hey, all! happy 4th to you

It rained yesterday, and after it stopped, i've noticed the car had a creaking sound coming from somewhere under the hood when the wheel was being turned. It turned out to be a pass. side inner tie rod boot had a crack in it, and i assume the grease has been leaking out of it (the rain didn't help either).
So, my question is: does anyone know where to find the new boots? not sure if the tie rod is shot or not. if it is, i'll change that as well.

Thank you, all!

p.s. just did some searching: turns out it's called a steering rack boot autozone has them for $24. should i replace both inner and outers while i'm at it?

 

Jack that side up by the control arm, as close to the ball joint as possible. Grab the tire at 3 and 9 O'clock. Shake to check for loosness in the tie rod. If its tight, replace the bellows (boot) using new greese. Smear some grease in the joint as best you can. Youll have to seperate the inner and outer joint from each other, count the turns and reinstall at the same #.

Do it soon, before the rack suffers damage.

 

i've had loose suspension parts on my other car and the wheel method hasn't revealed anything. i guess, i'll just replace both inners and outers, since i'm gonna bet there. anything else to check for while i'm there?

 

Check the boots on your ball joint and sway bar end-links, Check your brake line for cracking while you have the wheel off. Look around paying special attention to rubber parts.
I suspect that it is the inner tie rod making noise, but it could also be a ball joint or strut mount.

 

I bought mine from here for ~$8 each. http://forums.maxima.org/group-deals...arts-sale.html

 

thanks for the advices, guys! i'm gonna try to do it tomorrow, so i'll get everything from az. I thought i had the grease leaking from it, but it turned out to be the a/c drain that is right above the boot. Not sure how long it has been torn and that water that has been draining on top of it, but sure long enough to start producing that "creak."