I was doing some work on the car today and I noticed both my outer tie rods are shot. The boots are squished flat and completely torn. It doesn't come to much surprise to me since I paid a shop to do the inner and outer tie rods for me (instead of doing it myself). It does surprise me that it was in late November of last year, only 9 months ago. Does that seem right to anybody?

What's the shortest length of time that anyone has had their tie rods last?

I'm thinking that the goon that performed the work took the shortcut and just used an impact wrench instead of counter-holding the rod end and wrenching it down. What do you think? Normal wear and tear or improper installation method?

 

for sure not normal wear, but may be a defective part. if it is only 9 mths, u can always bring it back to them I think

 

Could be a bad part.

I've always felt that a torn boot is the direct result of not holding the end while tightening or using a pickle fork when removing. I had the originals for nearly 10 years and did several jobs (swapped struts, spring seat, control arms) where I needed to disconnect the tie rods. Even when I had the originals replaced, the boots were still intact.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts.