How much (if any) tie rod end play is normal?

[jaymac]

I STFA, and was told "sorry-no matches".
I've been experiencing vibrations on the highway even after putting new wheels and tires on my car. They're from a 2008 S4 with pirelli's, balanced by Audi, as delivered on the S4.
Cut to the chase, I jacked up the car and did the 9 and 3 wiggle test, and I was able to wiggle the wheel side to side. Not a huge sloppy amount, but I was able to produce movement. The dust boot does not appear compromised at all, but the TRE was moving in and out with this wiggle. The passenger side was worse, but I could still produce some movement. By contrast, the 12 and 6 positions were as solid as a rock.
Is any movement at all normal or is it time for new TRE's? The car has 91K and I personally haven't changed them before, and I've owned it for two years tomorrow (Happy Anniversary ), and 34,000 miles.
Thanks!
Jeremy

[fazda]

i just replaced my inner and outer tie rods because i had the same issues as you, one was toast and the other side was a little warn, any play at all is not a good thing and is most likly your problem, they should be very stiff with little to no movement.

[jaymac]

You don't hear mush about the inners. how hard are they to get to/change?
I was just doing some reading over at AW, and read that you're supposed to turn the steering wheel until it locks before you perform the 9 and 3 wiggle test, which I didn't do. Looks like I'll have to do it again tomorrow...

[AUDIous]

Yes there should be no movement at all in the tie rod ends. Upon replacement if you’re a real stickler about your car you should have your raised toe adjusted along with an alignment. I also would not nesicarilly trust that the tires are properly balanced especially since they are Pirellis, was the car there from sitting for a long time? Is the vibration at a specific speed then goes away when you accelerate?

[jaymac]

The tires had less than 500 miles (I was told) when I picked them up. The owner apparently bought new wheels right after he bought the car. I can't pinpoint the vibration to a certain speed, nor is it isolated to either deceleration or acceleration. I didn't notice it the first few days of having the wheels, then it slowly became more apparent.
I'm thinking of having them re-balanced by my guy who is a miracle-worker when it comes to balancing. 3 out 4 of My stock wheels were bent, and he balanced them to the point of "smooth as glass" on the highway. he actually sliced the weights into little slivers until the balance was as close to perfect as humanly possible.
I just wanted to check out the TRE situation to see if I could rule that out. Otherwise, the steering is fine. No loose play in the wheel, no floating on the highway.
I'll lock the wheel and try again tomorrow, and maybe just give my balancing guy a call and try that in the meantime...