Split washer on inner tie rod .. Still okay??

[Jc12]

Hey so I was bending the washer back in place and it split .. Could this cause it to fail down the road or am I just over thinking it.. Trying to get it back together tonight and these washers are hard to come by for me. Thanks!

 

[shadow247]

Doesn't look too bad to me. I would just bend down a different spot. My new inner tie rods came with new washers, and I just bent them down on opposite sides. Since one part is splitting, I would recommend bending down another part. That washer really just keeps the inner tie rod from spinning loose, as it locks onto the steering rack arm and then against the inner tie rod.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

There should be four flat surfaces around which you can bend the lip of the retaining washer. Just bend the the lip of the washer over two of the other surfaces and you're good to go.