I'm hoping I just missed the memo somewhere, but it appears to me after some google searches and making a few calls that Mazda has discontinued and sold out of the inner tie rod lock washers for PS racks that are needed to secure tie rods to the steering rack. The part # is NA02-32-126. I even went as far as trying to obtain a Subaru equivalent lock washer but they are also out of stock nationally...

Given that tie rod replacements and rack swaps are not uncommon, is there an alternate source/solution anyone is using to secure tie rods to the rack? Red Loctite?

I'd love to find some stock of those washers for peace of mind after I swap my steering rack, but after a week of searching, they just don't seem to exist outside of buying aftermarket tie rods that come with the washers. Any ideas?

 

If your current rack has them then re-use them. I have many times in the past. Rebuilt racks used to come with both new TRE lock washers and new seals for the lines.
Now-days they don't come with anything.
If yours are un-usable I would add a normal washer (may be hard to find normal washers of that diameter and be the same thickness as the real part) and BLUE loctite.
I would not use red on that unless I never wanted it to come apart again...
I'd clean the crap out of the threads before using LT.
There are lots of this style washer used by everyone. Most are very similar in diameter and function.
I bet Honda, Toyota, Kia/Hyundia and many others would work. Only thing is it might take more than one purchase to find something close enough.
If I had an old rack, I'd just give you a pair. Others might do the same.
If you're careful bending the folded edge back to flat, they can be re-used multiple times

 

They appear to be available from some online vendors such as https://www.mazdacarpartsonline.com/...NA0232126.html

 

Mine unfortunately were a bit too mangled to re-use after removal and the tie rods attempting to back out for years. I noticed the Subaru ones, but can't seem to find others that would be compatible. Sounds like ill probably be using a washer, blue Loctite, and a prayer.

Ive run into this issue before, but those online parts stores/dealerships rarely show the correct stock. They are out locally and the Mazda parts network they are part of has none nationally either. It's an annoying issue when trying to source little OEM parts like this.

 

Only other idea I have is make a cad model from your old one and have some cnc routered out for you. Probably not worth it when other options presented would work but some like oem

 

The CNC is ideal and pretty easy if you have access (I don’t) but now that you’ve mentioned it, it wouldn’t be difficult to use a dremel to slot and bend an appropriate sized washer as a replacement.

I’ll take some measurements and see if the local hardware store has something.

 

There are companies (wiki factory for example) that will take your to scale model in step, stp, and other formats, provide a free quote. If you accept the quote they make the part(s) and ship them out. There may be some people in this community that would be willing to cmc some for you as well. I have never personally done this but I have seen build threads where they used this kind of service with great results. Local machine shop might be another option.

all this for a washer

 

I got pretty caught up in other things, but I finally revisited this and got it wrapped up.

It would have been optimal to use something precision measured or custom, but I opted to just use this BMW lock washer (32111136526), then use a Dremel to shave it down a little and add an extra tab.

It's a tiny bit larger than the OEM one, but it looks like it'll do the job fine with some blue Loctite after I installed it. The OEM washer appears to have a 5/8in ID in case anyone else runs into this issue.

 

Bumping an older thread to see if anyone has found a replacement for the original Mazda part, or if the BMW part above remains the best alternative?