I am replacing the inner and outer tie rods on my 1999 E350.

I assembled all 4 pieces and attached the left inner to the pitman arm.

My problem is now I can't get the outers to go throught the steering
knuckle far enough to attach the nut and tighten the rod fully.

I was able to do this with the inner rod to the pitman arm.

I started to hammer the tie rod end, but it doesn't seem to want to go
in.

The new replacement ends look the same as the old ones.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
LJ