Are there any diagnosis and replacement manuals or videos tie rods on a 960 volvo ?

 

Jack the car up so the wheel with the suspected bad tie rod is off the ground. Throw a jackstand under the car for safety. Now, grab the tie rod, and shake the wheel so the front or back is pulling the tie rod in and out. The ball and socket (where the tie rod meets the rack, usually under a rubber boot) of the tie rod should have no play. If the joint clicks (meaning the ball is moving back and forth in the socket), the tie rod is at the end of its life. Usually, the car will have a vibration at speed that occurs at certain speeds, but not a consistent rpm range. If the car shifts, and the shimmy goes away at the same speed, the shimmy may be caused by something else. By the way, some tie rods require a special tool to remove from the rack (no wrench flats). For these, I use a monkey wrench, and it works fine. Also, a pickle fork is a must have tool to separate the tie-rod ends from the steering knuckle. Since you are already in there, you may want to replace the tie rod ends while you are at it, unless they are new. Best of luck. I just replaced mine recently. Only takes a couple of hours with the right tools. Oh yeah, count the number of turns that the tie-rod ends go to remove, so you can get close to the original alignment until you get to an alignment shop. Be sure to get an alignment soon, tires will get eaten up quickly with a poor alignment.