Symptoms of bad tie rods?
 

Inner or outer. I am looking for information on both.

Thanks!

I have a bad inner tie rod on the passenger side which was found when I went for an alignment. Symptoms are a tendency for the car to follow minor road imperfections, meaning there's a tug on the wheel on either side over less than perfect road surfaces. It's quite easy to isolate, just jack up the car & firmly grab the tire at 3 & 9 o'clock positions. Try to move it in & out, if there's movement take a look at the tie rod as you do this. On my car, I can see the play & hear the metallic thunk as the inner tie rod moves. I suspect the outer tie-rod will be similar to spot.
Good luck!

Thanks for the post. I will try this when I get home.

BTW what symptoms do you have?

Yeah same thing as said above. I have Toyo Proxe's in the front which are known to follow the road imperfections but I had the same issue...I went for an alignment at sears and they told me I had bad tie rods (I hit a deer a few months ago and then ran over it after hitting it - lol) so I think the deer did something to mine.

It sounds very similar to what you were experiencing. When I hit a bump the car will pull to one side or the other. The steering wheel just kinda turns in my hand.

is there a picture to show where the inner/outer tie-rods are? i'd like to check this as well, but then i wouldn't know where to look -.-

Coincidentally, I'm getting mine replaced right now :). I can't do it myself because of the special tool required. Just heard from my mechanic that the steering booth is busted, so that has to be replaced also...oh well as cars age, things wear out.

Here's an excellent write-up with pictures on how to replace it.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/348507/13

I got it from this thread that addressed sloppy steering. I've just replaced my lca's too.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=391391

sound like the same symptoms I'm having. Are tie rods expensive? is it something I can attemp to replace myself? (I've done my own alternator and starter)

See post above regarding replacement. You need the right tool, it's not that hard otherwise. Cost varies from really cheap eBay ones to Nissan OEM. You can get very good quality MOOG or TRW ones cheaper than dealer (like most parts). My mechanic got mine for $65CAD, I'm not sure who makes it, I'll ask him.

Thanks for the info.