Tie Rod assembly failure
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
1999 CLK 320
Tie Rod assembly failure
Hi, New to the board, just got my first Mercedes I have been a Porsche guy. Wife can’t drive a stick and we needed 2 cars she could drive so I had to sell my trusty Porsche. Since we already have a 2001 325i I opted for a 1999 CLK 320. Other than a couple small problems that I consider normal when purchasing a 31k mile car is has so far been trouble free.
I put my new wheels on last night and discovered approx 8mm (yes that much) play in the front left wheel. It is the left side inner tie rod end. The tie rods on these cars seem very small and the end is at a strange angle with a small lateral boot on it (as if it was to move from left to right). At any rate I will not fix this myself as it is under warranty still. Anyone else seen premature failure on these joints? 31k is a very short time to have a chassis part fail.
Thanks
Fletch
I put my new wheels on last night and discovered approx 8mm (yes that much) play in the front left wheel. It is the left side inner tie rod end. The tie rods on these cars seem very small and the end is at a strange angle with a small lateral boot on it (as if it was to move from left to right). At any rate I will not fix this myself as it is under warranty still. Anyone else seen premature failure on these joints? 31k is a very short time to have a chassis part fail.
Thanks
Fletch
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 35,855
Likes: 3
From: Southern CA
If the tie rod has failed, the alignment warranty is not necessary. I had one fail on me, but that was due to the part of an idiot trying to tow my car with by the tie-rod. In his defense, he thought it was the sway bar, but even that is stupid.
