Coilover conversion and inner tie rod
 

So I took the plunge and went Arnott coilovers conversion. Had a rear shock leaking, and a failing compressor. Had bought Bagpiping Andy's kit to rebuild the compressor, but the shock failed before I could get to it. Conversion cost vs new shock + compressor was negligible, and my Indy won't rebuild the compressor, so that made the decision easier. About $2500 vs $2200 for coilovers.

First impression are pretty good. Ride feels more connected to road, but obviously no adaptive suspension anymore. Sits a touch higher than before, but I'm told it'll settle over time. Being a daily driver, I'm feeling good about the car now, whereas before, there was a constant worry of one of the shocks going bad, which happened.

So I'll be selling my air suspension parts soon, if anyone is interested. I'll post an ad here in a few days.

So when they sent the car for alignment, they found my left inner tie rod bent. To fix, I'm told you have to replace the whole rack
Is this true?

Lemforder show the inner tie rod in their catalogue, but I have no idea where you might buy one. Rock Auto also show 5 in stock(not Lemforder).

NO, definitely not true. Inner tie rod is inexpensive and fairly easy to replace.

Interesting. I'll check Lemforder. Is this a home mechanic using jackstands and basic tools kinda job?

Yes it can be done @ home and most auto parts stores have the wrench you should use on the inner tie rod as part of their "free rental" collection.

Cool! Probably should do both sides at once, yes?

Agreed and get an alignment check when done, unless the replacement part has the exact same length and you can mark the threads. My local tire shop doesn't charge to check an alignment, so for my money, I would align. Also as it's cheap, I'd replace the outer tie rods at the same time, but not necessary.

I highly recommend getting the Lifetime Alignment at Firestone, if you have one nearby. Its paid for itself many times over.

Thanks guys!