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There are two issues that can turn a rack replacement into 'the rack from hell': the first is having the universal pull off ( link ) .... and the second is getting the rack boots installed.
The latter nearly had me beat. The rack was installed with boots attached, merely leaving the outer boot ends to be pulled over the spacers and inner tie rod end when in place. With lube everywhere, the boots were resisting all my tricks .... so after walking away muttering my frustration, a pair of double hooks were fashioned from a wire clothes hanger.
With these four ends hooked under the boot lip, it can be wrestled over the well lubed tie rod end and loudly snaps into the locating groove.
This worked so well that if a rack replacement is in your future, keep a coat hanger nearby.
Very nice. I did basically the same thing when I changed my tie-rods after wrestling with the boots for 15 or 30 minutes. Brilliant minds think alike! LOL
I found that inserting a 1 inch deep well socket into the boot after lubricating with silicon & spraying silicon on the end of the rack made it easy to slide the boot over the socket & onto the rack end.
Thanks for all of the good tips
I struggled even using the coat hangers. I just couldn't generate enough pulling force without them coming out. Then I had the idea of using bike tire levers. They worked perfect and you can work them around the edge to get it over the lip. The Park tool ones or similar that have a narrow hook work great. I also enlisted my son for extra hands, he used the coat hangers. Left side took under 5 mins with this method!
The rubber boot on the driver side is torn on my car. Is it possible to replace the boots without removing the steering rack?
No need to remove the rack. Push back the rubber boot and underneath are flats for a wrench. The tie rod on that side will unscrew from the rack. Now you can remove the torn boot and slide on the new. Tighten up, pull rubber over the flats and ....see post 1 above. Getting the rubber boot over the lip is a pita.
Also - put your tie rod back exactly the same (number of thread turns etc) so your alignment does not change. Or, once done, take it in for the toe to be checked and adjusted.
This job really IS easy - except for getting that boot back over the lips.
Also, place some lubricant where the boot needs to pop over the lip. I’ve found it to work fairly easy when wearing gloves.
Grip the boot local to the steering rack, and massage it while pressing inwards.
I did this yesterday and I found using heating up the boot with a heatgun until it's soft enough will help the installation without any hooks. The bigger end where it fits into the rack does require some finesse but doable with a nice long square pick starting at the top end and guide it along the way. I installed both mine in 2 hours taking my time and removing the tire rods.
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Steering rack boots - installation trick.
