My mother's 1992 Ford Escort has a worn power rack and pinion assembly. There is end play in the right side that measures 1/8 inch at the tire tread. I am guessing there is about 1/16 inch play at the tie rod. Is this an acceptable amount of wear? I am not worried about toe so much as the chance of failure of the steering assembly. I don't know how much this is affecting handling, as she also has a tire that has a bulging tread that is causing it to pull badly.
mike , i've never seen an escort that did not have at least that much play in it. don't sweat it going out. get mom another tire, or better yet, get her a couple new ones for the front. if those old tires weren't wearing well, and you think you have an alignment problem then you should go ahead and spring for mom a front end alignment. remember, x-mas is just around the corner.....
I was about to suggest two new front tires as Mom's Christmas present, but if one of them has an aneurysm big enough to see and to cause a bad pull to one side, a Thanksgiving present would be better. Maybe even a pre-Thanksgiving present (beat the crowds). For that matter, if you really want to be safe you should probably install the donut spare on that corner in order to drive to the tire shop.
Even if it's one of the zoomier Escort variants and you want it to be properly shod, the cost should be in the low three figures; a pair of pretty decent tire for regular Escorts shouldn't even be that much. If you are feeling the long-range Christmas spirit here, and have reason to believe the two rear tires have been exposed to similar duty for about as long, especially if they're also of the same brand, might as well do 'em all.
Everything else that might be wrong with the car is a nit, compared to the presence of a tire that could pop with little warning and has an effect on handling that could put her into either an oncoming lane or the sidewalk or ditch without continuous steering input. Yoiks!
mike, there ain't nothing to it....just get after it and remove the old one. once you look at it ...you'll see. try counting the threads that are showing on your old tie rod and make sure that the same number show on the new one when replaced. that way you cant get bad off.
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