Hello forum

I just bought a RWD 2009 g37 coupe journey off of auction. It was in a frontend passenger side collision but most the damage was cosmetic except for the inner tie rod which was bent not allowing the car to be drivable. So I replaced the part same day (yes the part is the correct part, I've quadruple checked), but the alignment was way off. When I tried adjusting the tie rods I ran out of thread before the wheel aligned (FYI the front passenger wheel is slightly turned outwards in a right turn motion when the steering wheel and driver side wheel is straight). I figured I would need about a quarter inch of thread more for the wheel to align then another inch of thread to be threaded into the tie rod end.

However i do not understand how this is even possible because the steering rack has not move from its mounting and the steering wheel is centered correctly. And to the naked eye the upper and lower control arms do not look bent or disfigured. But the the wheel does have a small amount of play, and I can see that it moves at the lower control arm ball joint that connects to the wheel spindle hub.

What could be the cause off the tie rod running out of length? How could I fix it? Do they sell inner tie rod with extra thread length or longer outer tie rods that could suit my purpose?

Side question: since my G37 is rwd, if I have the front end completely jacked up, is it normal for there to be horizontal play (ie. Left to right with hands at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock of the tire)? Because I can see the tire rods move in and out of the steering rack but the steering wheel move with it which seems normal to me.

 

The steering rack could possibly be bent as well even though it's in the same place.make sure your ball joint is good and nothing else is bent.

How much tread do you have on the innner tierod on the other side?Does the car Have Mods?

 

On the other wheel there is about 3/4 inch of exposed thread on the tie rod and has remained completely untouched. As for a bent steering rack im not sure how that would be if the driver side wheel and alignment is perfect and the steering itself is smooth.

The car is completely stock.

 

I was just wondering about the threads do to the fact that you can slide out the steering column for more space and can be moved for more clearance when working on engine .but you say its untouched so it's not something I would worry out.

I guess the next thing you can do is measure your lower control arms. See how the passenger compares to driver. Steering knuckle exc. May want to replace outer rod as well