Chrysler Repair: abnormal noise following striking of curb, inner tie rod, alignment shop

Question
QUESTION: Hey Roland,
Last week, I skidded on some ice during a left hand turn and slid into a curb. Wasn't going any faster than 10 mph, but now when I am going at least 30 mph, there's a strange pulsating sound coming from the front right tire. The noise is a slow  "wahhhh...wahhhh" (like a hum) sound, and it increases in rate the faster I go, and at 70 mph it gets scary loud. Do you have any ideas?

ANSWER: Hi James,
I would suggest that you jack up the right front tire turn the tire and wheel by hand to notice if the wheel is bent by observing any sign of a side to side wobble. That is one possibility to look into. You could alternatively switch tires and see if the sound follows the tire or stays at the right front. It is stays, then you will need to have it checked at a front-end alignment shop for the purpose of identifying what other part may be bent.
Roland

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I took the tire and wheel off: the wheel has a chunk missing from the outside and the wheel has a bubble in it.  I took it to an automotive shop and they told me that I would need a new wheel and tire and tie rods.  However, removing the original messed up tire and replacing it with a new one seemed to alleviate the noise problem I was having previously.  Is a new tie rod installable by myself on a 99 Sebring convertible? It would definitely save me a heap of money.

Answer
Hi James,
I wonder if the damage, if any, is to the outer tie rod, which you could replace yourself, or to the inner tie rod which is actually a part of the steering gear which is a fairly major operation to remove and which is also costly as it may not be a separate part.
Also, I wonder if the damage is a bend in the rod which might be corrected by a simple adjustment of the length of the rod which is a routine adjustment which makes the toe-in of the front wheels correct. If that were the case then you wouldn't have to replace anything and simply do the toe-in adjust to correct for the incorrect toe.
Does the vehicle steer straight now? Did they say which tie rod needed to be replaced, and why? Did they say anything about a simple correction of the toe-in? I suggest this as they might have been looking for 'work' to do.
You can check the toe in yourself and see where it stands, and also look at the outer and inner tie rods for signs of serious damage.
I can email you a couple of pages on changing the outer tie rod and also the toe-in spec. So let me know, and in the text of your follow-up question tell me your email address if you want those pages. The Allexpert site requires you to specify your email, but we 'experts' don't see that unless you tell us. Be sure to use the 'private' option in your response or otherwise the address will be deleted from it.
Roland
PS If you would 'rate' my answer and where you see the question about a nomination for me to be 'volunteer of the month' consider anwsering 'yes', I would be most appreciative.