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G'day all,

Planned to replace my Tie rods this weekend only to discover i need a lock washer that locks the thread at the steering rack end.

Mazda say the part is almost obsolete and hard to get. Any ideas what you use otherwise? Anyone ever faced this problem?

Thanks....

Tim

Depending on their condition, you can sometimes reuse them. They're basically a washer that fold over into a square pattern, and are pretty simple.

You could also probably get one made quite cheaply if you can't do it yourself / don't have the right tools.

Thanks Pamex.

I spoke to another Mazda dealer and they said there were 5 left in the country and after that would be an 'obsolete part'.

Can't be that important then!?

It's an important part, but not a complicated part.

It basically just stops the inner rod end from being able to unscrew from the rack.


It's highly unlikely that it ever would, but for the sake of some cheap washer things it's worth the peace of mind.



also maybe look into if the same part from an NB would fit.

The rack is different, and the tie rods are different (I think thread pitch and length). But there's a possibility the lock washer may be the same (since it's such a simple part)

I was trying to find some of these at the start of the year - i went an spoke to one of the edgers mazda part places in brisbane and found a lancer rack uses a very similar (if not the same) part. Can't remember the part number, but i might have the receipt at home - i fitted them and they worked as they should have.

Cheers
Shane

Use your old one and some low strength loctite. Never had a problem doing it that way.