Hello fellow orgers, need some help figuring out what this part is. I realize that both driver and passenger boots are torn, i have no clue how long they been like this.

1.What should i be looking out for if these arent changed soon?
2.Please tell me the exact name of the part.
3.Where you suggest getting a replacement.
4.And how easy of a DIY job it is.

Pics below are of driver side only.

Driver tire making right turn.


Steering turned all the way to the left


Steering turned all the way to the right


Steering straightened


This is the thing that it meets up to, beyond the busted boot towards under the engine. Looks kinda heavy and really tough !

 

Inner tie rods.

 

the big piece is the rack and pinion
the torn rubber is the rack and pinion boot
the metal inside the boot is the inner tie rod

 

I think his concern is the torn boot.
My 96 has been like that for about 50,000 miles...

 

With a split boot like that, do you usually replace the whole rack, or replace only the boot?

 

just the boot.

 

Where did you guys get just the boot.While under there, what else should i be checking for.?
Have you been driving on yours with a torn boot and allowed all the grease to leak out!!?
Thanx for the info

Thank You

 

from your pic it looks like you are early enough to just do the boot. I sell them for $20 ea.
If you had fluid in there, then it would be time for a new rack.
There is no grease used in there.
I would only do a regular suspension check since you will need to remove the outer tie rod to do the boot.

 

When you say fluid, you mean dirt n water from the road?
And are you sure no grease is used in there.?
By suspension check you mean an alignment.?

 

No, I mean power steering fluid.
suspension check I mean check for play in the tie rods, ball joint, bushings et al...

 

Correct, you don't grease up anything inside the bellows (the inner tie rod/rack 'boot').

If it's been torn like that for a while (or an unknown period of time), chances are you'll be needing to replace the inner at some point. Water and debris get in there, get in the balljoint of the inner tie rod, and wear it out. If your tie rod just drops down like mine does in my outer tie rod removal video, then it's fairly worn; it should stay wherever you put it and not move by itself.

It's easily DIY, just follow my video, then cut the two clamps holding the current boot on and slide it off (will require lube) or just cut it off. Put the new one on, zip tie it in place. Get some white-out and mark exactly where the jam nut is, as you'll have to take it off; if you're good about marking it and putting it back exactly where it came from, your alignment won't be affected.

An OE bellows kit, PN 48203-0E025 is no longer available from Courtesy, chances are your local dealers won't have them either. You can get them aftermarket fairly easily though:

B/A PN 103-2680, $18.99:


Moog PN K9860, $21.99:


Duralast FA8029, $24.99:

 

^^Thanx for another confirmation. There is no dirt there however it still has melted grease on it...i think it happened Sunday night, car hasnt moved since and no heavy rain or such. Will get those boots and follow instructions from changing outer tie rod to get through it.

 

The jam nut got loosened, only did it a little bit. As for the outer tie rod nut, wont even budge.Its even making me uncertain of which way is tighten from loosen.kneeling infront the nut, i'm torquing towards my right arm, is that loosening.?

 

Point your right-hand thumb in the direction you want the nut to move (down toward the ground, in this case). Then curl the fingers of your right hand. The direction your fingers go is the direction you want to turn. Looking down on the tie rod end from above, that would be the clockwise direction.

That nut's not on there that tight (about 30 ftlbs). Is it badly rusted? You did take the cotter pin all the way out, right?

If you separate the tie rod from the knuckle with a hinge-type ball joint separator (like the one shown in the FSM), be prepared for it to pop upward pretty violently. Don't have any part of your body above it.

 

Ok, so i was turning the damn thing the other way.The nut came off pretty easy like y'all said it should.Im now trying to pop the rod out the knuckle.Is hammering on the nut upwards safe.?

 

No, you'll end up damaging the threads on the stud, or mushrooming it out to the point where it won't come out of the knuckle without having to grind it down.

Hammer on the steering knuckle where the tie rod stud goes through, a good hit or two will break it loose. I believe I pointed it out in my outer tie rod end removal video.

Here's a good view of it, at 1:10 or so:


He also has some other pretty good videos, I like his style. Some interesting stuff to watch if you have some free time.

 

Good thing i didnt. So im hammering at the knuckle and it wont come loose.Is tere anything else that can be done or just continue hammering.?

 

The BFH method is what I've found to be the easiest and quickest (and sometimes the only way). Failing that you could use a 'special tool' for popping it out: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=1752


IIRC, Advance and/or Autozone have these in their tool loan programs.

 

Well i have no car to go anywhere at this point. What is BFH by the way.? I think imma contiue knocking and hope that it frees up.

 

BFH == Big F* Hammer.

If you need to, just put the nut back on, tighten the jam nut, and it's ready to drive. But sometimes you just have to beat the **** out of it with a good size hammer.

 

ok,let me continue BFH'ing. :sighs:

 

Or you could use the tool in the upper left-hand corner of this picture:


That's very close to the one pictured in the FSM (it has a 22mm throat diameter instead of the 23mm shown in the FSM). The picture is Harbor Freight's front-end service set, which is on sale right now for $60. With a 20% off coupon it's $48.

HF sells a ball joint separator by itself, but it's too small I think.

 

To separate the knuckle from the tie rod you need one of these. $10.00 at Advance:

 

Thanx Guys. The tool in the upper left hand corner is the one that did the job. Turbo, i didnt use the fork, as i was afriad it would damage the tie rod and tear the rubber. Now that its all done, my alingment is def gone.Steering is slightly off when going straight.Thignking how i'm gonna atleast correct that problem.Later i will get a real alignment.

 

great video, very helpful..

 

How hard is it to keep from tearing the boot on the tie rod end (or ball joint, if you're using it for that) when using a pickle fork? I've never tried to use one, because the Haynes manual says you'll usually destroy the boot. Which is OK if you're replacing the part, but not if you're reusing it.

 

There's been few times I've seen an intact boot after being fork'ed. Count on it tearing the boot up on whatever you're using it on (tie rod end, balljoint, center link, etc).

 

The tol that i use, was great. I recommend people use it if theyre trying to save their tie rod end. Athough i didnt try the fork, something tells me it would have still taken a long time. Pmohr, chk ur pm

 

Two words... duct tape.

Tape it up. At least two layers.