I'm going to be replacing inner tie rods soon and I understand the basics, however I could use some tips on the "locking plates". The manual says they are
"clinched" in place to the rack. How do you unclinch them? How do clinch the
new ones? Also in looking at various inner tie rods -some come with factory
style lock plates which engage all 4 flats of the tie rod, while others look like
a flat washer with just 2 tabs apparently to lock to the rack-but I dont see
how they would lock to the flats of the tie rod . Anybody have experience
with these??

 

When I did inner tie rods on a Pontiac Fiero, the plates fit over a square raised portion on the rack. The plates were then bent over the flat spot on the tie rod. the plate looked like a Chinese coin with the square hole.

 

When I did the inner tie rods, I position a long screwdrive to the locking washer and bent it to the flats sides on the tie rod. Hope this helps.

 

I just did one today. You don't have to unclinch them. I used the Lisle tool to just spin off the ITRE and found the locking plate still left on the rack. It slid off with no effort at all.

When I looked at the plate there were 2 little dimples visible from clinching. They'd be easy to miss if one wasn't looking for them.

I didn't bother trying to clinch the new plate. If you feel compelled to do it then a small punch or scratch awl would do the job. Maybe I'll go back and do them if I get bored over the weekend.

 

Thanks for the tips.
Did you guys use an impact wrench with the tie rod tool or just go at it with a ratchet??

 

As I recall I used a breaker bar on the tie rod wrench.

 

Standard 1/2" drive ratchet.

 

I used an air hammer/air chisel and hit the bigger portion of the inner tierod to go counter clockwise. Much easier than tried to loosen it with any other tool IMHO. To tighten I went by hand until it was hard, then I used the inner tierod tool or some channel-locks. Dont forget to use thread lock

 

Ive used an open end wrench on the tie rod and one one the rack gear, so as not to put a load on the rack and pinion gears. work the wrenches against one another.