According to Toyota, an average car has approximately 30,000 different components, including nuts and bolts. While that’s the fact, it’s unfortunate that we only know a few of them. The tie rod is one of the most essential components of a car but people hardly talk about it like they do for other parts, such as the brake pads and tires.
The tie rod is a component on your car that’s responsible for connecting your front wheels. Apart from connecting the wheels, this unit is also one of the factors that make steering possible. Yes, in good working conditions, your car’s tie rods will provide you with smooth and responsive steering.
However, tie rods aren’t without their issues. When worn out, these components can cause your front wheels to become shaky. Also, a defective tie rod can cause misalignment to your front tires. However, if the tie rod breaks, it could cause your tire to flop to one side. With that, you won’t be able to steer your car.
What exactly is a car’s tie rod and how does it work? What are the warning signs to know that your car’s tie rods are defective? What will happen if your vehicle’s tie rods break while driving? These and more are the frequently asked questions that you’ll find answers to as you read through the rest of this article.
What is a car’s tie rod and how does it work?
Before going ahead to talk about the effects of having a broken tie rod, let me start by talking about what “tie rods” mean. If you already know how the component functions, you can always jump to the next section of this post.
For the sake of those who don’t know what tie rods are, these components, as earlier stated, are engineered to connect your vehicle’s steering arm to the steering rack in front of your car. They are often made of high-strength steel. Furthermore, tie rods have two different sections; the outer section, called the tie rod end, and the inner end.
We often hear people talk about the engine, battery, and some other components as the most essential parts of a car. There’s no doubt about that, but you need to understand that the list isn’t complete without the mention of tie rods. Why?
It’s pretty simple; without the tie rods, there’s no way you can steer your vehicle. That’s so because the device acts as the pivot point between a couple of car components, including steering rack, steering arm and steering wheel, that make steering possible. That’s not all about the device; it also makes it possible for the drivers to turn their vehicles.
Your car tie rods consist of a few different components; one of them is a rounded area, which packs several bearings. These bearings are there to enable you steer your vehicle regardless of where you’re operating the car. Also, the rods are designed to have bodies – during driving, they are responsible for transmitting movements into the stud of the ball joints.
Also, most tie rods often come with grease fittings, these allow the ball bearings to fit quickly and easily.
What are the warning signs to understand that your tie rod ends may be bad?
As earlier mentioned, the tie rods are one of the most important safety components of a car. Without them, it becomes pretty difficult for drivers to steer their vehicles. Since your tie rod is pretty much essential to your car, knowing the warning signs it’ll give when it’s not in good conditions will save you a lot of stress.
That said, you can check below to see some of the symptoms of a bad tie rod:
- Shaky steering wheel
If you’ve been driving your car for a while, I’m sure you already know how the steering wheel feels when you drive your car around. However, if all of a sudden, you started feeling unusual when using the steering wheel, it could mean that your tie rod is defective.
Speaking of the unusual feeling that comes from the steering wheel, this could be that you’re experiencing a shaky or vibrating wheel. These unusual vibrations often get worse when you try turning your cars in a corner.
- Too much wear and tear on your tires
Having too much or excessive wear on your car tires could also be a good sign that you have a bed tie rod. To check for this type of issue, you’ll need to compare the edges of your tires, both inside and outside. Any sign of too much wear on one edge of the tire while the other one only fairly wears out, is a good symptom of bad tie rods.
- Having a squealing sound
Do you hear a squealing sound whenever you drive your car? If yes, you need to understand that it is not a good one at all, especially if the sound is consistent and constantly coming. A squealing sound is usually loud and high-pitched. If you often hear squealing sounds coming from your car every time you try turning the vehicle, this could be a sign that your tie rod is not in good working conditions.
What happens if your vehicle’s tie rod breaks while driving?
As you already know, tie rods are the devices that make it possible to connect the front wheels. They work by “transmitting motion” or “sending movement” to the front hub from the steering rack.
With a failed or broken tie rod, the main thing that’ll be affected is the steering system. Yes, your vehicle’s tie rod breaks, there’s no way you’ll be able to steer the car.
Here’s the thing; the front hub won’t be controlled by the steering wheel, instead, it moves freely without depending on the steering. Furthermore, a broken tie rod will most likely end up causing one of the tires to fall to one side.