[s-cars] Tie Rods and IR key problem

[Gregory Wolters]

Hi All,

Car is 94 S4 with 135K miles or so.  Weather got cold
and tie rods, originals as far as I know, are worn out
and squeeking.  Last time I had a 4 wheel alignment
the guy was not able to break the adjusting nut
free... my car is aligned, but my steering wheel
isn't.

What are the pros and cons of replacing the tie rod
end (at $15 per side) only versus replacing the entire
thing (at $130 per side)?  My feeling is that at my
car's milage I probably should replace the whole
thing.  There's just such a difference in price.

Can I do the job myself?  If I measure and adjust new
rods carefully to match old will I still require an
alignment?

Other issue is my IR key.  It doesn't work. 
Everything works great if I use the key manually in
the hole.  I've tried all the stuff in the manual and
on the list but it seems my problem is different. 
Checked key output with camcorder and it is
flashing... the batteries are relatively new.  When I
do the reprogram thing in the owner's manual, the car
beeps at me when I enter the code as it should, which
seems to indicate that the key and car are talking. 
I'm at a loss.  Perhaps I just have a broken key.  Has
this happened to anyone else?

TIA

Greg
94 S4
Nevada City, CA