is this the driveshaft boot? i was under the car and tried flexing it with my hand, only to find it had broken completely in half. inside the boot was some gravel and sediment. it's probably been torn for some time, though i've never had any problems.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...811_5_full.jpg
the red dot here indicates a piece that seems to be floating around uselessly, i think it's a dust shield
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...811_4_full.jpg
is there any way to repair this without removing the shaft? - or what's the easiest way to fix it?
thanks a bunch
-M

 

those are your steering rack dust boots. they're called Bellows boots by most parts stores and the dealer. about $20 each.

you have to remove the outer tie rod end to replace them, but they're not too hard. break loose the large jam nut holding the tie rod in place, and turn it just enough so that you can turn the tie rod end on the arm without the nut dragging on it. then remove the tie rod end and measure exactly how far it is back to the nut. THEN remove the nut, and remove the boot.

take some brake cleaner or something and clean all of the old grease out of the inner tie rod end, so that you get all of the dirt and grime out. lube it with some new grease and put the boot back on.

put the nut back on to the exact same point you measured it earlier, then screw on the rod end. bolt everything back together, tighten, etc etc.

once all of it's done, be sure to get an alignment done, as those are the parts they actually turn to adjust your alignment- and I guarantee you will be at least a little bit off when you're done.

Expect to pay a shop about $75 per side for this, plus the alignmen. honestly it only takes about 20 min each side, but they're going to boink you anyway because they can.

 

woops should of looked at the pics matts right those are the boots that cover the steering tie rods

 

Ummm, look again at it. it's not an axle.

 

matt, great reply, thanks for taking the time to write that all out. i really do appreciate it. i'm going to go down to pep boys now and see if i can find a bellows boot.
-Tom

 

well i finished replacing the bellow boot and things worked out great. the alignment seems the same as when i started, but i was very careful about putting the jam-nut back where it started.
the only hard part was fitting the larger side of the boot on its mount. that was like trying to put a cat in a condom. ... not that i've tried.
thanks again for the instructions, the FSM had a few good pictures too.
-Tom

 

I'm sure it's about as much fun as trying to cram one in a running washing machine. (not that I've tried. )

yeah, changing those things isn't really hard- just messy and hard to get to when trying to twist on the wire.