Steering now feels very tight and direct, compared to before. Looking at the old rod, it was in no danger of falling apart, but it still makes me more comfortable to have no play in the steering.

Job took around 1.5hr, and since I was only replacing one tie rod, I got the length approximately right and then fine-adjusted it until the car tracked straight. The car has been aligned recently, so the toe angle on the other side should be correct - if the car tracks straight, the toe angles on both sides should be equal when the wheel is centered, right?

Tie rod was a Moog bought from the local auto parts place for $45 - AFAIK, Moog is a decent brand and is unlikely to fail in 6 months. The only thing about the job that was wierd that that the rod was really tight when I bought it, despite being well greased. So tight that the steering felt sticky and notchy for the first few minutes that I drove the car after I was done. This went away after a while and hasn't come back, so I'm not too worried, but is this normal?

Thanks,
-b.