Inner Tie Rods and Steering question!

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2000 Mazda Protege ES 1.8L
Hi there! I am new to the forum. I have a couple of questions I hope you guys can help me out! The vehicle in question is a 2000 Mazda Protege ES 1.8L

QUESTION 1:

I was replacing the inner tier rods on a vehicle and found that I was not able to tighten the tie rod back using the special tool. It was as if it was slipping.

I decided to take the tie rod out so I retrieved the tool and found that a washer behind the rod itself was bent. The washer isn’t a regular washer; it has 4 thingies that makes it look like a claw to hang on to the inner tie rod. The “claws” were bent, because the tie rod was a big big in diameter compared to the one already installed. I am pretty sure the passenger side tie rod is also bent.

I decided to take out the washer and try to bent it back, but in the process I warped the whole washer. Maybe the washer is shaped like that so that it doesn’t spin while you tighten the rod? You can see this washer marked in red in Picture number 1. The washer itself is in picture number 2.

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So it was already 8 pm and I was in a rush; O Reilly was about to close and possibly Home Depot too. I was debating whether to install the tie rod without the washer or not, but decided to rush to Oreilly. I might not be an engineer or anything but if they put an washer in there it maybe for a good reason. Unfortunately, OReilly didn’t carry this type of washer, nor a regular washer that fits the rod.

I found one roughly the same size at Home Depot, but it was a bit thick. You can see the comparison between the two in pictures 3 and 4.

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My question is, how important is this washer? Some suspension parts I have tried to buy in Autozone and Oreilley comes with washers and others don’t. This inner tie rod didn’t come with a washer. Today I just had enough time to put together the driver side with the “temporary regular washer”, so the other tie rod is still installed with the “stock” washer, possibly bent in between the tie rod! The car doesn’t seem to handle different… but here comes my second question!

QUESTION 2:

The size of the new inner tie rod is longer that the old one! and it has more threads. In fact every inner tie rod I bought has more threads than the original. Is this something that I can get by with a proper alignment? Or should I return the rods back to Autozone and Oreilly and try to get the right ones? How safe it is for me to drive like this? At least temporarily till I get the right parts and find the time to work again on the car?

Question 3:

There has always been a noise in the car that sounds somewhat like a very faint thump. It happens when you move the steering wheel back and forth while stationary, which is why I decided to replace the inner and outer tie rods, but the noise is still there!

I always thought it came from the steering wheel column . I asked my brother to move the steering wheel back and forth and found the noise to come from the general area where the tie rods are. The rods are brand new even though the part seems to not be the right part. Any ideas?

I should have examined the rods thoroughly, but I was in a hurry and didn’t thought about this. DIYer mistake.
 
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That washer is a lock washer designed to locate on the rack inner then have the outer tabs bent in against the flats on the inner tie rod end, flatten the outer tabs, then re bend once tie rod inner has been tightened.
 
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