i decided to put this in bay area because its the most active! hoping to get a fast reply.

while inspecting my car today as i was waiting for my friend to arrive, i noticed a tear in both of what seems to be some sort of steering column linkage boot (pictured below). i only noticed this today because i was parked on a slope and had to turn my wheel for precaution. i never noticed it before when i inspected my car because the wheels would always be lined up straight, so there was not enough stretch for the boot to separate and show me the rip.

from the looks of it, it seems like they both have been ripped for a while now. grease seems drained and low. i want to go about replacing them but i just want to make sure with you guys first and get an confirmation on what the part is exactly called and the part number.

also, are there anything else i need to know to replace them? i actually do not know how to go about replacing these boots..... seems as if you would need to disconnect the "tie-rod" bar from the knuckles and slide the "tie-rod boot" (i think that is what it is called) in that way? help me out guys! this might cause big problems down the road since it is still rainy season.

 

it is most likely referred to as the inner tie rod boot, or steering boot. You will need to disconnect the outer tie rods, and unthread them from the inners. you will need to mark the outers when they contact the jam nut, and that way you can preserve your alignment.

 

^ oh my ****ing god...


ahh okay eventually ill suck it up and do it.

2 more questions.

any one done this b4? and other tips i need to know?

and also, oem subaru replacement vs. oe replacement from kragens. same quality? or not?

 

What's this all aboot now?

 

Das boot?

Seriously though, when a joint has a protective boot like that, it is for a reason. I'd fix that sooner rather than "eventually."

(Das boot! Das boot! Das boot!)

 

ive done it several times... all my cars are old. The best ones i have seen are the beck arnley ones. They can be had at allied auto parts in fremont, dont know who else carries that brand.

 

yeah i had a CV boot like that go bad on my RSX.. bad times. i got lazy and replaced it after it started building up really nasty gunk.

 

stop jumping off railroad tracks homie!

 

wat i mean by eventually is asap when i have the time frame...and tools. it seems like its been torn for a while. and i did just drive over the rainy weeks with them and then some........... yea ill get to it.

how much are the beck arnley ones at the fremont shop? or is the price car specific?

i swear i didnt see them there.

 

my auto teacher said NEVER replace the boots yourself.

you invest a ton of hours into doing it and you get grease everywhere, so it's better you buy the whole assembly.

 

hmm, he was prolly talking about CV boots? Yeah in that case its better to just put in a new/reman axle. Inner tie rod/steering rack boots are a different story.

But one other about the inner tie rod boot, those usually dont just tear like that, you better check to see if you have a PS leak on the inner rod seal that caused it, you'll need to take care of that too. and if it does than yeah you'd prolly be better off looking for a used/reman rack to put in instead of trying to rebuild it yourself

 

Exactly and if so, look for an '04 STi rack for your car, just got to find the adaptor (or have someone make one) to adapt the RS steering shaft to the STi rack.

As far as Beck-Arnley goes, rockauto.com is your friend...

 

hmm... well junkyards are pretty hit or miss. do you guys know any places that have reman'd subaru parts? i would like to see how much it would cost.

yea that would be a great alternative, cept i just dont have the money right now and rather just replace what i have and make the best of it. but that def sounds like a good idea down the line. thanks for the input!

 

I would just look for a part out, or call around to NAPA and see how much a reman'd one is. Steering rack seals dont go out that often so you could probably trust a decent used one if it looks good. Though look around that whole area too, from the pic it looks pretty messy, it almost looks like there might have been something leaking on the boot from above that caused it to fail, check everything else out around there first.

 

some suggested a rear main seal. while i got my car checked out at auto hq, they said i did have seeping oil one of my main seals. that could have been it. anyways since i have school this week, i just wiped down the area today of all the gunk and most of the damp dripping. ill see if there is still any leaking by the end of this week and order my boots. im just gonna look for a weekend to do this all myself so i can get an alignment if needed also.