Sounds like a mileage-based change out of the Empire bearings and track-rod ends makes sense vs the approach of expecting wear to trigger replacement before any other problems surface. The geomtry/loading for the bearings on our cars may be outside the normal range esp after 27,000 miles.
Happily our Empire/Krazy Horse kit is still new so should be less worrisome and we strongly echo the benefits it brings to steering/handling
