drop links - track rods

[froggy]

Hi, Iam wondering what the life exspectancy of track rod ends and drops links on a car. I have owned my series 1 Xantia for three years, should I be cosidering changing any of these items , cheers T erry . p.s. I travel 24000 miles each year .

[jgra1]

hi Terry.. it varies, especially the drop links.. factors include what make are fitted now, the roads you use, and possibly whether the drop links were given additional grease when fitted..

Some last a few months, some a few years..
I would not replace them unless you can detect movement, or the boots look split (same for track rods)
Track rods easier to detect, jack the wheel and feel for slight play (using the vertical axis, i.e. hands each side of the wheel)
drop links I find harder to diagnose.. as wether the car's weight is on them or not, they are under some load..

John

[Old-Guy]

drop links I find harder to diagnose.. as wether the car's weight is on them or not, they are under some load.. John

When they get bad enough to need doing urgently, you'll hear a loud rattle on broken surfaces at 20-40mph. Most parts of the country have plenty of suitable stretches of road for a test....

[jgra1]

Sorry, quite right OG

I was assuming Terry has no noises but just wanted to change them anyway..

[Old-Guy]

No need to apologise John. I too was making an assumption (two actually); that Terry didn't know about the 'drop-link death-rattle" and that he wouldn't want to change them unless necessary. In view of his 24,000 miles per year, I ought to have added the advice to use Lemforder drop-links and not cheaper alternatives which, from other peoples' reported experiences, might not even last a year!