Track rod end replacement

How to tell a track rod end is worn

• There is a knock or clunk from the front over speed bumps, on uneven roads and when turning at low speed.
• The steering feels loose or vague, and the car wanders in ruts.
• The steering wheel is off centre although the car runs straight.
• The inner or outer edge of a front tyre wears faster than the middle.
• The joint's rubber boot is torn, with grease around it.

Many drivers notice nothing, and the play is only found at a service or at the inspection. The inner track rod end, a ball joint, control arm bushes, anti-roll bar links and a wheel bearing cause the same symptoms. So we look on the lift for where the play is before we replace anything.

When a track rod end is replaced

A track rod end has no replacement interval in kilometres or years. It is replaced when the joint has play or the boot is broken. Many track rod ends last more than 100 000 km, and the replacement often comes between 130 000 and 260 000 km. Salted roads, frost-damaged streets and hard knocks shorten a joint's life considerably.

Track rod ends do not have to be replaced in pairs the way shock absorbers do. The joint on the other side has as many kilometres behind it, though, so we check it at the same time. If it is worn as well, both are worth replacing at the same visit, because the toe is set in any case.

How the work is done

1. We lift the car and check the steering. We rock the front wheel side to side and see whether the play is in the outer track rod end, the inner end, the steering rack or elsewhere. We tell you what we found and what the work costs. The work starts only once you have accepted the price.
2. We remove the wheel and mark the old end's position on the track rod thread.
3. We undo the track rod locknut and the taper pin nut. We free the taper from the steering knuckle with a joint separator.
4. We unscrew the old end and screw the new one on at the same point. We tighten the taper pin with a new nut to the manufacturer's torque and tighten the track rod locknut.
5. We refit the wheel, and then the front wheels' toe is set. The toe setting is not included in the price of the track rod end.
6. Finally we road test the car and check that the steering wheel is straight and the steering feels right.

On a car driven on salted roads, the taper has often rusted into the steering knuckle and the end onto the track rod. Sometimes the taper pin nut will not undo but spins with the pin. Then we hold the pin still with a wrench or split the nut, since the old end is coming out anyway. If the outer end has rusted onto the rod so that it will not come off, the whole track rod has to be replaced. We tell you about it and its price before we carry on.

How long it takes

Replacing one track rod end is less than an hour's work on many cars. With the toe setting included, it usually takes 1 to 2 hours. It takes longer if parts have rusted in place, if the inner end is replaced as well, or if the ends are replaced on both sides. We agree when the car will be ready at the same time as the price.

What the price depends on

The price of a track rod end replacement varies from car to car. It depends on:

• Outer or inner end. Replacing the inner end is a bigger job, because the steering rack boot has to come off and the joint is undone from the rack with a special wrench.
• One side or both. If both ends are worn, they are replaced at the same visit and the toe is set once.
• Rust. A taper or end rusted in place adds work, and sometimes the whole track rod has to be replaced.
• Parts. Original and aftermarket parts differ in price. We tell you which parts we use.
• The toe setting. It is always done after the replacement, and it has its own price.

So we check the car and tell you the price before the work starts.

The track rod end and the inspection

At the inspection the steering joints are checked by eye, on a play detector and by rocking the front wheels by hand with the front axle unloaded. Under Traficom's inspection regulation, play in a steering joint caused by wear is grounds for a fail, and in a dangerous case the inspector also bans the car from the road. The same applies to a damaged rod and to a steering part repaired by welding. A torn joint boot and a missing split pin lead to a repair notice.

According to Traficom's statistics, in the periodic inspections of passenger cars in 2025 a fault in the steering joints and rods was grounds for a fail 48 616 times. That is about 6 % of all grounds for a fail, and among single inspection items it was the seventh most common reason for a fail. Only 1 606 repair notices were given for the same item. So when a fault is found in this item, the result is almost always a fail. The statistics do not say how many of the faults concerned track rod ends.

On the inspection certificate the fault is often written like this: «Ohjausnivelet ja -tangot, raidetangon pää, välyksellinen, oikealla edessä ulompi» (steering joints and rods, track rod end, play, front right outer). Bring the certificate with you, and we see straight away which side and which end it is. If the certificate names other faults too, we carry out inspection repairs to the whole fault list.

What you can check yourself

• Turn the steering wheel to full lock and look behind the front wheel with a torch. If the track rod end's rubber boot has cracked or there is grease around it, the joint will soon wear loose.
• With the engine running and the car standing, turn the steering wheel from side to side and listen for a click or a knock from the front wheels.
• Look at the edges of the front tyres. If the inner or outer edge has worn clearly more than the middle, the toe may be out.
• Leave testing for play to us. Rocking a wheel needs the car lifted, and nobody should go under a car that stands on a jack.

When not to drive the car

A track rod end with slight play can usually be driven to the workshop, but a time is worth booking soon. If the car failed the inspection without a driving ban, the law says the fault must be repaired as soon as possible. Do not keep driving if

• the steering feels clearly loose or the car will not hold its line
• there is a loud knock from the front at every turn
• the steering wheel suddenly went off centre, for example after hitting a kerb
• the inspector banned the car from the road.

A badly worn joint can come apart, and the wheel then no longer steers. A car under a driving ban may not be driven until the fault has been repaired and the car has passed the inspection. In that case the car comes to the workshop on a tow truck, unless the inspection station has issued a certificate that allows moving it to the nearest repair place.