Well my run of luck broke...

Fixed the exhaust and the idle stumble mostly sorted itself out. Fixed the AC and the cooling system worked again. Just did a brake job on the front, and was hoping that maybe something else would start working too!

Well I should be so lucky... Putting the passenger side wheel back on, I noticed it wobbling even when bolted down. Took a look at the suspension and it looks like the ball joint at the end of the outer tie rod is shot. I think that's the right terminology. I know a bit about suspension, having rebuilt the front end of my Mark VIII, but they're all a bit different from car to car.

The part I'm talking about is the joint in front of the A arm that connects to a two part rod. This is the tie rods and ball joint, right?

Am I better off just biting the bullet and ripping out both tie rods on both sides and swapping in new ones and new joints? Anything else I should look for while I'm under there, other common wear items I mean?

Rock Auto was the place to go for parts for my Mark VIII, and IIRC, they sell thru Amazon too, so free Prime shipping would be good. They still the best bet?

I'm guessing you have a outer tie rod bad? Here are some pics of my old OCC when I did this. What I usually do whenever I get a "new" Bbody...is just replace all the front steering items at once. It's not that expensive and not hard to do....and you know it's done.

Yeah, that's the assembly I'm talking about. Thanks for the great shots. That whole shootin match there, what are the names? Outer/inner tie rods I reckon, and whats that bar with the arms in the middle?

Yup, outer and inner tie rods / adjusting sleeves for the tie rods, center link and idler arm. The pitman arm is the part that attaches to the steering box. No need to replace that.

Chris

I just wish the idler arms would last longer than they do when running the 255's

Picking up Mevotech parts instead of Moog, as Hilda isnt going to be driven near as hard as the Mark VIII was.  Should be OK.  Last question... Whats this about a steering damper?  I see versions of the center link with and without it.  How do I know which one I need?

It is the same as the one on the Fleetwood.

I just replaced the centerlink and idler arm on my Buick. I checked various forums on the net and found that Mevotech gets pretty good reviews, so that's what I used. They (like Moog) offer a "economy" line and a "better quality", and  I used the latter.
I did install a Moog "Problem Solver" idler, though, as this chassis seems to be a little hard on idler arms.  

The two centerlinks used on this chassis are identical except for the extra mount for the steering damper. If you removed the damper, or didn't have one originally the standard one is cheaper.