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Turn the steering wheel so the tie rod is fully extended toward you on the side in question, jack up that side of the car & support with jackstand. Squeeze the tie rod through the rubber boot and feel where the inner rod end is. Put your thumb against it, and rock the wheel back & forth - if the inner end's loose, you'll feel it. You can also pull the boot clear of the rack after cleaning the area & cutting the zip-tie securing it, to see exactly where to feel for play if you're unsure. To replace the tie rod end, first loosen the jam nut locking the rod end to the tierod, & using vise-grips or a small pipe wrench break the tie rod free from the rod end - these often seize badly in my eastern Canadian climate, and are near impossible to remove if you detach the rod end from the steering knuckle first. Once that's loose, use an impact wrench if available to remove the nut securing the tie rod end to the steering knuckle. If no impact wrench it can be tricky; try putting a jack under the tie rod end to keep it pressed into place so it doesn't spin when you get the nut partway off. Once the nut is off, use a sizeable hammer and strike the steering knuckle squarely from the front, where the rod end goes through it. After a couple of strong blows the rod end will drop out. Seems crude, but the hammer method has never failed me even when fork-type tie rod removers have proved useless and I've never caused any damage this way except to tie rod end threads, not an issue if replacing the rod end. Good luck & take care!
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