Last night I regrettably slid into a curb and bent a tie rod. Has anybody ever had this happen? If so, what does it cost to fix and is it safe to drive??

 

was someone trying to drift?

the tie rod should be replaced. how old is the rod on the other side? I ask because they should be replaced in pairs.

does anything else look bent ? Those should be replaced too. Unless the mounts are bent your shocks and springs should be okay.

If it's not making the other wheel point way the other direction, you can drive it, but get it fixed quickly.

 

I have never slid into a curb. There are few curbs in autocross.

Visit your Nissan dealer for an estimate. Price a tie rod. Visit an independent shop for installation. Pretty simple.

 

Inner tie Rods are around 60.00 ea. and should be replaced with a new outer tie. Its not a big deal ---Just count threads where it goes to the outer tie. By rights a trip to ur alignment man to center steering wheel and realign is next. course if ur going to do that u mite just as well have him put them in.

"Last night I regrettably slid into a curb and bent a tie rod"----Thats Funny !! Well --Kinda

 

Sorry to hear of your shunt, but rarely do you slid into a curb and "just" bend a tie rod. It's extremely difficult to simply look at the upper and lower control arms, wheel bearing and other parts and make a accurate assessment of the damage. When you think about it, the kinetic force of a 3,200 pound car being rammed into a immovable object usually means that a bent tie rod is simply the part that shows the most damage. It's the tip of the iceburg. Your Z is NOT safe to drive until it gets a full assessment by a suspension pro. Unless you are an experienced mechanic with a laser alignment rack, I'd find one, give him the parts and have him to a four wheel alignment. Be ready to replace additional parts to get your Z back into shape.

David Muramoto
Senior Editor
Nissan Sport Magazine

 

this happened to me a couple of months ago. the rear wheel was bent in at probably a 20-30 degree angle. i replaced both the rods, got an allignment, and everything has felt normal since then.

 

Thank you for your comments - Well it looks like I'm going to need both the inner and outer tie rods replaced + an alignment so far. I'm still waiting to see if there are any additional damages. So far it's costing me $480.