2000 Neon replacing tie rod end?

So I was driving and busted my outer tie rod end... mickey moused it to get home with boot laces to keep it together

long story short, i replaced the tie rod end using the guide in the book i bought at the parts store... i basically did what it told me to do.. but how do i know it is right? i will more than likely need an alignment but how do i know if the overall replacement job was done correctly? i am not a mechanic. i had a little help from a couple people, one of whom was a quasi-mechanic, but i dont know if it was done right (i wasnt about to (or able to afford to)) pay a mechanic 300 to do the job

im going to try to find out how much it will cost tomorrow to have someone look at it and make any adjustments, but can anyone tell me exactly what i should have done?

the replacement part was not oem, it was a little shorter than the oem one so i dont know if it was screwed on the same distance (i had counted about 10 threads when the original one was on with the bolt) but the replacement part didnt use the same part as the factory one, and there are just some other differences too

im rambling

any help would be great

if you got it to fit in , more then likely you did an ok job , you will have to get an allignment done yes but if you have to leave it for a while there should be no large problems unless your wheels are drastically pointing the wrong way. there is an old school way to do a home allignment with a long pole or hockey stick and marking the distance between the fronts and rears of your tires , but it has been a loooong time since i have tried it. Make sure everything is snug for now and when you get an allignment done if anything was seriously wrong ( pretty hard to do ) the shop will be more then happy to tell you since they will try to make some more money off you.

Jack the car up and wiggle the tire from side to side and see if it has play. Compare to the side that you did not replace, should have done though. Then get the alignment done.