My recently-acquired 2002 Nissan Pathfinder had a torn steering rack boot when I purchased it, which is a simple but serious matter. I had more pressing issues to take care of before tackling this project, but I didn't want it to lapse too long. A torn boot will allow road grime to enter the piston, and that means a quick death for the entire steering rack.
My torn boot was located directly beneath a leaking oil cooler seal, which may have prematurely worn away at the boot. Having taken care of the leak, I ordered a Beck/Arnley replacement for about $25.
Here we go:
Safety first, always: chock the wheels, unlock the lug nuts, jack the vehicle up, and lower it down on a jack stand.
Remove the wheel. Spray all relevant nuts and threads with a small amount of penetrating lubricant.
You'll have to remove the tie rod end to slip the old boot off and put the new one on. There's no way around this. Remove the cotter pin from the nut at the bottom of the tie rod end, and crack the nut open. The closest box wrench I had that worked was a 7/8".
Screw the nut down just below the tie rod end threads, and bang on it with a hammer until the tie rod end pops up. Two reasons for doing this: the nut will prevent the tie rod end from flying out at your face, and prevent your hammer from mushrooming the bolt.
Next you will want to crack open the lock nut just past the tie rod. Before you do this, carefully count the number of threads from the end of the lock nut toward the boot. I counted ten low points. This step is important: it will prevent you from mis-aligning your vehicle's steering. Write down the number of threads from the lock nut or make a note on your phone.
Hold the tie rod end with your 7/8" (or metric equivalent) wrench, and the locknut with a 17mm wrench. Push on the tie rod as if loosening it (counterclockwise, or away from the boot), while pushing on the lock nut the opposite way (clockwise, toward the boot). This is counter-intuitive, but the point is to move the tie rod end and the lock nut away from each other.
There is a spot for a 13mm wrench on the inner tie rod, and you may be tempted to crack the tie rod end this way. Don't do like I did - a 13mm wrench is too small to provide the torque needed to crack it, and you'll just strip this spot. Confused, I put the tie rod end back in its hole (at the steering knuckle), tightened a pair of locking pliers on the inner tie rod, and banged a hammer against a heavy adjustable wrench at the lock nut. This may very well damage your tie rod, so do as I say, not as I do. I completely forgot that the lock nut is supposed to move toward the boot.
Once you crack the lock nut, turn it by hand back to its original (locked) position, then turn it exactly one revolution away from the tie rod end (toward the inner tie rod). Carefully count your threads again. If you had ten low points, you should now have nine.
After you crack it, you should be able to crack the tie rod end. Now the 13mm wrench should suffice on the inner tie rod. If this doesn't work, you may have to resort to my desperate measure.
Once you crack the tie rod end, STOP! Carefully turn it back to its original place by hand. Remember that the inner tie rod also spins, so place a 13mm wrench on the inner tie rod and slowly turn the tie rod end counterclockwise. Count each revolution out loud. Once you begin getting close to the end of the threads, jiggle the tie rod end every half-turn or so to determine whether you are at the end of the threads.
Two points to this:
1. To know the exact position at which the tie rod end is removed. Mine had its bolt pointing to three o'clock.
2. To know exactly how many turns it will take to get the tie rod end back in its place. Mine took 17-1/4 turns. At 17 turns, the tie rod end was very loose, but still on the threads when jiggled. A quarter of a turn later it came right off. Thus, 17 and a quarter turns.
There was no question as to precisely how many turns it took to get the tie rod end back in its place, or at what position it should start being threaded. Thus I kept my alignment intact.
Tie rod end being loosened off the inner tie rod, lock nut one thread up from its original position
Write down the number of turns or make a note on your phone. Remove the lock nut. If you are only replacing your tie rod ends, scroll down past the boot section.
**************** start of boot section ******************
OK, now that you are done with the tie rod, it's time to crawl under the car and, if you are removing the passenger side boot, remove two 10mm bolts holding a hose in place. When these are off, remove the 12mm bolt below that holds the bracket in place. Remove the bracket and set it aside for access to the boot.
Hose and bracket removed, steering boot behind it
Use a flathead screwdriver and a pair of pliers to rotate, bend, and remove the large clamps. Use a pair of pliers to remove the small, spring-type clamp. Throw them both away. Remove the boot.
(At this point you can consider starting your vehicle and moving your steering wheel so that your piston is fully extended, in order to clean as much of it as you can. However, if you choose to do this, remember to keep in mind whether your other front wheel is still touching the ground. If so, you will have to raise that side of the vehicle on a jack stand as well.)
My boot now off, I marveled in awe at the piston. I had never seen one before, and never understood exactly how a steering rack worked. Well, now I know.
I sprayed down the piston and ball joint with degreaser and let it sit a few minutes, then wiped everything squeaky clean with some paper towels. Those of you who are super meticulous might want to finish the cleaning with a lint-free cloth. Don't skimp in this area: the new boot will probably be there for the life of the vehicle. You don't want any dust or grime interfering with the daily piston action, which is directly responsible for your steering. The same boot also covers the inner tie rod ball joint. Clean it too. Don't, under any circumstance, use brake cleaner or anything that will dry these parts out or cause them to rust.
A clean piston is a happy piston
Once everything is nice and super-clean, get some grease and apply it to the ball joint and piston. I wasn't sure exactly how much grease to use or, honestly, whether the piston should even be greased - maybe someone can clarify?
A greasy piston...
...and a greasy ball joint
OK, now the really fun part. Get your urban dictionary out, because it's time for a curse-fest. Work the boot onto the tie rod and move it toward its original position over the piston. Remember, the large opening of the boot goes first and the small opening follows. Now you have the very special task of trying to slip the large end of the boot up over the piston housing. Remember, everything is lubricated with grease. Try not to get the piston dirty.
I tried a variety of methods to complete this arduous task. What ultimately worked for me was a pair of channel locks toward the front of the vehicle and a small pair of needle-nose pliers at the rear. Working from the front of the vehicle, I slipped my right hand around the crossmember and grabbed the boot with the needle-nose from above, while my left hand held it at the opposite end with the channel locks from below.
I tugged, pulled, worked the rubber, screamed, and cursed like a sailor. This was already after trying to get the boot on with my gloved hands for what seemed like an hour. Try to get accustomed to squeezing the entire boot up against the piston housing as hard as you can and holding it. This ability may come in handy when you just barely get it on and have to hold the boot in place with one hand while making adjustments at various points around the housing with the needle-nose pliers. It might be easier for two people to accomplish this, but I wouldn't know.
Once you slip the boot on and over the ridge, it's then just a matter of tightening the zip-ties that came with it. Congratulations, I hope you're done with the boot!
**************** end of boot section ******************
Coat the threads with anti-seize compound, thread the lock nut on, and align it to x number of threads away from the inner tie rod (mine had nine, remember?). You may have to clean the excess anti-seize to be able to count threads. If you're replacing your tie rod end, grab the new one. You're going to thread it back on, so think back to the exact position of the tie rod end when it came off the threads. Mine had its bolt pointing to three o'clock, remember? Six o'clock is where I start counting the turns on its way back to its original position. Seventeen turns later it is back in its place and exactly one thread away from the lock nut.
Tighten the lock nut against the tie rod end. Place the tie rod end in its hole, and tighten its nut. Insert a new cotter pin into the hole and spread it out.
Put the wheel back on, screw on the lug nuts, jack up the car, remove the jack stand, lower the car, tighten the lug nuts, remove your wheel chocks, clean up your tools, throw away your dirty rags or paper towels, clean your hands, go for a test-drive, and give your spouse a great kiss. You've just prolonged the life of your power steering.
Das Boot
