Anyone change their inner tie-rod end? (And other front-end maintenance questions)

I'm planning on doing some work in the next couple months on the steering bits of my P5. I'd like to change my wheel bearings, control arms, and tie-rod ends. I'm curious if our inner tie-rod ends are prone to failure and if it's worth the trouble of learning how to change them (the overview of the procedure in the service manual seems quite complex).

I ask because I'm a little worried about a clunking sound I hear when the car is stationary and I turn the wheel back and forth pretty fast (45 degrees off-center in both directions). I don't ever hear that sound while driving which leads me to believe that it's not too serious (or perhaps it's even a normal sound). I'm hoping it's an outer tie-rod end since mine look pretty s***, I think the driver-side one is even leaking grease.

Finally, is it worth changing my axles and/or joint-shaft while I have the hubs off? Mine are rusty but the dust boots look surprisingly good. I don't know if this is anything to worry about, but last time I was looking at them I noticed that the rubber bit in the middle of the axle was starting to disintegrate. I have no idea what that rubber is for, anyone care to enlighten me?
 
No responses? :(

I looked into how to change an inner tie-rod today, and from some videos I've seen on youtube it doesn't look all that hard. I just need to get one of those inner tie-rod removal tools... But I'm still not sure if it's actually worth doing, thoughts?
 
If they have any play, or they're leaking grease, replace them. Your axles should be fine. I showed my dad the disintegrating rubber on my axles; he ripped it off and said problem solved. The axle is solid behind the rubber, maybe it's there for ease of installation/removal?
 
I'd just try to move each jacked-up wheel side to side and feel for slight play. If any, trace it down to what's moving. If the inner ends aren't making play, I'd not mess with them. It's easy enough to address them later if they do wear out. Really same for the outer tie rod ends, tho if the boots are going, I'd be more prone to replace them while it's apart.

As for the rubber, i wanna say it may be a balance/vibration damper deal. If it falls off it might explain a vibration.(?)

The axle shafts are fairly cheap. But if the boots are good and you don't have any clucking noise cornering, I'd probably keep them. You might want to break them loose now and lube the splines with antiseize for easy pulling when they do go. Check the inner joints for play too. They don't cluck cornering - they vibrate under straightline acceleration.
 
They don't cluck cornering - they vibrate under straightline acceleration.

Is it a constant or intermittent vibration? I think I experienced that last night, but I thought it was the road. Around here the roads are so bad it's very hard to tell if the car is broken or the road is just s*** :(

The thing is, a lot of the parts I mentioned are really cheap, inner and outer tie rods can be had for less than $100 shipped. So I figure instead of replacing one part at a time, trying to figure out what's wrong I can just throw some money at the problem and just buy everything new. New parts gives me peace of mind and it saves me a bunch of trips across the border.

Of course I'll take the time to inspect everything properly (hopefully this weekend), do you know if there's anything I can do to inspect the inner CV joint?
 
easy way to solve your what to replace dilema... if you're going to have all of those things off, hub and what not, might as well go for the axles while you're at it. if you have the skills and time go for it, it'll save you in the long run from having to rip off everything again to do them. also good time for brakes or SS lines if you need/want them
 
1. The rubber piece on the axle is a balancer. Acts sort of like a counter weight, if removed it may add a vibration, but should not affect performance.
2. What to replace. I'd do everything, in fact I am in my build thread. I just did the Lowe control arms and will be doing inner/outer tie rods and CV shafts along with new shafts seals for the trasnmission and new wheel bearings. If I were you, since you will have it all apart, spend the cash and replace it all:

CV Shafts
Inner/Outer tie rods
Transmission seals for axles
Wheel Bearing Seals for axles
Lower Control Arms

Not only is it piece of mind, but it stops you from having to keep getting under the car to replace these items as they fail. If you dust boots are busted an oozing, I imaging you're in excess of 100k miles on the chassis. If the above parts are not bad yet, they will be soon; save a headache.
 
1. The rubber piece on the axle is a balancer. Acts sort of like a counter weight, if removed it may add a vibration, but should not affect performance.
2. What to replace. I'd do everything, in fact I am in my build thread. I just did the Lowe control arms and will be doing inner/outer tie rods and CV shafts along with new shafts seals for the trasnmission and new wheel bearings. If I were you, since you will have it all apart, spend the cash and replace it all:

CV Shafts
Inner/Outer tie rods
Transmission seals for axles
Wheel Bearing Seals for axles
Lower Control Arms

Not only is it piece of mind, but it stops you from having to keep getting under the car to replace these items as they fail. If you dust boots are busted an oozing, I imaging you're in excess of 100k miles on the chassis. If the above parts are not bad yet, they will be soon; save a headache.

Sounds like a plan :)

What axles are you using? The rockauto ones look a little cheap (they're only $50 each though).
 
Actually the girl I bought my car from had a new set already in the car. Personally I would buy locally solely for the lifetime warranty; I favor Napa. I know Autozone and Napa offer this warranty, not sure what is local to you though. To be honest the majority of aftermarket axles are manufactured in the same plant and then rebranded. $50 sounds about average, but I wouldn't want the hassle of shipping back axles if they break.
 
Actually the girl I bought my car from had a new set already in the car. Personally I would buy locally solely for the lifetime warranty; I favor Napa. I know Autozone and Napa offer this warranty, not sure what is local to you though. To be honest the majority of aftermarket axles are manufactured in the same plant and then rebranded. $50 sounds about average, but I wouldn't want the hassle of shipping back axles if they break.

Do yours have those rubber dampers? All the ones I've seen don't really look the OEM ones, and Mazda wants more than $200 per axle. I'm worried that I'll buy these $50 axles then have them break a few months down the road.
 
I checked this morning and the only thing that seems wrong is the driver-side inner tie rod end (there's a bit of play). So I'll definitely be changing both of those :)

EDIT: Anyone know what size the nut is on the end of the inner tie rod? I just want to make sure I buy the right removal tool.
 
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It’s a 1 1/4” wrench. 57ft lbs is the torque. No real special tools required, although it’s a good idea to replace the lock wire on the dust boots.
 
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