Tie Rod

Have a question regarding a tie rod..... I have a 2006 Ford Explorer....45,000 miles...owned it for about a year.....vehicle involved in an accident about a year ago....the front suspension was replaced....I recently had the tires rotated and oil changed....the service mgr told me that the front right tie rod had play in it and that it looked like it had been damaged in an accident......I told him I would take it back to the original place that repaired from the accident......The body shop could not explain why the tie rod wasn't replaced when the suspension work was done....original mechanic that replaced the suspension said it is not from the orginal accident because the alignment came through okay and if the tie rod was bent/damagaed that it would not have.

SO....I am confused...car only has 45,000 miles on it....it is not driven hard...highway miles and I cannot help but have trouble swallowing the coincidence of all of this.....the front right side is the questionable tie rod.....the right side of the vehicle is the side that had most of the damaged whereas the car was airborne and landed on right side blowing out both tires...
Insurance company will not authorize this repair under the original claim....original mechanic will not cover repair because they claim recent damage..... obviously I am covering the repair because of mine / my family's safety...but don't feel I should have to cover this....

Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated...:runaround:

Tracy <3

If the tie rod is damaged, not worn you have a valid complaint, but this is a cheap part and it may not be worth pursuing this. I assume it is the tie rod end not the inner portion of the tie rod and what is the nature of this " damage"

Tie rods eventually wear out as the vehicle is driven.... and when they wear they ALWAYS develop play.

Accident damage may bend a tie rod, but does not necessarily cause play. It is quite likely the accident bent the tie rod but your mileage produced the play, especially if the tie rod did not get proper maintenance by the previous owner.

So, in all fairness, I somewhat agree with the insurance company. Unless the old tie rod is noticeably bent, they should not have to cover the repair.