2000 Taurus SE Steering & Suspension

The passenger front wheel has 1/2" of side to side play (steering). There is no up/down play (bearings). This movement can be felt with the car raised or not. In the raised position the play is noticed where the steering link connects into the ram or fluid cylinder underneath the car. The Drivers wheel has no play. This is a recent condition and no abnormal tire wear is present. Thanks.

Sounds like an inner or outer tie rod end has given up on you. If outer, not to bad. If inner not so good. If it is like the one on my former '91 model you need a special socket to get the inner one off. Made one up by welding proper sized socket to end of pipe. Has to slip over tie rod to get to nut on rack. Probably better to let garage handle it if that is how it is still. Could be something else too, but would check these for sure. Good luck.

The outer tie rod ends are ok and I can not see the passenger side inner end as it is inside the ram. Thanks for the tip on extended tool. My wife and kids are driving this car on a summer trip in a few days. I expect about 1200 miles of driving over Seven days and need to know if the car is a Safety Risk if not repaired prior? The car drives just fine. I noticed the play when rotating tires/inspecting brakes. Thanks

Turned out to be simple. Replaced inner tie rod and shaft assembly. ($26.00 at Napa) Separate outer tie rod end, remove bellows boot and unit is threaded on. This threaded connection is outside of the sealing area so no fluid mess is nice. No special socket needed.

Sahib, Thanks for the good advice. It worked for me.