Front Suspension Advice

Got new rubber (Nexen N500 225/45/17) and went for the alignment but the the said my passenger side tie rod (inner) is clunking. I confirmed (put hand on tie rod and had the tech shake the wheel).

No biggie my baby has 127K on the clock and even though 90% of those are I-81/66 btwn DC and Roanoke I suppose things wear out.

My plan is to order the tie rods (inner and outter) and ball joints, install them then go back for the alignment.

Is this a good idea? How difficult are the tie rods/ball joints to install ? I have a separator for the ball joints and tools. Any particular brand for the parts? OEM, MOOG, etc

Could get a Whiteline RCA kit which has everything you want in it;

http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_detail4.php?part_number=KCA313

As long as your car isn't in the rust belt, it's pretty easy to do.

Got new rubber (Nexen N500 225/45/17) and went for the alignment but the the said my passenger side tie rod (inner) is clunking. I confirmed (put hand on tie rod and had the tech shake the wheel).

 

No biggie my baby has 127K on the clock and even though 90% of those are I-81/66 btwn DC and Roanoke I suppose things wear out.

 

My plan is to order the tie rods (inner and outter) and ball joints, install them then go back for the alignment.

 

Is this a good idea? How difficult are the tie rods/ball joints to install ? I have a separator for the ball joints and tools. Any particular brand for the parts? OEM, MOOG, etc

The install isn't that difficult, and the Whiteline KCA313 is very OEM-like. IIRC it can be found for ~$175. I'm not sure how much the OEM replacements cost. Just make sure you have plenty of AeroKroil to loosen things up if there's rust. Since you're in NOVA there's sure to be some