Question about inner tie rods

[FifiLámour]

Hi guys, hope you are all well and have had a lovely weekend with your families.

At our D3's last service 2 - 3 weeks ago (not with LR), the mechanic identified that our left inner tie rod was loose and would need to be replaced.

In the coming week, I am taking the Disco into LR to have them check it given it is chewing through 18 litres of petrol per 100km. I want to do this prior to its warrantee running out.

Our warrantee ends in October. We have decided not to purchase an extension (discussed in another thread last week) and instead just foot the bill for anything that goes wrong from now on.

Firstly: Is it safe to assume that the tie rod would be changed under the terms of the warrantee? ie It would not be considered to be caused by negligence or faulty management on our part, would it? (While I know we have treated the car well, I cannot speak for it's first owner.)

Secondly: I have been reading up on tie rods. From what I have read, if they change it, the car is going to need a full wheel alignment. Do you think that is correct? Presumably this would also be absorbed under the warrantee?

Just wondering if I am going to be hit up for any $$$$.

Many thanks in advance.

[ADMIRAL]

I can't advise on whether it is covered under warranty, but it is std practice to realign a vehicle after a tie rod replacement. Some will try to line everything up the same as the old rod, but with the alignment settings these days, it is nigh on impossible to line everything up by eye............and remember the old tie rod had play, so your alignment is out anyway.

[rmp]

Paging Sniegy....but if he doesn't respond my view would be that as it's inside the warranty period you'd be fine. I doubt that fault could be ascribed to driver error, although anything is possible.

Alignment...get it done every major service at least. Pays dividends for tyre wear, fuel consumption and handling. Alignments are not expensive, and are not warranty items as they are standard maintenance tasks. However, if an alignment was needed as a result of warranty work then I would expect that it would be covered.

All this is just guesswork, one of the LR mechs would give a better answer but even then it will be up to your dealer. At least we can give you the background.

[FifiLámour]

Thanks guys, that all sounds logical to me. Will help with prepping my expectations for the work that needs to be done on it this week, anyway...

[sniegy]

Fifi,

If there is damage to the tie-rod (has had a hit/careless driving etc!) then i would say that NO it would not be covered.

BUT

If it has failed within the warranty period (which it has) & there are no signs of external damage, Then YES it should be covered under warranty. The alignment is also covered under warranty too as this "will" need to be done to get the vehicle back on the road in Road Worthy condition.

I cannot speak for other dealers, but from my point of view & what i have done for other customers is what i have posted.

Cheers.

[Scouse]

If it has failed within the warranty period (which it has) & there are no signs of external damage, Then YES it should be covered under warranty. The alignment is also covered under warranty too as this "will" need to be done to get the vehicle back on the road in Road Worthy condition.

I cannot speak for other dealers, but from my point of view & what i have done for other customers is what i have posted.

Cheers.

x2

Has it had bushes/ball joints/column shafts yet?

[FifiLámour]

x2

Has it had bushes/ball joints/column shafts yet?

Sorry Scouse, I don't understand that question. I am still learning the lingo let alone understanding what it means .

Thanks Sniegy, you were spot on with that advice.

I spoke with them today and they were just lovely. So different to the last time I was there, so they are back in my good books again, . The mechanic was awesome. He took the time to show me a lot of stuff, including where the air filter was and explained how to open it and clean it etc. Left me wondering if you could request a specific mechanic to work on your car at every service like you do a doctor, .

Anyway...they are actually going to replace the whole rack (?) - both front and back as it seems the back one was a bit loose too. So we will be getting new tyres delivered (Pirelli ATRs were recommended since we are 90% road driving) then they and the racks and the alignment will all be done at once.

With the warranty having 6 weeks to go, I'm really glad I took it there for them to have a good look over it. Wish I'd thought of it for past cars, but I was never really as passionate about them as I am about the Disco. My husband thinks I'm crazy.

So it was all good. Except for when the idiot in the Volvo backed into me and broke my rego plate frame and dented my number plate. Bloody volvo drivers.

[wyperfield]

I just had the Disco's steering tie rods replaced under warranty at it's 48,000 service.
I had not noticed any problem however it was picked up during the vehicle inspection.
The wheel alignment was also done under warranty.
This was the only thread I could find on the topic and wonder now how long they last - 48,000klms is not very much.
I hope they don't need doing again after the same distance.
Anyone else had this issue?

[LeighW]

@ wyperfield, my tie rod ends were replaced by dealer at 120 000km service but had been checked at ALL services before that. Must have been a "less than perfect batch" that has had to have them replaced at less than 100 000km I would assume. (I tow a 2.5T Bushtracker caravan and drive on potholed roads all the time.)

[oldsalt]

My tie rod ends were replaced at 96K ... the dealer said they "could last a while longer" but replaced them under warranty rather than me having a failure out in the bush...all fine now and the D3 just keeps on running like the proverbial Swiss clock...although I'm about to get the auto double flushed just to be on the safe side - just coming up to 115kms on the clock.
cheers