I have a 2000 Honda Civic DX. When the vehicle is parked with the engine off and I move the steering wheel side to side you can hear what sounds like a popping sound and I've determined that it's coming from the tie rod assembly. With the front end off the ground when I grab the ends I cannot see any play in either end. It seems like the noise is coming from the inner piece that connects the ends together. Should I replace the whole assembly and is it possible/common for the ends to be fine but the inner rod be bad?

When the front end is off the ground I grab the tire I cannot get any movement from top to bottom but side to side I get some with the noise I described from above.

When I drive the vehicle I do not hear any sounds or get any vibrations while driving I just happened to hear the noise one day in my driveway when I moved the wheel a little bit when I parked just to straighten the wheels a little bit with the engine off. I tried the same with the engine on and no noise from the front end. Could it be with the power steering working with the engine on it hides the noise ?

--George