Replace these tie rods?

I would if you are in there. If not I would leave them if they don't have any play in them.

I've got some wandering issues with the van on the freeway and I don't have time to do any work on the van right now (in the middle of a move). I've had two separate shops evaluate and both have said nothing is wrong with the van. I don't trust them as the sway bar end links are definitely shot, and the tie rods look iffy to me. 

WWGRM do?

I don't have the time to do it myself, and I want this fixed within the week. Thinking about going back  to the second shop, which is just a BigO, and saying "Please just replace them."

Wandering at highway speeds sounds like caster issues. Has alignment been checked?

Yep, it’s in spec, somewhere in 3.5 to 4.2 degrees L and r. Not a lot tho.

You got me thinking about seeing if Ican get them to add some caster sleeves.

CyberEric said:

I've got some wandering issues with the van on the freeway and I don't have time to do any work on the van right now (in the middle of a move).

Is it a Ford?  They like to wander around quite a bit.

If the tie rod ends don't allow movement of the wheels, then there isn't much wrong with them.  If you replace them with a $7.00 tie rod, they will need to be replaced before those originals would be actually worn out.

If they aren't sloppy, I'd grease them and run them. 

The last Ford van I owned ran 400k+ and I never replaced the tie rods or ball joints. They did get greased on a regular basis. 

In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :

When I grab the tire and try pushing/pulling, there didn’t seem to be much play. That’s how they how to check right?

What kind of grease do you use? I’ve got some reddish- purplish wheel bearing grease that says it’s for chassis parts too. I’ve also got clear some silicone grease.

Thanks for the tip on greasing the bushings. I’m thinking of putting it on all the chassis bushings.

I went ahead and booked an appointment for Friday with alignment shop that isn’t willing to add some caster sleeves. Fingers crossed!

Any kind of general-purpose grease will work. I have two guns. One with general moly grease, one with marine grease. I use the moly grease in ball joints.

To check for slop, you can either put someone in the truck with the engine running and have them turn the wheel back and forth. or jack it up and see if the wheel moves when you wiggle it. Jacking it up will let you check the wheel bearings and tie rods at the same time. 

If it's a Ford E series, make sure the alignment shop takes its measurements with a load in the front to simulate a driver in the driver's seat. The tech hanging from the sway bar works. Fords are known for camber changes as load changes. If they do it right it won't eat tires. 

And for the love of maintenance, clean the grease fittings before you put the grease gun on, otherwise you will pump grit in there and shorten their lives more than if you would have left them alone.

Thank you all!

Does it wiggle ot bang when you jack the wheel up and shake it left to right?

Not sure, I haven’t had time to get a jack under it. Maybe I’ll have time today. With this move I barely have time to write this.