My steering has been making some "clunking"
sounds for some time, especially when going over
rougher roads and humps, and one can "feel"
the clunk a little at the steering wheel too.

I was told about a year or two ago that the inner tie
rods, which the mechanics here call "drumsticks"
or "steering ballhead" in their jargon, were
somewhat loose, but it was minor and need not be
be replaced.

Well, it has been getting louder these few days,
and I wonder if there is a risk of the tie rod
snapping and the wheel flying off ?

The ball joints had been inspected too at the same
time as the tie rods a year ago, and they looked
alright then, though had never been replaced since
I bought the car 11 years ago.

Thanks.

You'll need to get those done right away.......tie rod ends tend to snap when they finally fail , leaving you with no steering at speed.

Tom

Have a real good look at the idler arm bushes too.

Honestly , if you have the money & time it would be good to rework the whole front end , then you know what you have cause replacing one part can cause another to wear as well.

Wow, didn't know it was this dangerous
with loose tie rod ends.

I'll get them replaced soon as I can, plus
as many components of the steering as
possible.

Thanks, everyone.

Does anyone have a good source for all of the suspension bushings, rod ends, etc? I tried some local parts houses - nothing. Most don't even have books with the 1200 in it. I want to rebuild all of the front end serviceable parts.

No bushings have come up on ebay that I've seen. And since I don't know the part #'s, I'm stuck. DD gave me a Nissan contact in Canada, I'll call next week.