i have been hearing clunking sounds from the front of my NA for the past couple of days. I put it up on stands today and couldnt find anything wrong withe my tokico illumina + FM spring setup. Right before i started to put the tire back on, i noticed that the tie rods on both sides were torn. Can anyone confirm clunking noises from torn tie rods? Also, does anyone know where i can buy an aftermarket set that would perform better?

 

turn the steering wheel side to side a little with the car turned off. Not enough to physically turn the wheel, but just the play in the wheel.

 

ok so hear are some pics of what i was talking about.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...n/IMG_1840.jpg

this is picture of the front right side with the wheel turned to the left.
The cover has been torn and it looks like the grease has been leaking.
Is this the trouble I have been hearing?

 

tie rod will usually clunk if it is fuxered. just get an oem replacement.
if you want some performance stuff, you can get modified tie rods to have more steering angle when you d r i f t.

 

The problem is:

Over a period of time, my NA has started to become increasingly harsh over bumpgs at 50 mph and i started to hear squeeking sounds over small bumps at low speeds, like an alley way for example. I've re-installed my shocks + springs plenty of times and everything seems to be fine. This was my first project and i've become an expert and installing this setup. The squeeking has completely disappeared but the horrible bump at 50 mph is still there. It almost feels like the car hits the bump and loses traction for a split second. but the shocks arent BLOWN! that was the first thing i thought. Yesterday when I took another look is when i discovered the tie rod in that condition. Could that be the problem to my situation? I dont think it is tho because i am getting the nooise from both sides, and only one tie rod of broken, the other side is fine. Does anyone know or have any suggestions as to what the problem is?


Where do they sell aftermarket tie rods for a NA?

 

My random guess is the squeak is the sway bar bushings. Mine squeak. Need to grease them one day.

 

to check the tie-rods, put the front end off the ground, grab a tire move it till the steering locks, now grab both tires and try to move them back and forth as if steering the car feeling for any play, if you're not sure reach behind the wheel while doing so and put your hand on joint of the outer tie-rod and the joint under the inner tie-rod. you'll feel it if there's play.

after that i'd look at replacing your motor mounts, cured a host of vibrations, squeaks, and rattles on my car with only 44k miles on it.