Inner tie rod "Lock Plate" (Nissan specific?)

Question

So I am trying to install new inner tie rods on my 99 Maxima and I must "cinch" the lock plate back onto a groove on the steering rack.

• I have no idea how I'm supposed to see the location of the groove once the tie rod is torqued down.
• This makes it difficult to apply force
• I don't want to damage the rack by pushing in the wrong place
• I don't know what kind of tool I could use to cinch this plate down.
• There is barely enough clearance for a hand to pass by the back of the inner.

From the Factory Service Manual [ST-21]:

In order for this to work I have to:

• Attach the lock plate to the inner's socket
• Thread the inner into the rack
• THEN "cinch" the lock plate down

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Can't wait to get this thing back off the jack stands.

Edit [5 years later]: I went to a Nissan dealer and spoke a technician who was used to working on 4th gen Maximas. He said that he only ever used loctite on these and reinstalled them, never had a problem that he heard about. I used blue loctite and drove the car for another 20k miles without issue. Getting the boots back on the inner tie rod required pulling the engine though...

Answer 1

The installation direction gives a deceptive description. The above pictured tie rod is what you would expect to get (this one is specific to your car). Note the washer. The washer installs between the tie rod and rack. The two tangs in the washer lock into the two holes in the rack (they are pictured in #4 in your picture). Once the tie rod is tight then the washer is bent over at the flats on the tie rod where a wrench would be used.