I have 2 dilemmas (a quartlemma?). 1) I don't know if I should have a lot of the front-end work (i.e. tie-rod end and king pin replaced) done simultaneously, or just the essential. 2) I don't know who to bring the car to.
1) I have a 1965 Ghia (with a 1600cc dual-port engine). When I bought it ~6 months ago, I had a lot of work done on it (transmission rebuild, breaks fixed, wheel barrings replaced). Yesterday, I took it to a second mechanic and we noticed that right (passenger-side) inner tie-rod end is very worn. When we moved the right wheel, the connection to the steering connector was very sloppy. It looks dangerous and I want to replace it. But should I have the other tie- rod ends replaced at the same time, even if they look OK? The left outer tie-rod end boot is a little cracked.Both mechanics noticed play in the left king pin, but were able to grease the king pin and eliminate most of the play. It doesn't look as dire as the tie-rod end, on the other side, but should I replace the king pin and linking pins at the same time? I'd like to do the minimum to be safe and prevent further damage.
From reading the Muir book, it seems that wheel alignment after one tie-rod end replacement shouldn't be too complicated. If I had all the parts worked on, then alignment might be more difficult and costly.
2) Grrrr. I need to buy tools, especially a jack, and start learning how to do this stuff on my own. But the tie-rod end doesn't look like it can wait for that.Does anybody know a great aircooled VW mechanic in the San Francisco Bay Area (I'm in Palo Alto, on the Penninsula)? I'm not sure I should go back to the first mechanic (who didn't notice the dangerous tie-rod end) or the second mechanic (who doesn't seem to do a TON of work on aircooled, but probably could do the job 1000 times better than I could).
-Sam
P.S. I sent this same question to the KG listserv, so I hope too many people didn't have to see it twice!