2001 Interceptor version, suspension problems...

[ratherbestrummin]

I recently bought said car from my father, who had just had a great deal of work done to the front end to correct a steering problem. Not long after I got it I noticed an odd popping noise when turning tightly, followed by a moment of erratic steering. It would then return to normal.

To make a long story short, I noticed quickly that the tires weren't turning at the same rate, causing major steering problems and loud noise when driving even at slow speeds. I immediately took it to the chain that had done the work, and by the time I got there it was nigh-impossible to steer. They told me one of the tie rods is warped for some reason, which caused the center link to become misshapen also.

From what I saw this was indeed the case. I also noticed that the idler arm appeared to be bent out of place or simply in the wrong place (due to the other problems) and was rubbing against the center link -- the metal was clearly nicked where they had been touching during turns, but the center link looked otherwise fine. I'm guessing that was the source of the noise I had heard.

So now they want $430 to replace the tie rod (I don't know whether they mean outer, inner, or the whole shabang) and the center link.

Personally, I'm not sure that's such a great deal. I can get the parts for not much over $100 bucks and I have a friend who's a pretty savvy amateur mechanic...and he happens to owe me a favor. I could change a tie rod, but as for the center link (and possibly idler arm), I've never messed with those at all.

So I'm posting to see what others think. Is what they're asking reasonable, and if not, is this something my friend and I could conceivably knock out ourselves? It just seems silly to pay that much money when I might be able to do it for a fourth of that. Moreover, I'm not sure they're being honest about the center link. A few scratches doesn't seem like enough to put it out of service entirely.

Any feedback is welcome. Yes, I'm aware that working on it myself is likely to mess with my warranty/lifetime alignment from the work that was done before.

Thanks in advance.