A bad Tie rod usuallydoesn't SOUND like anything, but some good indicators that you have a bad tie rod are incorrect alignment, and uneven tire wear on your front tires.
Had the same problem with my 98 Grand Prix, the problem turned out to be a bad inner tie rod end.
eather a blown head or a bad rod
Tick tick tick tick kaboom, bad sound, mine finally went to the oil pan when passing a cop
Put the vehicle on a rack and inspect the tie rods.
Bad bearing or rod
Inner Handle Rod Inner Handle Rod
brake booster could be bad the seal around the rod that hooks to the brake pedal is leaking
on a steering rack the inner tie rod is threaded and will be the mount for the outer tie rod.
Sounds like the push rod is to short, may be worn or a bad cam lobe.
Remove wheel and properly support vehicle. Remove outter tie rod from steering knuckle. Remove outter tie rod, count how many turns it takes to remove from inner tie rod. Remove inner tie rod boot. Use inner tie rod tool to remove inner tie rod. Install new inner tie rod (with inner tie rod tool) and do not overtighten. Properly install inner tie rod boot (you can use a zip tie on part that attaches to rack). Install outter tie rod and use the same amount of turns that you counted during removal (this will help with alignment). Install tie rod to steering knuckle and use a new cotter pin. Put wheel on and get an alignment.
Metal to metal bam.