Ive been having problems with the front suspension for some time now.

got a new steering rack (with new tie rods) about 20k ago

So i get my car aligned one day. When i leave i notice this looseness and kinda clackity feel... drive it for a while.. Then i had my axles rebuilt.. they went in, clackiy sounds were not there, until a little later after driving 5 miles. The mechanic said "the tie rods were a little loose we tightened them up seemed ok" I looked at the tie rod this morning and noticed where the outer tie rod screws into it, its like bent. So wtf happened? Im lost

 

didnt hit any curbs hard recently did you?

and sorry in advance for the completely obvious question, just covering everything

 

no curbs nothing like that been driving it easy the past 20k since i got the steering rack put in.

 

My guess is you pulled along side a curb really close and when you went to leave had to turn sharply
to get out and the tire wedged against the curb and you kept on turning it .The power of that new steering rack then bent it.
Or the mechanic did it with the hoist or some other means and wont own up to it so he wont have to pay for the damage.

But Im just think of possibilities out loud here.