAD TIE ROD ENDS!! They were less than a year old with less than 10k miles - no offroading.

I am writing this as advice to the next person that needs to change theirs - do not buy the greaseless TRW's. Get the greasable ones. I called the place where I bought them and their inital reaction was that I could return them for a replacement. That's great, but who pays for the alignment every 11 months? They finally relented and agreed to a refund after they couldn't supply a greasable alternative and I told them I had the original receipt.

 

[Lazzman]

My Explorer has 145k mi on it. I have replaced the upper and lower ball joints at 100k mi, the sway bar bushings, end links and shocks at 125k mi and had the drivers side inner tie rod end replaced by the dealer last November at 135k mi. Dealers who have checked them out say the Tie Rods are ok, but I am skeptical as I have gotten bad answers in the past

How long do tie rod ends last? Which ones are good to buy?

Does it take a long time to replace the outers?

Thanks