Tie rods replacement questions

[wessock]

2000 Lanos 1.6L

So my tie-rod ends needed replacement. I saw a complete set of both inner/outter and everything on Ebay for $100 so I figured might as well replace them all and it would be easier to install this way anyway so I bought it. Ended up shipping from China and not California like it said so that was suspicious. Then when I get them the inner tie-rod end bars seem new/re-manufactured but bent oddly. From what I can tell of the old ones on my car they seem dead straight. The new ones also don't seem quite bent the same amount as each other either, but I figured maybe they are supposed to be like this and the difference is for driver/passenger side. So does anybody know if this bend in the middle of the bar is normal or not, or did I get bad ones?

Also, the service manual says not to re-use the lock plate. I don't have a new one and don't want to wait for one to come, so is it really that big of a deal to re-use it, or even just not use it at all?

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[wessock]

Anybody? I need to know soon while I can still return these. Tried taking them to auto parts stores and they didn't know and didn't have the part or pictures in their systems to compare to.

[Big Jeff]

i have a look at my rods tomorrow and see if mine are bent....

i have 1998 lanos 1.6 but as far as i know they are all the same under the hood..

[wessock]

Thanks, really appreciate it.

[Big Jeff]

ok the rain stop long enoth for me to have a look

and mine do have a bend in the the right hand side seem to be bend a bit more prob due to the engine bit on that side...

as for the main plate, i couldn't tell you as i never changed my rods.
hope it helps

[wessock]

Would that be your driver or passenger side? I'm in the states so i'd have to do it the opposite.

[Big Jeff]

it your passenger side

my drivers side

[wessock]

Well the new ones were def messed up, they're bent way more than the ones I took off the car. The old ones were almost perfectly straight. Tried to use the old inner ends with just the new outer ends and the threading was different on the new ones, so no good there either. Stay away from Autopropartner or Autoprochassis013 on Ebay, total scam apparently. Ended up ordering the left outer from Auto Zone (didn't have rights) and the right outer from Pepboys and hopefully the threading will match the old tie rod threading.

The lock plate looks fine to re-use again too for anybody who wants to know.

[Big Jeff]

do you have power steering?

[wessock]

yeah

[Big Jeff]

hmm coz my rods are not near straight.

[wessock]

Just to be clear, I'm not talking about the end that bolts to the steering, I'm talking about the length of the bar itself that's bent. The old ones have a very very slight arch of at the most 1/8 inch. You can see in the pic that the new ones have an actual bend that's much bigger. All of the tie rods I've seen for other cars are either straight, or angled sharply to route around things in the engine bay and the Lanos has plenty of room for the tie rods to be straight. You might need new ones if yours are bent. Maybe you hit a curb or pothole or something and bent yours.

[Big Jeff]

i knoe what you mean..

[MMamdouh]

i don't think those rods are bent that way... i'd recommend that you take off the new tie rods and put them on your old rods... and in the future keep away from ebay crap

MMamdouh