I need to shorten the tie rods to re-use the rack in my custom Contour powered car. The donor Contour is a 95. The manual doesn't mention anything special, just remove the tie rod with an arrow pointing to the ball socket part. There's no flats on either the rack or the ball socket. The later years must have added a flat on that ball socket part that the inner tie rod sits in because the manual shows it. I can grab the ball socket with a pipe wrench and it won't matter if I gall it, but how do I hold the rack? A strap wrench maybe? The manual calls for tightening back to 80 foot pounds, so holding the rack (so the case isn't overly stressed) is going to be a challange. Who has experience loosening this?
