Car is EE100 (Corolla XL). Odo reading is 104,000.

On pebble roads I experience some rattling of the suspension. My mechanic replaced the ball joints and tie rod ends with 555 parts, and tightened the rack-and-pinion adjustment.

But the rattles are still there.

I tried grasping the steering shaft under the dash (near the brake pedal) and I checked for play. There was quite a bit of play, and "tok, tok" sound if you do it vigorously.

So is my diagnosis correct? Steering column bushing? What's the remedy?


PS I tried mounting my old tie rod ends on a vise. The joint has no play and probably didn't need replacement. Damn mechanic :D